Big Beat MKE 2022 Night Seven Recap
It’s crunch time in the 2022 Big Beat MKE tournament. The semifinals of this year’s tournament went down on Thursday night, and four producers who have all stood out in this year’s field would do battle to see who gets to move on to the championship round next week. A pair of overtime battles kept a loud, lively crowd roaring at Jackalope Lounj in the Third Ward.
In the opening contest of the night, Mystik Musik took on Scylla, in a battle of two producers that have stepped their game up seemingly as the tournament went on. Scylla brought his live setup to the stage, while Mystik Musik pulled a page out of Scylla’s book, and brought the props with him, including a Freddie Krueger mask and gloves for one round. Both producers also made a habit of switching up the beat, mixing up trap with higher tempos, to almost EDM levels of excitement in their beats. It certainly wasn’t a unanimous decision, but ultimately Scylla would get the judges decision to move onto the next round.
The second contest of the night was a tough matchup from the jump, with a pair of beat battle veterans who knew exactly what to do. Spacecrime took on SDProduces, and it was another contest that you could tell was headed to overtime before the regulation rounds were complete. Both producers tested the sound system with heavy bass, but it was the unique sounds they brought out that won them over with the crowd. Case in point was the overtime round, in which Spacecrime utilized a flip of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” that won him over with the Jackalope Lounj immediately. While again, the decision wasn’t unanimous, Spacecrime edged out the win, pitting him against Scylla in next week’s finals.
On the microphone, the bars were heavy and the energy was high. Hektik rocked a solo set full of lyrical venom in between battles, getting the crowd bouncing along in the process. The night was headlined by WillOnWater, who brought tracks from “T(r)ap Water” to life, and also brought along fellow Uglyworld Syndicate artist Sam-e to preview some new music in the process. In both the battles and performances, things were entirely on point Thursday night.
There’s only one night left of Big Beat MKE, so do not miss the finals next week Thursday, when Scylla and Spacecrime go head to head with the trophy on the line. The night will also feature the third place battle between Mystik Musik and SDProduces, in a contest that will be sure to entertain as well. Performances from Mo’City and your host of Big Beat MKE, Twan Mack will help cap things off. See you there! Here’s your bracket update below:
