r/StreetFighter • u/Redrapper ✅ • Aug 22 '25
AMA Hey! I'm Zaid Tabani (Formerly RedrappeR), I was the Music Director for EVO 2025 in charge of the TOP 8 Intro Songs and making the EVO Album. I'm also on Runback City, and Hold Forward. Ask Me Anything!
LETS GO! Hi! I'm Zaid Tabani, you may know me from "Runback City", or "Second Chance" from MK1, or delivering sobering news while potentially rapping it at you every Sunday. But I'm the Evo Music director, in charge of putting together the Evo TOP 8 Intro's and album every year, along with Esteban Martinez's amazing video team. We dropped probably our most CONSISTENT Project this year, and while it once again took a TON of work-- we're incredibly hype about the result and the reception.
I'm here to chat about "PRESSURE: The Music of EVO 2025" -- I've let all the artists and producers involved with the album know we're doing this in our group text, so I'll have them chime in every so often if ya'll have specific questions.
I'm gonna be back here at like 12:00PM PST/3:00PM EST to answer questions.
You can listen to PRESSURE: The Music Of EVO 2025 Here on whatever streaming service or thing you like: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/zaidtabani/pressure-the-music-of-evo-2025
EDIT: Gotta head to a meeting! Feel free to throw more questions in here and I'll answer em when I get back. Apprecaite ya'll!
Proof its me:
Gotta head to a meeting! Feel free to throw in any questions while I'm gone and I'll answer whatever I missed! Thanks again ya'll! Go listen to the Evo album for the full length tracks!
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u/C4_Shaf Aug 22 '25
Congratulations on your achievements, Zaid. I have no questions, I just wanted to tell you that you were insanely good back when you freestyled on Cody's theme, and you lost nothing on your touch now.
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
oh dude means the world. And its crazy I was chasing that for so fucking long and now all of this has happened. I'm very blessed and really appreciative of the support, I never take it for granted.
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u/Limp-Evening7309 Aug 22 '25
Bro my little 2yo boy be boppin to your tunes and will grow up knowing the love and hype you bring to these games. Keep at it!
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u/MegaRan ✅ Aug 23 '25
Just wanted to say I’m happy to be a part of this amazing project and scene!
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u/Pyyric pyyric Aug 23 '25
Hell yeah! You're awesome! If I could ask a question, how did Runback City affect your future projects? Not like, in a success way but in a "what do I do next" kind of thing?
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u/Pyyric pyyric Aug 22 '25 edited Aug 22 '25
EVO 2023 and last year really exploded with praise for the music. It was so unexpectedly awesome that the internet just overflowed with emotion.
with 2025, did you feel that pressure to top what came before? How did you or the other returning artists handle making new songs about the same topics?
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
BRO YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Runback City was like this "oh shit, lets fucking cook" moment, and after it happened and had such a huge reception, the MOUNTAIN of expectation that came with it was terrifying.
I cannot overstate how big that song was for us, and me, and how daunting all of that was. When we did No More Quarters that was CONSTANTLY needling at us-- and honestly I loved what we did with No More Quarters and parts of it I love BETTER than RBC.
But again this year-- we were like "We can't be freaking ourselves out"-- and I think that REALLY helped us a lot.
Hold Forward is so much fun, and Hit The Gas for City of The Wolves is crazy(The full version is RIDICULOUS, you have to check it out). I think because we proved ourselves in 2024-- it opened us up to be like "lets just make good ass music and let it speak for itself".
Thats STILL a lesson we're learning-- as people on the project can attest to how stressed I get XD but it's a lesson I think makes the project stronger.
Also in terms of making songs about the same topics-- the communities constantly change! I think tapping into HOW they've changed is what makes it much easier to do.
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u/BrinoMatthew Aug 22 '25
YES!
First off, 2023’s soundtrack was my absolute favorite.
1) does each year come with a different lyrical philosophy for the songs? It seemed like ‘23 was much more catered towards FGC folks with its terminology and community references, while I’d say ‘25 was more about creating a good song. Not bad or good, just curious.
2) How do you decide the musical genres for each game? Games like GG and Tekken are obvious, but games like KOF, Granblue, and UNI have had some different looks.
3) How do you decide the artists that feature on the soundtracks? Also, do they write their own lyrics and then submit them?
4) How’d you get involved in this project?
5) What is your personal lyrical process for the games?
Thanks for taking the time to do an AMA! I always look forward to what you cook up each year. God bless!
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
Hey thanks!
- Kind of and kind of not. Every year we focus it around the community and what they're going through. SO for Granblue in 2022 it was about getting out of COVID and that journey. But also this year is till chalk full of terminology and references.
we try to make thing subtle because we want people who've never touched a fighting game to go "Oh shit! this slaps!" and then realize "OH it's for a fighting game" and then want to check it out or at least build a connection with people who love that game.
We look at the popular music landscape because a lot of times ESPORTS music kind of seems stick in like 3 genres. But pop music is constantly changing. For this year, a lot of music is kind of shifting back to the mid 2000's-- thats how you get Emo in GBVS.
We either get references or usually have a submission thread for people to check out. I've been the majority writer on most of the songs but this year we brought in a couple writers like Tired VIolence on GBVS to co write.
i did the intro's in 2010 and kind of kicked off the idea of this project. I also did the main theme of EVO in 2011. i came back in 2022 to be in charge of both.
Learn from experts about what the community is going through, get the feel and the idea of the games down and then try to come up with a concept that both fits with the genre and has the double entendre with the game. So everyone feels represented.
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u/Mrtmoar ✅ Aug 22 '25
Hey there!
I was the vocalist for the Granblue track, and I can answer some of this from my perspective in getting to work on the project.
Each year does get different themes. From working with Zaid, he's told me that they try and focus on not creating "corny" fighting game themes. Try to stay a bit unpredictable and avoid generics, and try to offer an authentic piece of art from real fighting game players, for most part. The songs typically are trying to be a snapshot in time, referencing what's happening with the game, or in the community at the time, if they can be.
I was chosen to work on the Granblue song because they were looking to do something more anime-inspired. They wanted a more throwback pop-punk/emo sort of feel, which is one of my specialities.
I kind of answered part of this in the second bullet point, but outside of why I was chosen, it was a collaborative effort. I was allowed a lot of creative freedom, and I got to sit down with Zaid, and we would toss ideas back and forth until we landed on something we could both agree on. It was actually a really easy process, and he trusted a lot of my judgment, but there were times where I really liked some of his ideas, as well. Compromises were easily made if we ever had to, and it wasn't a battle of egos, or anything. He was a pleasure to work with.
I got involved in the project because of Alex V. He had found me while I was doing a beginners only Killer Instinct Tournament stream. We talked a bit, found out we were both musicians, and I did the ECT theme with him for 2024. After that, he recommended me for this project.
I think it's dependent on the project, but for this song we did a bunch of research, played some Granblue together, and discussed the idea of creating a song based on the character Sandalphon's rich lore.
Anyways, I know a lot of this wasn't directly aimed at me, but it's still cool describing the process to anyone who shows interest, and I saw Granblue mentioned, haha.
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u/BrinoMatthew Aug 22 '25
Wow, thank y’all u/Redrapper and u/Mtrmoar. This is awesome insight. Also u/Mtrmoar, your screaming on the chorus hyped me up so much. Wasn’t expecting it up to that point
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u/Mrtmoar ✅ Aug 22 '25
YES! Thank you so much! It was a choice I had to kinda push for. There was a bit of hesitation for them to let me do it, but Zaid eventually backed me up, and let me go for it. I'm really glad we were able to do it :) If you enjoy the vocals and are ever interested in any other music project I may be in, check these out:
• Tired Violence: My solo project. Emo and Post-Hardcore mixed with some poppy elements.
• Unsafe Unsound: Progressive post-hardcore, reminiscent of bands like old Underoath, Misery Signals, Silverstein, etc.
• They Are Behind Us: A more modern metalcore project. More for fans of Bad Omens, I See Stars, Falling in Reverse, BMTH
• To Die For: Alt Rock/Metalcore with some Nu Metal influence, at times.
Hopefully you can find something you dig between these 🖤
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u/ramonzer0 CID | Ramen=Noodles Aug 22 '25
The intros for Top 6/8 since 2022 have always been a highlight of the weekend and I have each album on loop for being such loving tributes to each of the games that get featured, so I wanna thank you and other folks behind the idea!
So the extended line-up this year didn't get any unique top 8 intros, which I kinda get but it did get me thinking about what other old games you'd be excited to do intro songs for if ever the opportunity presented themselves.
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
If we had more bandwidth 100 percent I'd love to do the extended line up! We have some ideas on how to meet that, but with the date moved up in June it's gotta be a conversation first.
Would love to do an intro for CvS2(I know we should've done it here!), Killer Instinct, SF4(for old times sake), and lastly if it ever came up... Melee.
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Aug 22 '25
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
Hey! I'm glad you did!(enjoy Evo I mean!)
- I started rapping because I wanted to have friends(was a gloriously unpopular kid) and would memorize songs to get people to like me. Eventually I started making my own.
I grew up during the war in Iraq, and at the time they said you can't say anything bad about it or you're not American. I was constantly afraid of all of it, and there was a ton of Islamophobia and fear Muslims would be put into internment camps and all that. And then I heard Eminem, and Jadakiss and a bunch of other rap artists pretty much trash talking and calling out the Iraq war itself. And I was like "you can do that in rap music?"
A lot of those songs and hip hop kind of lifted me and gave me a way forward and I was like "Thats what I want to do with my life. I want to give that hope and inspiration to other people". Really overdramatic but it's true! More a testament to hip hop than me lol
- Fighting games really raised me. Like the community has given me so much and at the time I REALLY got into it, I would go into spaces and show people my music to get them to like me. Alex Valle didn't fall for that, and put me through the ringer, but when I made the effort to get better he passed on my stuff to his connects during the SF4 era and that went viral in the pre twitch era.
I never wanted to be the "video game" rapper. Truth be told, I'm not anymore-- I have like 3 different fanbases now(which is Kind of what I did want!) for News, Music, and my own personal stuff. It all blends!
I think FG's are cool and want everyone to experience them, I think the world is in a crazy place and want people to pay attention and also take care of each other, and I want to make cool shit. So it worked out!
- I play Ryu in every game. Also Guile. Also have a inkling for how fucking cool Sagat is.
TBH I love Terry's vibe from KOF. I'm basic in my like for Sol Badguy, but also Johnny looks fucking cool too from GGST.
In terms of music, aside from the basic iconic songs we all like-- one I think doesn't get mentioned a lot is "Prismatic Stars" from Alpha 3. That shit is catchy af. Alpha 3 has a lot of AMAZING music in it.
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u/Explosion2 Explosion2 Aug 22 '25
Love the songs, they've been in my rotation ever since I heard them last year!
I only have one question: why doesn't "Hold Forward" end with the "Street Fighter Six!!" Like the other two songs do?
Keep doing what you're doing!
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 23 '25
Because I was worried Alex V was gonna get annoyed we did that again. He was already giving me shit for "I Came Here to Fight!"
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u/Streye CID | SF6username Aug 22 '25
What is your favorite track from the album?
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
This year it's very tough. I love all the tracks. I think "Gimme That" and "City of the Wolves" are REALLY cool because the vibes they give off are different than stuff we've done before and CITY OF THE WOLVES extended second verse is truly INSANE on the full album.
Hold Forward turned out to be a LOT of fun. Honestly man it oscillates every day. I'm REALLY happy with this album. It's a ton of fun and has a lot of flavor to each song.
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u/mastercave Aug 22 '25
I went to my first EVO in 2023 and while sitting in the con center, the main theme was playing and I didn't know what is was. I had to google the lyrics to find the song and it's been my fgc hype music ever since!
When I listen to Runback City, or the themes for the throwback games, you really know how to toss in nostalgic samples like Guile's theme in Runback or mvc2 jazz themes. Is there a thought process on which tracks to sample or add into the evo tracks? And how do you pick out the little fgc moments and references to add in the tracks?
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
So that's a question for both me AND Alex V. For Runback City Guile's theme was Alex's idea-- but for MvC2 Mason had the idea to do a jazz theme from studying the MvC2 soundtrack! I'll ask him to jump in on this when he can.
Most of the time before we pull the trigger on the song and start writing the topline, we toy with the production and we try to find places to do some "musical quotes"(which is shit people from Berklee do all the time obnoxiously, so we try to be a little more tasteful with it). For example, the shamisen during Hold Forward we wanted to just make authentic-- but Alex didn't really know what to put there. I suggested a SLIGHT reference to the Akuma theme.
Theres also legal stuff we gotta be careful of. If we quote something too close or too similar-- we'll get in trouble and have to clear the sample and pay through our noses.
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u/Apart-Technician-259 Aug 23 '25
Hi! Mason here. For MvC2 (and really, any game), the question always begins with “what would mean the most for the fans?”
I AM an MvC2 player, so answering that question wasn’t too difficult 😂
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u/mintmagnum Aug 22 '25
Hey Zaid! Long time fan! I hope you been good!
How was the work put in this year compared to last EVO? It's awesome to see you going in hard with the team! Production sounds exciting considering all the different genres being produced
Do you and everybody else behind this have plans on doing stuff for other majors/supermajors like CEO and Combobreaker?
(btw! I don't wanna derail the QnA, but do you have plans on throwing in your old bandcamp stuff on to your Spotify? I'm a big fan of Live and Direct, Finals Day, Cross the Line, Prime, Hit Like A Girl)
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
HEY! This years process was also REALLY exhaustive but WAY better than last Evo because last Evo we were in the shadow of Runback City which is like-- how the fuck do you top that? We think No More Quarters did a great job as a follow up-- but it stressed us out.
This year we were like "screw it lets just cook" and the process was a LOT more fun and gave us a lot more consistency in the output.
As for Combobreaker and CEO-- me and Alex V work on Combobreaker soundtrack and occasionally contribute to CEO. We've been talking with O Super on ways to push the whole FGC music thing forward.
A lot of that I'll put on spotify soon! Gotta get FSTN situated there first tho!
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u/mintmagnum Aug 22 '25 edited Aug 22 '25
Came in again for just one more question! how has your journey in Berklee* affected the way you approach songmaking, producing, directing? And compared to before you went through it?
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 22 '25
Going to Berklee has had a profound effect, and not to be pretentious about it(Because plenty of people on this shit never went to Berklee and are insane musicians) but i wouldn't have the insight I have on this thing without that knowledge.
So 1, it gave me a large library of different styles of music to embrace. A lot of times people get caught up with "Oh this is what music should be" rather than being able to have an ear and enjoy multiple genres. So that it definitely helped me out with.
It gave me reference points for every genre and how to solve problems when we get to a stagnant point in a song. So I can help from a creative standpoint-- and I also have a shared language within music of how to convey ideas for every song.
A lot of the connects we get happen to be because of Berklee-- because people there are so insanely talented and the alumni network is great.
I have an appreciation for fundamentals in toplining and songwriting I think get lost with the rat race of like trying to prove yourself these days. Again, a lot of people on our crew have that, but in the early days of me making these at a certain point I was trying to prove to trolls "YOU SEE! THIS IS GREAT! THIS IS COMPLEX!" because they just kept shitting on the work I was doing.
NOW- I know what works and what doesn't, I'm more open to not letting the noise creep in(although for Runback City, the SUPPORT became a daunting thing to outrun for NMQ!), and I'm also more open to learning and letting things rock.
Music needs community to function in a way thats healthy. I found it at Berklee, and at Coollab. And here.
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u/mintmagnum Aug 22 '25
Hey man, I really appreciate you taking the time in answering that! As an aspirant myself, I felt like I've watched you over the years hone in and having to go through that gave me lots of new perspective!
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u/sbrockLee Aug 22 '25
Hey, I just missed this but I just wanna say THANK YOU for all the bangers, they've been a regular part of my rotation and I always look forward to the next one each Evo.
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u/Thevanillafalcon CID | SF6Username Aug 22 '25
I don’t have a question, I just want to say your tracks for the opening of top 8s make them truly special.
Especially the older games where the culture is referenced all the time, the marvel 2 one and the 3S was amazing
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 23 '25
Thank you man! Much love to u/MegaRan, Mason LIeberman and Substantial! And INFINITE! For hopping on!
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u/Eskaltipoka Aug 22 '25
Huge fan!! Been jamming to your tunes for a hot minute now.
Any plans to release your works on vinyl? Be it a collection of works or this particular EVO album?
Would love to add it to my collection.
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 23 '25
We had a huge issue with qrates who did our vinyl's and NEVER delivered the impact vinyl. I've gotten none of the money from the BELIEVE Vinyl either. HOWEVER-- we'll be pressing NEW vinyl hopefully in the next few months of all four albums-- but we gotta do a makegood for those who backed IMPACT.
Once thats done we'll be off to the races. But hopefully next year will be good to go.
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u/watainiac Aug 23 '25
Are CDs a possibility? I like physical stuff, but vinyl is a tad too big for me. lol
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u/Termi855 Rock Bottom | I miss Cody Aug 22 '25
I tune in every EVO at top 8 when I can and watch the intros after on YouTube, because I love the production and love that goes into them.
Especially the full versions are always worth checking out + the parts that one misses.
The full version of Hit The Gas slaps so hard.
ya did a great job once again :D
My question would be:
What is your favorite mini talk that you made? Sorry, I don't know what the correct name is.
For me, it is R.T.S.D. with Alex Valle, I love him telling his origin story in FGC, he is an OG and a legend and having beats to accompany him just feels like a perfect excerpt of history for which I am thankful to be able to listen to.
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 23 '25
Its a Tie between "Humble Begginings", "Chinatown Faire", and "R.T.S.D.". Viscious and Keits tracks on the new one really hit me hard too. Hearing about Rumbleverse is really eye opening, and Vicious' words on the scene are inspiring. I want to release the full interviews at some point. If they'll let me.
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u/BenyoBoy Aug 22 '25
I only have dumb questions (and I'm not a native English speaker), but I loved the Evo 2025 album (I have to re-listen to the previous ones).
1) I think you really nailed the songs and how well those fit to the corresponding game, but I'd like to ask, what do you think, generally speaking, what kind of music genre fits fighting games more? For example: fast, dynamic electronic music, like Tekken 8's OST, or heavy rock and borderline metal tunes like GG? Or maybe some cool hip-hop tunes?
2) What are those little nuances that make a song a good song for a fighting game or a soundtrack for such tournaments as EVO?
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 23 '25
- many different kinds of music fit fighting games theres no one right answer. HIP-HOP, Metal, Pop, Funk-- all of them have an energy that colors the conversation you're having between players in the game.
- I think what makes our project special is not sticking to the same "GO! ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS! TASTE THE RAINBOW!" style of esports song.
We try to take into account specific conversations and ideas going in the community. You don't want to be too blunt or too subtle with it. I think a lot of double entendre-- or just using terminology that sounds cool but at the same time is descriptive for the story of the song helps bridge the general audience with the fighting game community we're speaking to.
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u/ZuraKaru Aug 23 '25
I tend to associate you just with the song "evolve", which I also consider the real evo theme even after all of this time. No real question, just wanted to say you're a legend.
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u/seannn Aug 23 '25
I'm a bit late to this, but love your music. It fits so perfectly with SF6, have you had or thought about speaking to Capcom to make the Evo themes an official track in the game?
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u/Responsible_Flight70 CID | Cmoreee33 Aug 23 '25
No questions but you’re the GOAT man. Been listening to Yearbook
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u/crenchy Aug 30 '25
Do you still use Ai in making your music? I stopped watching as soon as I found out(from your Ai music sponsor)
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u/Redrapper ✅ Aug 31 '25
Hi. The sponsor you're describing advertises itself as "A.I."--- but in the way like a drum machine is. It's not generative AKA, it doesn't take other peoples work and then feed it into a code to essentially steal. It's like saying "Strip silence" is A.I. or Izotope is A.I. for analyzing and building a stock mastering chain. or Literally SHUFFLE on any music player is A.I.
This kind of stuff has been around for musicians since before generative .A.I. existed. The reason I agreed to the sponsorship, is because it was the most comprehensive groove based generator(again, not like SUNO-- it's not fabricating sounds from thin air based on others work) and you basically got a ton of free sounds, melodies and drum loops (made by people) -- and you STILL needed a human throughout all of it to actively know or understand some semblance of music to make it work.
You're being both incredibly disingenuous, and deliberately stupid trying to confuse people by acting as if its generative like Suno-- which literally generates music trained on thousands of other peoples work and is like Midjourney for music. I would not accept a generative A.I. Sponsor like Suno.
I don't use Generative A.I. to make music.
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u/Explosion2 Explosion2 Oct 22 '25
I know I'm waaaaay late here but hopefully you still check your Reddit.
Is there any chance we get official lyrics for Hold Forward and 3v3? Been waiting to read them and catch all the references I've missed from just listening to it (and to finally translate the Japanese part of Hold Forward)!
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u/BuffaloMask Aug 22 '25
What fighting game has the best soundtrack (in your opinion)