SFX in this track are a lot louder than the instrumental. Also sounds a little over-compressed, and 808 bass alternates between way too low for me to hear, to so subby it almost hurts.

I love me some hip-hop though. Really the only thing stopping me from giving a better score is volume levels and a little clumsy compression. Also, even for hip-hop, this track is fairly repetitive. There seems to be no real differentiation between verse and chorus, which is a must if we're writing hip-hop instrumentals.

First thing I recommend, turning that kick down a bit. It's louder in my ears than any other instrument in the track, including the 808, which is a no-no. Your 808 should stand out very clearly and concisely in the mix.

Now, the 808 is well written and tastefully smooth on that portamento. I like that. What it needs is probably some low-cut and EQ. I know, low cut on a bass instrument seems utterly retarded, but you can accomplish it with a multiband compressor and still keep the natural boomy quality if you prefer. The 20-38 Hz range sounds like a wall of noise compared to your 50-80 Hz. You will want to look up some tutorials on mixing 808s, EQ, compression, etc, to mitigate extra sub noise in the mix (too much can push your mix out of balance, which is happening here).

I really like the cutesy videogame theme you've got going on in the background, but it sounds like it was recorded in a K-mart, as flat as it is in the mix. Beef up that high mid range and maybe bus it to a send with some light reverb. Both it and your snare/hats sound very dry.

Also, I notice you could use some brass stabs or something on your chorus sections -- if this track was even structured with them. 1:36 could benefit, perhaps 1:44.

I also see your keys are super loud compared to your backing beat. I would take them and your chime samples down as that clipped at one point. If you mix everything at about 20% volume on your computer, these things will become very clear. Mixing things all the way up has no real benefit, contributes to ear fatigue, and can actually cover up the nasty parts of a dirty mix. Just don't do it.

Note, if your kick wasn't so loud, you wouldn't feel the need to turn up those vocal samples, or your bells, or your leads, for instance. Kick usually hides with the 808s in this genre anyway though.

Pro-tip, if you check out most mastering services today, they will advise you to mix all of your tracks at about -6 dB headroom before you apply ANY FX to the mastering channel, such as compression and EQ. Why? Your mix will sound 100% cleaner -- no peaking from being compressed too hard, etc.

Overall, nice piece. I can definitely see the budding trap producer in you. Continue to nurture your natural talent -- always be seeking out new ideas, new synths, new techniques, and critique, and you'll do great. Thanks for coming out to the NGUAC!

I have an extreme dislike of trap snares, but I have to admit most everything else in this track sounds really nice. There's a good amount of energy present from start to finish. In general I did find this to be redundant, but that's to be expected for hip hop. The only time that really bothered me was around the 2:00 mark where it looked like it was building to some kind of drop.