LetsBeef.com Help Guide

Welcome to LetsBeef.com, the world's best online rap battle arena, featuring live audio recording over instrumentals. On LetsBeef.com you can participate in audio & text rap battles with thousands of other people around the globe, and it's free! All you have to do is sign up for an account, which takes about a minute, and you're ready to step up to the mic.

Help Topics

1. The Basics
Basic information on how to use the website and how to navigate around the different sections.

2. Listening to Battles
How to find the list of current battles, how to search through old battles and how to listen to them.

3. Starting a Battle
How to start a new open or private battle and how the credit system works.

4. Finding a Battle
Where to find new battles and how to join them.

5. Recording Audio
Detailed information on how our audio recording system works.

6. The Rankings
How the points system and Top 100 rankings work.

7. Getting More Help
How to get in touch with the Staff Members at LetsBeef.com.

1. The Basics

LetsBeef.com is very simple to navigate around. Check out the diagram on the right, each section is described below:

1. Audio or Text: The site remembers which section you have locked down, so if you pick text, then go to the Battles page, you'll be in the Text Battles. Then if you switched to Audio, it would change to Audio Battles. Whichever section you have selected will be highlighted in blue.
2. Navigation Menu: This is where you browse through the different sections of the site, it will be explained in more detail below.
3. Completed Battles: The latest battles to be completed are listed here.
4. Newest Challenges: These are the newest open battles available for any member on the site to join.
5. Main Menu: The main menu serves as a log in and sign up link for non-members, after you log in it changes to a members menu.
6. Battle of the Week/Track of the Week: Every week we post the best battle on the main page as the Battle of the Week, we also have the Track of the Week which is run through our Songs forum.
7. Hip Hop News: The latests Hip Hop news from around the world, brough to you live from SOHH.com.
8. Top Emcess: These are the Top 5 emcees on LetsBeef.com according to the rankings.
9. Lets Beef News: When we make any major updates to the site or have something to announce, you will find it here.
10. Search: You can search through our site or look for sites on the web using our Google box.

The main page is updated in real time, so whenever battles complete or new battles are posted for challengers, the main page automatically updates itself. So check back often!

2. Listening to Battles

It's really easy to listen to battles on LetsBeef.com. Get started by first picking Audio or Text and then click the Battles button.

1. Completed (Voting Open): Clicking this link will take you to the list of battles where you can still cast votes. When a battle is over it moves to this section and remains open for voting for 3 days. After 3 days, the site figures out who has more votes and awards the battle to that person. Remember, casting a vote earns you 1 credit!
2. In Progress (Ongoing Battles): This is a list of battles that have more than 1 round are still going back and forth between the two emcees. You cannot cast votes in this section, however you can still comment.
3. Completed (Voting Closed): Here you will find all the battles where the votes have been tallied up and the winner decided. The winner is indicated with a star next to their name. You can also see how many points were won or lost by each emcee on these battles.
4. Search: You can search any of the battle lists by typing in a members name or by searching for a specific beat.
5. Battle List: This is where the main battle lists show up for each section, you can see the style, who's in the battle, the beat, rating, rounds, length of each round, retries and number of votes casted.

Once you find a battle you're interesting in listening to, click the Listen button next to the battle details. From here you will be taken to the battle details page:

1. Participants: You can see who started the battle on the left, and who joined on the right. In this case the battle is over and the voting is closed, so the winner has been indicated with a star. You can also see how many points were awarded & taken away for each competitior.
2. Rating: How well a battle is rated depends on how well the emcees were rated by the voters, this is automatically calculated by the site.
3. Details: You will find out which producer made the beat for the battle, and a link to their website and email should you wish to get in touch with them. If you're a producer and would like to submit beats to LetsBeef.com please email beats@letsbeef.com. You can also see all the battle details and when it started.
4. Battle Player: This is the Audio Battle Player, simply press Play to hear the first competitor and Next User to hear the next. Sometimes you might need to adjust the voice/beat volume levels to hear it properly! (i.e if the user recorded too quiet or too loud)
5. Vote & Comment: This is where you cast your votes and make comments on the battles, this is explained in more detail in The Rankings section at the end.
6. Comments: You can see all the members comments regarding the battle you're listening to here, see what other people think!

3. Starting a Battle

Starting an Audio battle has never been easier, all you have to do is choose your options, choose your beat and away you go! To get started click the Start Beef button.

1. Open or Closed Battle: If you choose Open battle, after you submit your verse your battle will show up on the main page under Newest Challenges and the Find Beef page. The first person to accept your battle will be your opponent. If you decide to do a Closed battle, that means there is a specific member on the site you want to battle against. You will be given a box to type their name in, the site will help you if you type their name incorrectly.
2. Battle Style: We allow 3 types of battles currently, Freestyle being the most popular, however we also allow Written and Beat Boxing battles. Please make sure you choose the right style or the moderators may decide to disqualify you.
3. Beat Selection: You choose your beat from the list at the top, and you can preview all the different producers beats in the Beat Previewer below. This way you can make sure you like the beat first.
4. Rounds: How many rounds do you want this battle to last? Each round both opponents can drop one verse.
5. Length: How many sections do you want the rounds to the last? You can choose 30, 45 or 60 seconds.
6. Retries: If you're new to the game, you might wanna use at least 1 retry incase you mess up your freestyle. Real pros pick zero retries.
7. Start the Battle: Once you're satisfied with your options, get the battle going!

Remember, it costs 3 credits to Start a Battle. Should you run out of credits just go to the Battles page and cast some votes! After you Start the Battle you will be taken to the Audio Recorder which is explained in more detail in the Recording Audio section.

4. Finding a Battle

If you don't feel like starting a new battle, you can always find one to hop on. To get started click the Find Beef button.

1. Search Options: You can choose which type of beat, # of rounds, round length or retries for the battle you're looking for.
2. Search by User: You can also type in a Member name and find all of their battles here. The site will assist you if you mispell their name.
3. Newest Open Challenges: These are the latest battles that are still open for you to join.

Once you find an open challenge you like, click the Listen button and go to the Battle Details page:

1. Battle Open: The red text indicates that no one has joined this battle yet, so you are able to join it.
2. Battle Player: Click play to listen to the members verse!
3. Accept Battle: If you think you've got what it takes to battle the member, then click the Accept Battle button to join the battle.

5. Recording Audio

When you start or join a battle, you will be taken to the LetsBeef.com Battle Deck. All the mixing is done directly by the site, so all you need to do is drop your verse. This is what the Battle Deck looks like:

1. Round: This indicates which round the battle is currently on.
2. Details: You can read all the details of the battle here, the beat name, round length, total rounds and total retries.
3. Volume: When recording make sure your the volume levels are correct, also make sure your speakers aren't too close to your microphone or you will get the "double beat" effect when playing back. Your mic levels are indicated by the red lines, and they should look like they do in the example above.
4. Controls: Press Record to being recording, after you're done you can press Play Back to hear your verse. When you're happy press Submit to send it to the site.
5. Retry: If your battle has retries enabled you can use them by pressing this button.

6. The Rankings

LetsBeef.com features a member-driven ranking system, that is based on the quality and number of battle wins each member has.

When a battle is over you are allowed to cast a vote on it:

You simply pick which person you want to win by selecting the circle next to their name. You are required to rate both emcees on their performance and provide some useful feedback for them in the comment box.

Battles remain open for voting for 3 days, and then the winner is determined. The points system then decides how many points each competitor should win or lose. The points are heavily based on the average rating each person received and there are other minor factors involved. If you beat someone in the Top 100 you will get 1 bonus point for each level of rank difference between you. For example if the person in 75th place beats the person in 30th, he will get a 45 point bonus. This keeps the Top 100 competitive and fun!

7. Getting More Help

If you still need more help with the site, simply contact us at support@letsbeef.com. You can also get in touch with one of our staff members, their names and departments are listed below:

X - Founder
V - CEO
Pseudo Nim - Head Developer

Kokasion - Moderator - Audio Battle Questions, Disputes & Chat Room Assistance
Pugz - Moderator - Audio Battle Questions, Disputes
Pac-Man - Moderator - Audio Battle Questions, Disputes
LoDown - Moderator - Audio Battle Questions, Disputes
bvrasp - Moderator - Audio Battle Questions, Disputes

Ebircs - Forum Moderator - Forum Questions & Assistance