🎤 RAISE THE BAR

Winner – Columbia University DevFest 2026

Real‑time, two‑player AI rap battles where you choose a beat, spit a verse, and let an intelligent panel of AI judges decide who really brought the bars. Think of it as versus mode for the future of hip‑hop.

🏆 The Team: Tawhid Zaman (GitHub / LinkedIn) • Yazn Alzeghaibi (GitHub / LinkedIn) • Maheen Rassell (GitHub / LinkedIn) • Mohammed Miyajan (GitHub / LinkedIn)

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Overview

Raise The Bar is an experimental web game built with React, TypeScript, and Vite. Two players compete in short, timed rap rounds; their audio is transcribed and scored by multiple AI judges that evaluate flow, wordplay, and delivery. Results are stored for replay and analytics.

This project took home the top prize at DevFest 2026 and is designed to be both a showcase of real‑time audio processing and a fun proof‑of‑concept for AI judging.

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Key Features

• Live, turn‑based battle loop with momentum and instant scoring
• Two game modes: Street Battle (aggressive) and Kill ’Em with Kindness (positive vibes)
• Three beat styles: New Gen, Old School, and Underground
• Browser microphone capture + speech‑to‑text pipeline
• Multi‑judge AI panel with weighted verdicts and coaching feedback
• Optional coaching model powered by K2
• Persistent battle history via Supabase
• Modular architecture for easy extension

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Gameplay Flow

1. Select a game mode and beat.
2. Player 1 records a verse and has to say the words on the screen.
3. Player 2 records a verse and has to say the words on the screen.
4. Verses are transcribed and analyzed for rhymes, cadence, and word choice.
5. AI judges return scores, breakdowns, and advice.
6. Winner screen displays results, transcripts, and judge comments.

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Technology Stack

Area	Tools / Services
Frontend	React 19, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind (CDN), lucide‑react
Speech‑to‑Text	ElevenLabs (with browser fallback)
AI Judging	Featherless (primary), K2 (coach/advisor)
Database	Supabase (PostgreSQL)
Hosting	Any static host (Vercel, Netlify, etc.)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm (or yarn)
• A working microphone and browser permission

Installation

git clone <repo-url>
cd DevFest-2026
npm install

Configuration

Create a .env.local file in the project root with the following variables:

VITE_ELEVEN_LABS_API_KEY=your_elevenlabs_key
VITE_FEATHERLESS_API_KEY=your_featherless_key
VITE_SUPABASE_URL=https://<your-project>.supabase.co
VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=<anon-key>

# Optional: K2 coaching model
VITE_K2_API_KEY=your_key
VITE_K2_BASE_URL=https://api.yourprovider.com
VITE_K2_MODEL=k2-think-v2

🔒 Security note: In production, move all external API calls to a secure backend proxy. The current setup is for rapid prototyping.

Run Locally

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173 (or port printed by Vite) in your browser.

Production Build

npm run build
npm run preview

Deploy the contents of the dist/ directory to your preferred static hosting provider.

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Supabase Schema

create table transcripts (
  id serial primary key,
  text text not null,
  created_at timestamp with time zone default now(),
  grade text,
  feedback text
);

Additional tables (users, battles, etc.) can be added for extended features.

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Project Structure

.
├─ beats/               # Audio files for beats
├─ components/          # React screens & UI components
├─ services/            # API clients and business logic
├─ App.tsx              # Top‑level state and routing
├─ constants.ts         # Mode/beat configuration, rhyme groups
├─ types.ts             # Shared TypeScript types
├─ BACKEND.md           # Notes on backend architecture
├─ README.md            # ← you are here

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Development Tips

• AI keys: Keep them private and do not commit .env.local.
• Adding beats: Drop new .mp3 files into beats/ and update constants.ts.
• Judges: Modify services/scoringService.ts to adjust scoring logic.

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Dependencies

See package.json for the full list. Notable packages:

• vite / react / typescript
• @supabase/supabase-js
• lucide-react (icons)

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Fork the repo and open a pull request. Please:

1. Create a feature branch from main.
2. Commit with clear messages.
3. Run npm run lint and npm run build before submitting.
4. Describe your changes in the PR.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Columbia University DevFest organizers for the platform and encouragement.

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Raise The Bar: where every verse is judged, every rhyme counts, and every coder can spit bars.