The 2010 Miltown Beat Down producer battle hosts its final round at the Wherehouse Friday night, an event that will conclude a season that saw the beat-making competition grow greatly and expand its scope.
“In the past, the Beat Down was always on a weeknight, and was just a series of non-stop battles,” says Miltown Beat Down founder Jordan “DJ Madhatter” Lee. “This year I went in a different direction. We were holding it on a weekend night at a bigger venue. I knew that if we just showcased beats all night long eventually people would lose attention, so we decided to break the battle up with live performances. Every week I booked two local rap groups, and I tried to book artists that were totally different. At the last event, for instance, we paired House of M, the nerdiest, comic-book rap group, with Scott Knoxx, who makes some of the clubbiest, most Cristal-popping rap in Milwaukee.”
Though the Beat Down is often credited with bridging the gap between Milwaukee’s segregated East Side, Riverwest and North Side rap scenes, Lee says over the years the event has also made him appreciate why some of those divides exist in the first place.
“People have a tendency to think of hip-hop like it’s bluegrass, just one uniform genre, but it’s really more like rock,” Lee says. “There are so many styles that are called rocka rock band could sound like Juniper Tar, Decibully or The Mistreaters. Hip-hop is the same way, with so many different sub-genres. I’ve realized that I’m not going to get everybody to love every styleI’m not that naive, but I can at least create an awareness of all those different styles.”
This year’s Beat Down competitors have reflected that diversity. They’ve included producers not only with background primarily in rap and hip-hop, but also in house, techno and electronica. Among the four finalists competing Friday are beat-makers both familiar and virtually unknown.
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“Only two of them have been in the competition before, 40 Mil and Reason, and the only one who’s been a finalist before is 40 Mil,” Lee says. “DJ Peru has been working with Eric Mire and Melissa Czarnik, but this kid Geekzilla, nobody knew him before. He just totally came out of the blue.”
As usual, there will be between-battle entertainment Friday night. Supplementing local rapper Frankie Flowers on the bill will be some national talent: Roc-a-Fella-turned-Rhymesayers rapper Freeway will perform with producers Jake One and Vitamin D.
