2009 Miltown Beat Down. What it’s all about!

The Miltown Beat Down is Milwaukee’s premier head to head Hip Hop battle. Now it’s it’s 4th year, this year’s event encompasses more Milwaukee talent than years past, in a marathon of Hip Hop battles.

THE BATTLES:

The first battle, The FREESYTLE, will be just that. A traditional head to producer freestyle, in which producers play their top beats against one another. Which ever opponent gets the crowd the loudest wins.

In the second battle, THE HEAVYWEIGHT BATTLE requires a bit of homework. in this battle, producers will need to be on their A game, when we give them a folder of unknown sounds and samples they must manipulate to create new original beats for the battle.
The final evening will feature the competitions most difficult challenge; the A-TEAM BATTLE. In this battle four producers will each be given a secret envelope of sounds, samples and audio clips they must incorporate in beats they make right there on the spot.
The battles have been building in attendance and energy over the past months as we prepare to see the finalists battle in the historic Turner Hall Ballroom in downtown Milwaukee on April 4th 2009.

Short History:

Production battles have been gaining popularity in the hip-hop scene worldwide. What makes the Miltown Beat Down so unique is its long run and it’s nontraditional format. No beat battle in the world is set up like this one. For over three months, downtown Milwaukee will host dozens of local rap producers in a multiple round format.

Jordan “madhatter” Lee hosts the morning drive show on 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, is a member or Milwaukee hip hop giants the Rusty Ps and a member of the Red Bull Music Academy’s Mr. X Program. As the host and creator of the Miltown Beat Down, Jordan aims to build bridges and unify Milwaukee’s extremely segregated hip hop scene. An impressive list of celebrity producers, local musicians, deejays, and radio personalities will be judging the final event. Every Wednesday night, the Jackalope will host a different round of the battle. The battles will continue throughout the winter, and as soon as the snow begins to melt, the final round will commence April 4th in the historic Turner Hall Ballroom. With three unique events, this years battle will be the most action packed event of the Milwaukee winter.

MILTOWN BEAT DOWN 2008 Wrap Up:

The bigger picture:

As an active member of the Milwaukee Hip Hop community, Dj Madhatter is very aware of the social, economic and cultural segregation within our city. With the Miltown Beat Down, we hope that area Hip Hop artists will have a platform free of any barriers with which they can come together and share a stage and audience. The battle has always been an important part of Hip Hop culture, and is one of the primary roots of the genres existence. This event aims to bring together Milwaukee artists of all ages, races and cultures. Our goal is for Milwaukee artists to bridge gaps, and find ways to collaborate with a neighbor whom they may have otherwise never had an opportunity to work together.
The Miltown Beat Down has again partnered with the True Skool Organization to further develop our goals of community outreach and diversity. TRUE Skool’s mission is to use cultural arts to educate and empower youth from different backgrounds and cultures to become leaders for positive social change in their communities. By infusing the core values of Hip Hop Culture; conflict resolution, creativity, self-expression, non-violence, and community activism, this unique organization positively impacts a diverse group of our inner city’s youth.
“Hip Hop is more than music, it goes beyond dance and sounds, it is about culture, history and skills. It was born of the same societal ills we see youth facing today; lack of jobs and economic opportunities, violence in our neighborhoods, schools, and at home, broken families, gangs, under-funded schools and lack of community resources. Hip Hop is a tool and a culture in itself that allows for positive change in one’s life and promotes the true meaning of “community”. Few social movements have been as effective as uniting cultures as Hip Hop has been for over 30 years.”
-TRUE Skool, Inc.

To watch complete video wrap ups…
visit our VIMEO page
and H2OMagOnline!

First night… Cold Night, Hot Beats

Check out this wrap up of the first night’s battle!

Another view…

It may sound a little like I’m on a soap box here with all this blah blah blah about the battle, so here is another voice…

This article was written by Elfy of MilwaukeeTalkie and R.A.R.E.

 

Can Music really end Segregation?

The Miltown Beatdown in accordance with the MPS 42^nd Biennial Music Festival

BY: ELFY (R.A.R.E.)

Music? Really? What a great concept. But how so? Let’s see. I’ll take DJ Madhatter’s – The Miltown Beatdown – as an example. An organized event Madhatter put together about a year ago. What started with his very 1^st and 2^nd events of 2007, another one, the 3^rd annual which just currently wrapped up was from January 9^th, 2008 and ending on April 10th. The Miltown Beatdown is a Hip Hop competition battle consisting of musical producers who compose music and create beats. Head to head, with beatmakers from all across the city, rhythm and sounds collide on one stage to decide the best of the best. Madhatter remarks, “After 3 months of battles and 32 producers… the 2008 MILTOWN BEAT DOWN Champ is Milwaukee’s own MAJOR ON THA BEATZ. Major walked home with the belt and the grand prize. Major got the cash, but the real winner was Milwaukee’s HIP HOP scene. We were all able to come together for hip hop. It was a beautiful thing. Producers have since been collaborating and working with cats they would’ve never have met before this event. It’s been a great ride. Keep an eye out for the next battle, coming late in 2008! Thank you MILWAUKEE!”

The problems with Hip Hop music in this society has always been about the message. Whether you compose music ranging from club beats, crunk, old school, break beats, jazz, funk or what not, those who recognize Hip Hop for what it is, want a message that is pleasing and promising to the ears. And if it’s just fun, it doesn’t have to be foul or obnoxious. Fun music is good too. But have you heard of positive humor? Yeah. The negativity in the messages we portray to the masses becomes the main deciding factor to the listening ears, deciding if we want to consume that kind of product or not. Or if those are the kinds of messages we want to expose to the kids and our future generation. As well-said by Fidel of Gorilla Promotions, “Hip Hop is culture, rap music is corporate.” What started as a musical revolution aging since the late 1970’s to early 80’s around the Civil Rights era, Hip Hop was birthed as a positive tool for African-Americans to use. Which diversified into a universal language and connection. A culture of music, expression, voice, art, diversity, unity, and extracurricular. It also created wealth and a means of business in the Black market. Giving opportunities in Corporate America in areas of rap music, graffiti, DJ, and dancing. Apart from that we could talk about everything else like clothing, apparel, accessories, sports, marketing and so on that the Hip Hop world tapped into. But we won’t go there. Through the years (Generation Y), Hip Hop, with its growing dominance over the music scene, the money market took over and we have tend to of lost that sense of culture and purpose, letting Corporate robots define what Hip Hop is. They’ve allowed us to dumb down our intelligence as means to supply our pockets with money. It’s more of an entrepreneurial opportunity these days, than it is an outcry for freedom. Materializing our being and turning our culture into an image. What was expressed by rap group dEAD pREZ, “Get Free or Die Trying”, has now been recently manipulated by rapper 50 Cent as “Get Rich or Die Trying.” And the Hip Hop world, even before that, has never been the same since. They took our freedom to be ourselves and remain unique. We are all machines now. Controlled by the system of the Corporate world. And it all started when we lost the message.

 

Here is my personal interview with DJ Madhatter. Quick and simple:

1.What gave you the idea/concept of The Miltown Beatdown?
- I knew that Beat Battles were growing in popularity throughout the country and the world. So I thought it’d be wise for this very talented little pocket of American music, to have our own battle. I been involved in DJ battle and MC battles, but never a beat battle.

2. What were your intentions and purpose for the project before it even launched or occured?
- At first I just wanted to throw a fun party, but after the 2007 battle was so popular, I saw an opportunity to bring more members of the Milwaukee Hip Hop scene together. The 2007 battles (there was one in the winter and one in the summer) brought together so many different faces, I saw an chance for UNITY in this city’s segregated rap scene.

3. Did it turn out the way you expected or morally bring out your concept and perspective for the project?
- This event was a much bigger success than I could’ve ever expected. I wanted to see people together under one roof, but they did more than just that. Since this event, local producers and MCs have found a chance to work together. This unity can do wonders for our city and our scene. I will continue to work hard toward unity in our city.

4.Do you intend on continuing this event for the following years and years to come? And what would you change or not change?
- I’ve already begun some preliminary set up for the next battle. It will again start in the winter at the Jackalope Lounj, but I hope to take it to different venues and parts of the city.

 

So how do we save the so-called Hip Hop culture? Wait, never mind. Even better. How can music end segregation? Simple. Since people ain’t speaking right these days, simply take out the words. After all, it’s BIGGER than Hip Hop. Hip Hop is just a tool to get the message out and expand the revolution for people of color. It’s the movement that matters and what we should be active in. And that involves EVERYBODY. Again, “rappin is a bi-product of Hip Hop,” as said by Fidel. Despite the Milwaukee Hip Hop scene always being divided, the city itself has always been segregated. Number 2 in the nation, at that. In politics, ALL ethnic candidates lost in elections this year. And we are minority-majority. How does that happen? With the music scene, the East side won’t work with the West, North with the South, etc. Color-wise, everyone gathers pretty well. You’ll see blacks, whites, latinos, and Asians (myself) all together at events. But everyone stays on their own side of town. There’s the underground scene then the corporate scene. The kids creating a scene and influencing the city. Then those wanting to break out of here and go make millions. “You can’t say this out here, we don’t want that over here.” “I ain’t working with you, you better respect my people, I’m better, blah!” Nothing comes together. So I guess the fact of no messages is all that we have to bring the city artists together. It may be a bit sad, but then again, it’s an interesting concept. And I’m for it, despite the fact I just wish people would just clean up the language. But then again, we’re talking reality here. Hahaha. Plus, I don’t hold it against anyone. I can’t force you to do your music a certain way. I would be degrading your rights as an artist. And that would be demoralizing. We can all get an example of that from the late folk legend Bob Dylan. The Miltown Beatdown brought artists from all over the city under one roof. Regardless of what kind or how you play your beats, everyone was there. All ends of the city and all colors, united, not divided. It was a beautiful atmosphere. Just lovely. Good job Jordan.

What is this Beat Down all about?

The Miltown Beat Down is entering it’s 3rd year, as Milwaukee’s premier Hip Hop producution battle.  Yours truely, Dj Madhatter began this battle as a way too bridge the huge gaps in the Milwaukee Hip Hop scene.  For those out there who don’t live in Milwaukee, we have some serious color and culture lines in this city.  The art and music scenes are reflective of these divisions.  

The rap scene here is like three different cities.  The ultimate goal of this event is to replace the listener’s expectations of certain themes or content, with raw beats.  There is no doubt that the MUSIC is what has lead Hip Hop to become he world wide phenomenon that it is.

Check this video produced by 889 Radio Milwaukee’s own Tarik…

Here it is!

This is the new blog home for the Miltown Beat Down.  Milwaukee’s premier hip hop producer battle!

Check back for more information, posts, images, video and battle results!

 

Peas,

Madhatter