The highly-anticipated Cream City Beat Battle Vol. 2 took place at Company Brewing Friday night and packed the place with friend and fans alike. The previous beat battle had been in March. Austin Mahnke came home from LA working with Atlantic Records to host while Mic Crawf emceed and DJay Mando played music.

Some of the most creative and innovative beat-smiths in our city competed. Vol. 1’s champion Godxilla as well as Spice God, Zachary.HTML, Scylla, Juan, Xan Beats, Meccah Maloh, Jsystematik, Duff Smith, Riicflairmadeit, Cullen, No B, Thatguyeli, Shogun Hua, Conwy, and Smitty all showcased what they do. CameOne, Mocha Cash, and Rowan (replaced by Twan Mack mid-competition) judged.

The competition brought fierce energy all night as rounds progressed, but eventually it squared down between Cullen and Meccah Maloh. Ultimately, Meccah Maloh prevailed.

“The energy was incredible,” Maloh said post-battle. “The crowd really enjoyed the performance and that’s what it’s really about. If you wow the crowd, you wow the judges.”

Maloh describes the intensity he felt as he went head-to-head against Godxilla in the first round.

“I was worried about him. The first beat I played the sound wasn’t really there and we had technical difficulties, but the second beat I played the crowd really showed me a lot of love. From there I kind of knew what everybody else was doing and felt like I had a shot. I’m very confident in my beat selection and what I’ve made. I was honestly really concerned because Godxilla got into it last minute – the person I was supposed to be going against in the first round backed out and got replaced with Godxilla. For me to go against a Milwaukee legend like that is crazy, and for me to advance to the second round is amazing. I got so much respect for Godxilla. He’s a champion – like he’s won many battles across the country, so for me to knock him out was shocking.”

In a heartfelt moment after winning, Meccah Maloh said he was given a beat pad by his friend Demaryl Howard after getting released from the county jail this past December.

“The plan was to make beats for my album, since I’ve been making beats. When I got out I was looking at videos and I’ve been hip to Trizzy Track, BeatsbyJblack, Lisa Vasquez…I was like “damn, let me try doing that too.” I tried my hand at pad drumming and it was easy for me to make that transition because I’ve been playing drums since I was five years old. My main thing with the beat battles is really to give you a performance, and I think that’s what adds to the whole thing. Every single battle I’ve been in, me and whoever has the machine make it to the final round.”

Now that he emerged victorious, Meccah Maloh talks about what’s next.

“Now it’s about placements – I’m trying to take a page out of CameOne’s book with production placements…possibly more battles too but for now I’m trying to relax. October was crazy – I’m gonna spend time with my family and my girl and take a breather. I think my next battle is in St. Louis with Fresh Produce. I’ve also got an album coming out – I got a single called “Protest” out soon too. I got some jewels and gems for the people over my own beats, so now I’m buckling down and focusing on my music.”

Thank you to everyone that competed, came out, and helped put everything together – we look forward to the next installment!

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