Battle Recap : September 11, 2014

Posted by jordimack on September 12, 2014

Posted in: Battle Wrap Up. Tagged: Beat Battle, Miltownbeatdown, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Beat Battle. Leave a comment

In our second bout of the 2014 battle season, we welcomed to the stage three MTBD rookies. TALLMKFNTONE, VELLE BEATS and JJ JABBER all stepped up to challenge seasoned battle veterans, JAZZWARD.

How did they do? Well here is the recap of September 11th’s battles.

Round 1: Jazzward [397] VS Tallmfkntone [319]

Jazzward brought it. They brought friends, fans, #BIZZONFACES… but most importantly, they brought hot beats. In the first round of the night, rookie TALLMFKNTONE stepped up with a slight amount of caution, while the boys of Jazzward brought two right hooks and a jab to knock out their opponent.

Ronnd 2: JJ Jabber [365] VS Velle Beats [352]

Rookie JJ Jabber was poised and ready in his first battle against young Velle. But don’t let Velle Beat’s age, or complete lack of facial expressions, fool you… THIS KID HAS HEAT! This was a very close battle, that kept the audience excited and ready for more from these two new producers.

Round 3: Jazzward [433] VS JJ Jabber [374]

The Jazzward crew came with it in their second bout of the night. While JJ Jabber had a hot start in this round, the fellas of Jazzward came out of the gate strong and kept their lead with a three pack of sample focused bass heavy beats. JJ’s bass was no joke either and we started to wonder if our sub-woofers were going to make it through the night.

Round 4: Tallmfkntone [369] VS Velle Beats [374]

Well is the subs got flexed in the last round, they got damn near stretched out in the fourth round. Tone and Velle did not hold anything back. The brain tickling effects of the 40 hertz low end bass were in full effect for this round! Tone came with some exciting breaks, but Velle’s undeniable bass mastery won this round for the young producer.

Round 5: Jazzward [427] VS Velle Beats [417]

In the final bout for the Jazzward crew, they took us down to “Tinos’ Place” for a little touch of yazz flute, with their first beat of this round.

Not only did we hear some great samples from Jazzward, but rookie Velle Beats really hit a stride and almost took out the mighty Jazzward crew, as he fell behind by only 10 points.

Round 6: Tallmfkntone [411] VS JJ Jabber [392]

Tone finally brought the beats we were waiting to hear all night in this final battle. JJ was ready for Tone and had some of his best beats of the evening on cue, but Tone won over the judges and the crowd in his last appearance of the night.

After winning all three of their bouts, and racking up an impressive score of 1,257 JAZZWARD won this night of battles and will move on to the 2014 Miltown Beat Down Finals on November 8th at the Miramar Theater.

Battle Recap : September 4, 2014

Posted by jordimack on September 6, 2014

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: Miltown Beat Down. Leave a comment

We kicked off the 2014 Miltown Beat Down with another amazing night of Milwaukee producers. The 9th annual event featured seasoned MTBD veteran Trademark, super production team The Beat Council, and battle rookies DMT and GRRTELL.

Round 1: The Beat Council [386] VS Trademark [390]

Trademark has participated in this event over the past several years, and has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. He stepped up first to take on The Beat Council. This was a great way to kick off the night with high energy, quality beats from both sides of the table. At the end of 6 beats, Trademark won the battle by only a 4 point margin! Close battle for sure.

Round 2: DMT [425] VS GrrTell [351]

Newcomers DMT and GRRTELL stepped in the ring for the second battle of the night. GRRTELL brought a new sound, we’ve not heard in the MTBD. A kind of hybrid of UK Jump Up, Trap and Glitch. It was well received by the audience, but was not getting as many hands up, as the future street-rap beats of DMT. With a score of 425, DMT won that one.

Round 3: The Beat Council [384] VS DMT [407]

In a more stylistically matched bout, The Beat Council crew almost seemed ready for DMT. They brought some of their newest tracks, including some beats they created for the new Rusty Ps record. DMT and his MC Pharoah Mac have been working on some new material as well, based on the beats we heard from DMT. The crowd was close on this one, but DMT pulled ahead with a score of 407.

Round 4: Trademark [380] VS GrrTell [398]

In the fourth match, Trademark again proves what a problem he can be for any beat battle contestant. He brought out some big sounding beats, but so GRRTELL. As the pace of this battle continued to elevate, GRTELL opted to dig into more of his bass heavy production and won over the crowd with a score of 398.

Round 5: The Beat Council [410] VS GrrTell [420]

They saved their beats for last in the fifth round of battle. The Beat Council had some amazing street anthem rap beats, with huge drums and big bass. GRRTELL looked to be behind The Council, but tapped into some of that newer face meltin’ electronic trap sound. It worked! The audience got pretty hype in the round, and GRRTELL comes out with a win a mere 10 points ahead of The Beat Council

Round 6: Trademark [381] VS DMT [405]

The audience was ready to turn it up a notch, and this battle brought it! Trademark came out swinging, and flipped samples that will forever change how I listen to Stax Records. DMT was determined to pull out one last victory, and so was his camp! His beats were high energy, and his crew was chanting the hooks and screaming his name throughout the final round of competition.

In the end DMT not only won all three rounds of competition, but he also tallied up the highest score of the evening as well. With a total of 1,252 DMT will move on the the finals at the Miramar Theater on November 8th

2014 Miltown Beat Down Line Up Announced

Posted by jordimack on August 26, 2014

Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Ready… FIGHT!

The 9th annual Miltown Beat Down battle line up has been announced!

Almost 100 producers signed up for this year’s competition, and we went through 50 completed registrations, to get down to our 32 competitors.

Here is the 2014 line up!

Thursday September 4th

THE BEAT COUNCIL
vs.
TRADEMARK
vs.
DMT
vs.
GRRTELL

Thursday September 11th

JAZZWARD
vs.
TALLMFKNTONE
vs.
JJ JABBER
vs.
VELLE BEATS

Thursday September 18th

ALLERIAN
vs.
GOODWILL
vs.
AG
vs.
MIKE REGAL

Thursday September 25th

*hitmayng
vs.
BENNIE D
vs.
SOUL TRAK
vs.
MOSES

Thursday October 2nd

EDIS-B
vs.
B4LASERS
vs.
DREWCIFER

vs.
OH JAMES

Thursday October 9th

STREHLOW
vs.
AUGGIE
vs.
ELETE TRAX
vs.
KT KILLIN EM

Thursday October 16th

CAME ONE

vs.
COBY
vs.
MIKE A KNIGHT
vs.
PHILLY MILL$

Thursday October 23rd

SUMTHIN GUNNY
vs.
LEX LUTHER
vs.
FOOKI
vs.
MARTIE McFLY

This year’s battle will follow the rules of our traditional head to head battle, and again will be structured in a round robin style competition. Each of these producers will battle each of the other producers one time, for a total of six rounds of competition each night.

…

Each night’s battle begins at 10:00pm SHARP!

…

Battles will be held in the Jackalope Lounj, inside the Wicked Hop bar and restaurant, at 345 n. Broadway, in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

The Finals are November 8th at the Miramar Theater.. more details on that coming soon.

2014 Battle Prizes Announced

Posted by jordimack on July 29, 2014

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: Cascio Interstate Music, drum machines. Leave a comment

The most common question we get at the start of each battle season is … ” What do I get if I win?”

The easy answer is, you get the clout and bragging rights that go along with winning the mid-west’s longest running beat battle. ( but let’s be honest, that doesn’t motivate everyone ). In year’s past we’ve had a variety of drum machines, synthesizers, midi controllers and other studio gear as our grand prize. This year, I think we’ve out done ourselves.

We are excited to announce a new partnership with independent Milwaukee music retailer Cascio Interstate Music. For over 65 years, Cascio has been a key national player in the music products industry through its multi-channel retail, wholesale and manufacturing. The folks at Cascio have brought some additional partners to the stage that I’m sure you’ve heard of… ROLAND and NOVATION.

This year’s Grand Prize will be the all new… ROLAND AIRA TR-8 Rhythm Performer.

The TR-8 is a performance rhythm machine that melds the legendary sound and vibe of the TR-808 and TR-909 with features and functions for the modern age. Genre-defining sounds and classic effects. Unprecedented live pattern manipulation. Solid, intuitive performance controls.

Unleashed upon an unsuspecting world in the 1980’s, the TR-808 and TR-909 produce arguably the most influential drum sounds in modern music. Not only have they appeared on thousands of dance tracks over the course of three decades, but they have helped define the sound of entire musical genres.

From Rap and House to Techno and Trance – these two drum machines have left an indelible mark on the art and culture of music. Now, you can recreate that vibe, with your very own TR-8.

This year’s runner-up will receive a NOVATION LAUNCHPAD S.

Whether you are recording your own songs, performing your own compositions or mixing together your favorite beats, Launchpad S gives you everything you need to launch clips, trigger loops, control effects, mix your tracks and much more. It is totally portable, fully USB bus powered – no need for power sockets – lightweight and easy to pack and carry to any gig or rehearsal anywhere in the world.

Winners will also receive a large prize package from MODA3, Closet Classics and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Now that we’ve got your attention… SIGN UP! Registration for the 2014 battles will be open until August 22nd 2014 at 11:59pm.

To register today… CLICK HERE!

2014 Registration is NOW OPEN

Posted by jordimack on June 4, 2014

Posted in: Uncategorized. 1 Comment

After a short hiatus, the Miltown Beat Down is back for its 9th year of battles.

The 9th annual beat battle will again be held in downtown Milwaukee on Thursday nights in September and October. The 2014 finals are scheduled for November 8th at the historic Miramar Theater on Milwaukee’s east side.

CALLING ALL PRODUCERS and BEAT MAKERS!

STEP ONE

STEP TWO

Create an original beat using sounds recorded in the city of Milwaukee….

Download this SOUNDS OF THE CITY SOUND PACK.

The beat must be no more than 60 seconds long. The beat must utilize no less than 4 samples from the selected folder, but may use more if you like.

STEP THREE

Once your beat is complete, send the new composition and two other original beats. Feel free to send us links to your Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Website or any other place you host your music. Email the three beats ( or a link for us to get the 3 beats ) to miltownbeatdown@gmail.com NO LATER than August 22nd 2014 at 11:59pm.

We will review ALL the submissions and select the 32 competitors on the weekend of August 23rd.