By Dylan Deprey
Milwaukee has a new team to root for, and they are aiming for gold straight out the gate.
Fields have been swapped for stages, balls have been switched to speakers and the player’s main objective—make the hottest beats imaginable.
This year was the National Beat Battle Association’s (NBBA) first season. Seven teams, comprised of some of the best producers from across the country, have been fighting to see who’s beat knocks the hardest.
Whether it’s technical pad drumming on an MPC, sample flipping or cooking up a beat in five minutes, producers use their style and technical abilities to impress a panel of celebrity judges.
Along with the MKE Pad Masters, teams included the Atlanta Track Monsters, Carolina Sound Dogs, Chi City Loops, Houston Bassrunnaz, South Florida Faders and Tidewater Mix Godz.
Mecca Maloh
Meccah Maloh, MKE Pad Masters team captain, said the team formed because he wanted to showcase Milwaukee’s talent.
After participating and winning several local beat battles, he wanted to take the next step and go nationwide. Only thing was, he needed a team.
“I had to find a team owner, general manager and then a group of dope producers,” Maloh said. “I pretty much hollered at my business partner (Demaryl Howard) to position him as the team owner, and then we hired a general manager and the coach.”
As for actually building the producer team, the roster changed over the course of the year.
“First, I just hit up my friends doing their thing in the scene,” Maloh said. “Some had time and others didn’t. Some were down from the beginning that aren’t in it now, so it was a whole process, but the team has been together for solid year and half now getting ready for the actual season.”
The MKE Pad Masters 2020 line up is Abstrak Sense, Chefboi JC, Elete Trax, Fearjoy (FRJY), Lito Dose, Meccah Maloh, Pharoh Gahmoe, Super Ego Beats, tOOneBeatz and Tuan G.
Just like any other sports team preparing for a new season, the MKE Pad Masters have been practicing non-stop. Communication, constructive criticism and creativity have been key to building the team aesthetic.
“We’re always sharing our music with each other,” Maloh said. “We share sounds and sample packs. We talk about mixing strategies to make our sound better. We’re a really close-knit team, almost like a family and everybody is here to help each other out.”
The MKE Pad Masters took on the ATL Track Monsters in the first battle of the season online on Nov. 7, 2020.
Ke Turner hosted the online event. The celebrity judges included Trinetta Love, Superb and Cee Chung.
Teams put up a producer to compete in one of the five rounds. The judges then rate the beats on a 10-point scale. The team with the most points at the end of the five rounds wins the battle and edges them closer to the 1st Annual Producers Bowl. The producer with most points for the battle gets Most Valuable Producer of the week.
First round was the pre-made beat, where the producer played a beat for a minute. Abstrak Sense came through with an H-Town flavored heater.
The second round was two-minute finger drumming set on an MPC sampler (or in Fearjoy’s case, a Playstation controller).
Third round took a soulful route with a one-minute R&B beat. Fearjoy’s flute sample slayed, but the judges wanted more space for an artist to sing on it.
Fourth round gave the producers five minutes to make a beat on the spot, and Elete Trax went straight to the trap house with pounding bass over a zany loop.
The last round was the sample flip, where producers took the same song, flipped it and put their own twist on it. Pharoh Gahmoe surprised the judges with his unorthodox style.
Unfortunately, the MKE Pad Masters lost their first battle 115 to 107.
“It was kind of tricky at first. We didn’t know how it was going to look or play out,” he said. “I wish we could’ve won that battle, but our team put on a great showing.”
Meccah Maloh said their first loss was a learning experience, and they’re using it as motivation for their upcoming battle against the Houston Bassrunnaz on Dec. 5.
“This is us putting on for Milwaukee. We really want to prove that we have the best producers and we want to bring the trophy back for the city,” he said. “This is one of those moments where we could make history, especially this being the first season, and we want to do something like the Green Bay Packers did in the NFL. So, we’re just looking for the city to support us.”
For more information visit on the National Beat Battle Association visit https://www.facebook.com/NBBALLC/. For additional information on MKE Pad Masters visit https://www.facebook.com/MKEPadMasters.
Meet some of the MKE Pad Masters:
Chefboi JC
ChefBoi Jc
1) Name and how long you’ve been producing?
My name is ChefBoi Jc. I got into producing around age 15
2) What kind of equipment, DAW do you use/prefer?
Right now. I have a Maschine Mikro, one of my fellow Padmaster bro’s recently just blessed me with a M-audio keystation 49 board. I myself use LogicProX, just because that’s what I started out on and I’m comfortable. I would say it’s good to know how to use some of everything though to diversify yourself because everyone doesn’t use the same DAW
3) What style of beats do you make? All-around producer? Strictly trap or boom bap, etc.?
That’s always a hard question to answer because sometimes I like to jump around depending on the vibe at the moment but I love to make R&B, Trapsoul, Boom Bap, Sometimes I might go in my pop bag and create sometime. If I had to classify it I’d say I’m a vibe producer I go off the moment.
4) What does it mean to be on the MKE Pad Masters?
First off, I want to say thank you to Meccah and BLACKOUT ENT for even reaching out and believing in my craft enough to bring me on board with the squad! This is something new to me. I always wanted to showcase my production and be around other great producers to build with each other, and that’s exactly what this is! It’s somewhat like a producer brotherhood, so to be able to rep the city with these guys, & learn from them in the process means a lot, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity.
Elete Trax
Elete Trax
1) Name and how long you’ve been producing?
My Name is Demone “Elete Trax” Hobbs. Pronounced (Elite Tracks) I’ve been producing for 22 years.
2) What kind of equipment, DAW do you use/prefer?
The Daw I work with is Maschine which is piece of hardware with software as well from Native Instruments I also use Reason from Propeller Head.
3) What style of beats do you make? All-around producer? Strictly trap or boom bap, etc?
As far producing goes I would say I’m an all-around type of guy. I listen to different genres of music, so I do like to reflect that in the music I produce.
4) What does it mean to be on the MKE Pad Masters?
Being a part of the Milwaukee Pad Masters means a lot to me. This is more than a team, we are a movement and we want to show our city that we can be unified and represent for our fellow producers, young and old. We can also be a collective unit without conflict and negativity which has no place in our circle, lastly, we like to compete so why not join the NBBA and show our skill on a national level…lol
Super Ego Beats
Super Ego Beats
1) Name and how long you’ve been producing?
Super Ego Beats and I’ve been producing for 19 years (holy crap).
2) What kind of equipment, DAW do you use/prefer?
Fruity Loops and 2 Akai fires, one for each hand.
3) What style of beats do you make? All-around producer? Strictly trap or boom bap, etc?
Boom bap is my forte, but it’s always influenced by another genre, like jazz, soul, classical, metal, etc. As a producer, I’ve grown to appreciate literally every genre of music out there, including Chinese polka.
4) What does it mean to be on the MKE Pad Masters?
MKE Pad Masters keeps me on my toes, and to strive for better because we’re a super group of beasty producers.
Tuan G
Tuan G
1) Name and how long you’ve been producing?
Producer name: Tuan G. I’ve been producing for about 20 years but I’ve been into music my whole life.
2) What kind of equipment, DAW do you use/prefer?
I prefer Reason or Fruity Loops.
3) What style of beats do you make? All-around producer? Strictly trap or boom bap, etc?
When it comes to style of beats, I’m an all-around producer. I can make jazz, R&B, trap, boom bap, pop, reggae, etc. I make just about anything.
4) What does it mean to be on the MKE Pad Masters?
Being on the MKE Pad Masters means a lot. It’s a chance to do something positive for the city. It’s shining the light on Milwaukee’s production scene.