Miltown Beat Down Battle

What more can I say, (MKE) play the beat beats…

Oh my god.  If you missed the 2011 Miltown Beat Down Finals, I feel sorry for you.  This was without a doubt, the best MTBD battle in the 6 year history of the event.  The beats we all great, the energy was high, people were having a great time, and it was one of the best looking events I have ever produced.  All around AWESOME!

The competition was tough on Friday night.  Each producer brought their A game for this final bout.  We kicked things off with the sounds of DJ KiKi.  He is a 17 year old MKE DJ who came up through the True Skool DJ program.  Kiki graduated high school on Thursday, and then rocked Turner Hall on Friday.  WOW!  Then we turned the party over to Kid Cut Up. (If you want your party  kicked in to high gear, hire Kid Cut Up!)    During Cut Up’s set, the 2011 finalists joined me backstage for dinner and conversation about beats.  We spoke with Young Guru about Milwaukee, basketball, Hip Hop and music.

By 8:00pm, we had a nice number of folks in the house, so we kicked things off with the 2011 Wild Card Battle.  This competition was our way to bring some of those who did not make it to the top 8, back into the event.  We had Andy Peter battle Bubba in the first round, then Luxi battled her boyfriend, ClassiCal.  (That was an interesting battle for sure.)  Bubba and ‘Cal made it to the end with ClassiCal winning the 2011 WILD CARD BATTLE.

Then…

We began the battle!  This year’s finalists were 40 MIL, GoodWill, AudioPilot, Reason, TradeMark, Sam Winters, Champ and White Russian.  These fellas brought their best foot forward for the night’s rounds.  Each battle was high energy and very tough to call.  Most of the rounds were won by a small margin, 20 points here, 30 points there, a real tough night of judging.  When all was said and done, there were two men standing… REASON and AUDIOPILOT.

Before we got down with the final battle, we had a brief intermission with our special guest judge YOUNG GURU.

Young Guru played a high energy set of his personal favorites, songs he’s produced, and wrapped up his live set with an amazing scratch set, breakin’ down the Run DMC classic “Peter Piper”.  ( so fresh! )

So then we got into the last battle for 2011.. REASON vs. AUDIO PILOT.

This battle was personally very exciting for me, as we had 2 MTBD veteran producers, who have worked together in the past, and even recorded together, now BATTLING for the crown.  They each brought high energy beats, but in the end REASON was victorious.

Reason went home with a Native Instruments MASCHINE, Komplete Audio Interface, Massive sound design plug-in package,  Aerial 7 headphones and a $100 MODA 3 gift card.  CONGRATS REASON!

If you’d like to hear more of REASON’s music you can download his new album here…

and if you are a fan of his beats… Check out this INSTRUMENTAL version…

For more you can visit REASON’s website at www.4ar.biz

CONGRATS again to Reason and to our runner up AUDIO PILOT.  You can follow up on both these producers on www.unifirecords.com

Special thanks to all the sponsors for this year’s event. We could not have produced such a high quality event with out your support. To Kid Cut Up, you are the best DJ in the mid-west, and maybe the world! Thanks to all the producers who put their heart and soul into making good beats so Milwaukee’s Hip Hop scene can be so great!

Thank You MILWAUKEE!

We will see you all next year!
PEACE!
- Jordan “Madhatter” Lee

Well here we go!  This Friday night, it’s the 2011 MILTOWN BEAT DOWN FINALS.

We have got a lot of great beats in store for you, and a few surprises.  Many are wondering what the schedule for the night will be, so HERE IT IS!

6:00pm Doors open at Turner Hall.  We will have a special DJ set from the students of TRUE SKOOL, featuring DJ Kiki and hosted by DJ Bizzon of WMSE’s Mad Kids Hip Hop show.

7:00pm  Milwaukee’s best, KID CUT UP and DJ Bizzon rock the party along with VJ SLYM.  There’s no better way to get the party started then with *NO REQUEST SOUND SYSTEM.

8:00pm 2011 WILD CARD Battle.

We’ve had so many great producers come through the Miltown Beat Down this year.  It was a shame to see many of these producers NOT move on to the finals, so we’ve re-introduced the WILD CARD battle.  This year’s battle will NOT provide a spot in the top 8, but rather it will be a separate battle for a separate prize package, courtesy of NOVA MUSIK and Native Instruments.

Round 1:  ANDY PET.R vs. BUBBA
Round 2: LUXI vs. ClassiCal
Round 3: Winner vs. Winner

9:00pm  2011 FINALS

GoodWill vs. Audio Pilot
Sam Winters vs. Champ
TradeMark vs. 40 MIL
Reason vs. White Russian

Winner A vs. Winner B
Winner C vs. Winner D

We will then take an intermission to enjoy the sounds of our guest judge… Jay-Z’s tour DJ and sound engineer, YOUNG GURU.  Guru will bless us with some of his favorite selection and personal greatest hits!  A set NOT to be missed.

After Young Guru’s set, we will have the 2011 FINAL battle.  The top 2 producers will battle for the grand prize package, which includes products from Aerial 7 headphones, Moda 3, Puma, and a Native Instruments MASCHINE.

There will be no shortage of great beats this Friday night, so don’t be late.  Doors open and 6pm and tickets are available HERE.

We hope you can join us this FRIDAY NIGHT.

WOW!…

There are few words that I can use to describe our final round of preliminary battles other that WOW!  There were surprises, upsets, and some of the best beats we’ve heard all year.  One of the most shocking developments of last night’s battle, was the defeat of both our 4th and 5th MILTOWN BEAT DOWN champions.  This past night was one of the toughest for the crowd to come to a vote on.  I saw many people change their vote from one battle to the next, showing little loyalty for anything other than their favorite beats.

Here is how the night broke down…

SAM WINTERS [417] vs. SAUL GARZA BEATZ [209]

MARK VALDEZ [319] vs. JIHAD BARACUS [406]

JAMES JAXIN [427] vs. BAKTRAX  [326]

LEX LUTHOR [329] vs. CHAMP [357]

The first round of battles were often determined by one amazing beat.  For example, the Lex vs. Champ battle was tipped toward Champ at the beginning, and then Lex pulled out one of the best beats he’s ever played in the battle.  A “beat off” was called and the final beat from each producer brought the scores to a close call.

There were many audience members who were torn on who to vote for.  You could see it in the faces of the crowd when we’d ask them to vote.  Our 5 judges not only listened to what the crowd said, and tallied up the points for creativity and  sound quality *. (Sound Quality is a relative factor at Jackalope Lounj based on the limits of this small room’s sound system.  But for the record, many of the producers in this battle sounded GREAT in the Jack, so while the system may be less than perfect, the playing field was level.)

We moved into the finals of last night late into the 11 o’clock hour.  Here is how that went down..

SAM WINTERS [428] vs. JIHAD BARACUS [321]

This was a particularly tough one.  Jihad brought the expected high energy, sonic power house boom bap that we’ve come to love from him.  Sam “flipped the script” on ‘em and brought some reggae and dance tempo beats.  In my talks with the judges,, many of them felt strongly that this versatility worked in Sams favor.

JAMES JAXIN [244] vs. CHAMP [301]

This was a very interesting round.  These guys were both playing by the same set of rules.  High sonic quality, impactful club beats.  If anything, the judges felt that James lost more that Champ won.  But the numbers don’t lie and CHAMP was victorious.

Well there ya have it!  Our 2011 run at Jackalope Lounj is done.  I need to take this moment to give some shout outs to the fine folks at the Wicked Hop and Jackalope Lounj for hosting this year’s battles.  To RUFIO, the best bartender in Milwaukee, I thank you brother.  We could not have done this without you.  THANKS!

A very special thanks to our judges; JC Poppe, DJ Slym, Tarik aka the Architect, Why-B and Cecilio of King’s Go Forth.

And to the best DJ in the Midwest KID CUT UP, you are the man.  Thanks to you, the part NEVER stops.  Love ya brother.

Well all that we have left to focus on now is the 2011 MILTOWN BEAT DOWN FINALS.  If you have not yet purchased your tickets, be sure to CLICK HERE.  We will have some more details up this weekend on the finals and our special WILD CARD BATTLE.

Thanks for all the love Milwaukee.

-Jordan

WOW! What a whirlwind of a night we had last night. To say the event was well attended is an understatement. At the start of the first beat, there was a line that stretched across the Wicked Hop’s sidewalk patio. I addresses the audience at 9:30 and the room was pretty much already at capacity.

Photo Love From the good folks at MKESCENE.COM

We began shortly after 10pm, and began the evening with quite a lot of technical difficulty. (Best believe that I will be shopping www.NOVAMUSIK.com for new cables today.)
While there were some sound issues that created a less than perfect presentation, we had some real nice beats in the first rounds. Outside of the sound issue, everything else was perfect. Kid Cut Up was rocking the crowd before, during and after. Rufio was slang’n drinks, PBR Joe had the Pabst V.I.P. is full effect and the judges were feeling the competition. Speaking of judges, that was my final FAIL for this season’s opener. I FORGOT TO INTRODUCE THE JUDGE PANEL.
So with out further ado… Ladies and Gentlemen…YOUR JUDGES!

From THE MAD KIDS show on 91.7 WSMSE, and JSOnline’s TAP MILWAUKEE…DJ BIZZON

From 88NINE Radio Milwaukee, Rhythm Lab Radio host and UnLooped creator… TARIK aka The Architect

From RUNMKE.com Remix artist, Producer, Designer and VJ… DJ SLYM

From OnMilwakee.com’s Milwaukee UP , Hip Hop Blogger, Manager and Emcee… JC Poppe

Umbrella Music Group recording artist and Milwaukee rap star… Prophetic

Myself and Kid Cut Up also serve a judges number 6 and 7 in close calls. (and we had a few of them las night.) If you have not seen the score card or rules, you can find them here.  Each producer is able to earn up to 500 points per battle.

After an intense night of battles, here are the results…

TRE COLD [217] vs. BUBBA [366]

OVA [271] vs. WHITE RUSSIAN [400]

JUNGLE BOY [229] vs. AUDIO PILOT [299]

No that's not Cash Beatz... LOL

CASH BEATZ [177] vs. DJ HEAVYWAIT [324]

In the finals last night, things got serious.  Each producer really stepped up with bigger beats and the crowd got a lot louder.

BUBBA [366] vs. WHITE RUSSIAN [377]

DJ HEAVYWAIT [337] vs. AUDIO PILOT [351]

WOW! That was close at the end there, but WHITE RUSSIAN and AUDIO PILOT will move on to the 2011 MILTOWN BEAT DOWN FINALS at Turner Hall Ballroom.  Advance tickets are available now, and while these preliminary rounds are 21 and over, the finals are an ALL AGES show!  Be sure to join us next week for the 2nd Preliminary round at The Jackalope Lounj.

I have to admit, that it breaks my heart that great producers don’t always move forward, but that’s what battles are all about.  68 signed up, only 32 made the cut, and 31 of those will be losers.  The event is, and always has been, about giving these producers a platform to show the city their beats.

I know I had a great time last night, and I hope you did too.

Peas y’all.

DJ Madhatter.

Last night, Madhatter stopped by the WMSE studios to promote the MILTOWN BEAT DOWN.

The Miltown Beat Down’s creator and director Jordan Lee ( AKA DJ Madhatter ) got his start in radio with good friend and fellow DJ Kid Cut Up.  3 years ago, Cut Up and ‘Hatter began the MAD KIDS RADIO SHOW on 91.7fm WMSE in Milwaukee.  Jordan returned to WMSE last night for an interview with Kid Cut Up and DJ Bizzon.  This was a great way to talk about the history of the event, and what has developed so far this year.

To hear the interview, just click below…

Support the MAD KIDS and real Hip Hop in MIlwaukee, make a contribution to WMSE today.  Click HERE to make an online donation.  You can follow the Mad Kids on their blog and download ALL their past shows here.

Don’t forget to join us for the first round of battles THIS THURSDAY at the Jackalope Lounj.

Here it is!

The 2011 MILTOWN BEAT DOWN.

We’d like to let everyone know that  68 producers signed up for this event, and with the highest turn out we’ve seen in 6 year’s we’ve decided to open up the event to 32 producers, instead of 16.

This way we can let more of the midwest’s best have their time to shine.

BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2100 MILTOWN BEAT DOWN CHAMPION…

LEX LUTHOR

It was a tough battle with a lot of close calls, but Lex went on to be the 2010 Champion.  Lex has been invited by J Moore, Jake One, and Vitamin D, to participate in the 2010 RED BULL BIG TUNE BATTLE in Minneapolis, Mn.

I’d like to take this chance to congratulate the entire Milwaukee Hip Hop and Beat Production community.  This year’s event was a HUGE step forward! I wanted to take the MTBD to the next step this year, and with this city’s great love and great talent we succeeded! I was so proud of the caliber of beats and the effort that so many of this year’s contestants put on stage this year.

THANK YOU ALL!

The biggest moment for me personally , was when Johnathan Moore from BIG TUNE, took a moment to recognize the amazing scene we have.  He so summed up what the Miltown Beat Down has always been about… .COLLABORATION.  By competing in this battle, we’ve challenged ourselves as a creative community to STEP IT UP!  I’ve heard from so many of this year’s participants and observers, that the music was the best we’ve seen in 5 years.  And I agree!

As we wrap up, I challenge the entire city to STEP IT UP!  Whatever you do, challenge yourself to be greater, and GREAT things will come of it!  The beat down has always provided that challenge, and we hope the spirit of that challenge stays with you whether you won, lost, or just watched!

To Tim, Josh, Christian, Laura, Juan, Adam , Phil and Eric.  I literally could not have done this without your help!  THANK YOU!

To all the artists who have participated, THANK YOU!  I do this for your art and music!  I love it!

To those who came to watch, we do this all for you!  Please continue to give back the love and energy to the entire MKE music community.

THANK YOU MILWAUKEE!!!

With Love, MADHATTER!

TONIGHT’S WILD CARD BATTLE will be postponed until 8:00pm.

We had originally planned to have it in the parking lot of the Wherehouse, but mother nature ain’t having that.

Doors for tonight’s event will be open at 8:00pm

Here is the list of competitors for this evening…

B-Side aka Professor Problems vs. O.V.A.

Skunk Funk vs. Optiq

Tone The ONE vs. Super Ego

Big Ribs vs. The Fixer

Bak trak Productions vs. Made of Oak

Mighty DR vs. Toivo

? vs. D Tray Da Champ