The first night of quarterfinal action at Big Beat MKE went down on Thursday night, and the excitement of moving into the next phase of the competition was in the air. A rainy night in the Third Ward didn’t stop two battles from going down, and a pair of female emcees crushed the Jackalope Lounj stage as well. It was a solid night of competition that may well have produced the top battle of the tournament this far.

The opening contest was an absolute banger, as Mystik Musik and James Ashen went head to head in the first quarterfinal matchup. These two are both beat battle veterans, and knew exactly what to bring to the table, switching the sounds up rapidly in their one minute rounds. They also know one another well, which made for a fun dynamic, with the producers getting up in each other’s faces for some friendly smack talk. Mystik Musik brought out props, including a notebook and a chain to go with his beats, and James Ashen countered with some of the heaviest bass he could bring to the Third Ward. Before the end of the first round, you could have called for overtime on this one. This one went the distance, when Mystik Musik pulled out a sample of James Ashen’s own voice for his finale, getting the crowd howling. In a battle that needs to get a return match at some point, Mystik Musik pulled out a big win.

The second battle of the night didn’t get to go as planned, but once again, a challenger emerged to make his presence felt. No B unfortunately had technical issues preventing him from competing in a battle against SDProduces, but thankfully Yoshi from the Beats, Rhymes and Bodyslams podcast was available to step in for his second exhibition bout of the tournament. Once again, he brought the thunder and some smooth samples, including a clip of Eagle Eye Cherry’s “Save Tonight” that nobody saw coming. SDProduces matched him with his battle-ready beats, and while we don’t declare a winner for the exhibition battles, it’s safe to say that everyone in attendance came out with something extra from that event on Thursday night.

On the microphone, It was Kia Rap Princess and Juke Marciano’s turn to hold things down, and they definitely represented the hip hop scene well. The Holy Daughter, Juke Marciano, kicked things off with tons of energy, and a gritty energy that made believers out of the crowd at The Wicked Hop. Kia Rap Princess brought tracks from her “Chapter X” project, and kept the crowd moving with a variety of styles on display, as well as a charismatic stage presence.

We’re halfway through the quarterfinals, and there’s a pair of big battles coming up in the next night of the event on June 2nd. Join us as we’ll have Scylla taking on Systematik, and Gucco facing off against Spacecrime. We also have performances from Von Alexander and Cam Will, so do not miss this one! Here’s your updated bracket:

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