Photo courtesy Big Beat MKE
Milwaukee music fans of a certain age fondly remember the Miltown Beat Down, the annual producer battle that brought together the city's hip-hop community for a solid decade. That event ended in 2015, but last year a predecessor carried on in its footsteps: Big Beat MKE, which will return for a second season from May 2-June 20 at the Beat Down's former home, Wicked Hop's Jackalope Lounj.
Founded by the Milwaukee music website Breaking And Entering, the event doesn't veer too far from the old Beat Down formula. The weekly competition pits 16 Milwaukee music producers "spanning hip-hop, EDM, and more, in a head-to-head tournament bracket to determine the Big Beat MKE champion."
Breaking And Entering's Allen Halas shared more information in a press release:
A beat battle consists of three one-minute rounds, where a producer plays or creates an original beat, and a winner is determined by a rotating panel of judges, including Milwaukee musicians, media personalities, and music influencers. Each of the eight nights of Big Beat MKE consist of two beat battles, as well as performances from Milwaukee hip hop artists.
“While this is a competition, there's a lot of great collaboration that happens with it.” said Allen Halas, owner of Breaking And Entering. “Milwaukee's artists and producers have an opportunity to come together and network at these events, as well as cheer each other on. It’s one of my favorite things that I've done with Breaking And Entering so far.”
To enter the tournament, producers are required to submit two original beats at BreakingAndEntering.net/BigBeatMKE between March 4th and Friday, April 5th. All of the initial submissions will be reviewed by a judging panel of local music influencers, and a final bracket will be randomly drawn from the 16 selected producers and unveiled on Monday, April 15th. Opening round battles will take place every Thursday from May 2nd to May 23rd, with the Quarterfinals following on May 30th and June 6th. Semifinal battles will take place on June 13th, and the Championship and Third Place battles on June 20th. All events are free to attend, and will take place at the Jackalope Lounj, adjacent to The Wicked Hop at 345 N. Broadway in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
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