Earlier this year, about ten weeks in, I thought I'd try recording ten of these weekly verses in one swoop.

I promised then that I'd give it another try when I reached twenty... and I did, I think. I'm not sure how it went though, or where I have the recording, but as the year slowly came to an end I thought: why not record everything in one swoop? All 52 verses back to back, as only a lyrical master might be able to! Right. Yeah. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

As it turns out managing a full two hours of recordings in one session was a bit much even for me (more like especially for me), so I split up my verses in two batches: up until summer, and everything after that.

They're both about forty minutes long, fast-paced, ferocious, with occasional freestyles and... full of flaws. That's what happens when you attempt such a thing in a single take... but I am pretty proud of the results regardless! I did it. It didn't turn out perfect, but it was fun, good practice, and it feels like a great way to conclude both year and project!

I uploaded the earlier batch completely unmodified, but this time I've at least compressed and normalized the tracks a bit, so they hopefully match the sound levels of all the other recordings for the year. If you ever feel like playing all of them back to back these are the last two: 53 and 54. ;)

It's been a long year! Some weeks were fun, others not so much, but I'm happy with the consistent outlet (and put) of creative verse this project provided. They were longer at the start of the year, during summer, and during the end of it, but some of my favorite pieces are the shortest ones, too. If you're looking for one favorite I think Week 27 is the one I like most. Maybe because I was in a special place when I wrote it, or because it makes me feel like I can actually sing, a little... there's also Week 50. Keep in mind there is no autotune or similar being used here. I know it's not perfect, but it's all natural, and I feel like I'm getting better.

Actually there's a lot of other ones I like too. I'd better not get into it too much. Feel free to browse through the year that's been and see which ones you like more than others, and don't forget to leave a comment. ;)

Without further ado here's the final two-take session of Project 2017 verses, recorded on the last two days of the year. First verse 1-27...

...and then 28-52, microphoned in right before the fireworks struck the sky!

That's all for 2017, and for this year there is no project. I've kept it going in varied forms for a few years now, but I feel like it's time to take a break from that routine: to seek new perspectives, priorities, and purpose with my craft, though there'll still be plenty of creativity and craft on the blog!

May the New Year be full of good things, growth, and new opportunity!

Happy 2018.