Breaking and Entering hosted a hip hop showcase featuring Mad Static and MoCity at Summerfest’s WAMI Stage on Thursday. It was both rappers’ first time performing at Summerfest; friends, family, and music lovers gathered to attend in numbers.

Mad Static has been performing and releasing music since the 2000s. He is known as co-host of the podcast “Beats, Rhymes and Bodyslams” in which he and Philly Anderson discuss wrestling and rap music; they release new episodes on Wednesdays.

After being relatively quiet for about two years, Static released a new EP in March 2022 titled “Son of Cynthia.” A collaborative effort with producer Mike Regal, the project is four tracks. “It came about close to the start of the pandemic,” Static explains. “Regal and I were communicating with each other about getting something going, and then all of the sudden the world shut down. I waited until I was in a good space to write what I could, and for the next two years I was going in and recording; my guy BigCurse at Third Ward Studios was great to work with because he would always find ways to renew and refresh the songs. I definitely feel the project is my best in a long time; the way the people are receiving it, I couldn’t ask for anything else. I named it “Son of Cynthia” just as a way to give back to my mom; it’s a dedication to the influence she’s had on my life. They’re songs that I felt she would enjoy and play in the house – there’s very little cursing on it. She loves it and that’s what matters.”

He followed “Son of Cynthia” a little over a month ago in May with “This Won’t Take Long…”, a collaborative five-track EP with producer DizzyRandoms. “I met Dizzy through DJ Megadon,” Static shares. “He hit me up on Instagram one day and said that he wanted to do a project with me…so he sent me the beats…and at first I was thrown off by them because it’s outside of the shit that I’m usually doing with how I write songs, so I took it as an opportunity to let myself get back to the foundation of rapping and my pen being on point. What we did is the most fun that I’ve had in a minute; it’s all just one collective vibe between me and him, plus Megadon and Wax Cherubs were involved. I love creating with those guys and seeing what we come up with, and we’re already working on a second one. It’ll be a little longer and more fleshed out so be on the lookout for that.”

In addition to the sophomore collaboration with DizzyRandoms, Static is working on another potential new project of his own. “I’m not quite in album mode yet but don’t be surprised if there’s things in the works,” he said. “When I’ve got a good idea, y’all will know.”

Mad Static performs at Tonic Tavern on July 22nd and at Cactus Club on July 27th.

MoCity is a member of hip hop collective Camp Shuttlesworth which also contains PeezSW, C’zo, Holly Mae, Phif, So (formerly Dassolo) and Gonzales Visuals. He approaches songwriting through speaking on life hardships he’s endured or going through while operating from a family-oriented mentality at all times. That said, he often brings the Shuttlesworth crew and other collaborators on stage with him during performances, saying, “I’m nothing without them. I always let them know that even if we’re not doing a song together today, they get to be on stage with me.”

He dropped two singles in 2022, “Uncle Willy Son 2” and “Heart.” Speaking on what those songs mean to him, MoCity shares, “I was in Hawaii when I found out that I lost my brother, and “Uncle Willy Son 2” was a song I wrote as a dedication to him. “Heart” was originally for this album that I’m working on but I took it off because I felt it didn’t fit; I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written, lyrically. I lost my dad years back, then my brother last year, then my grandma this year…but I never quit. Music is the only thing that kept me alive and kept me going. That song is me showing where I came from.”

As mentioned, MoCity indeed has an album in the works. “It’s called “Milwaukee, Wisconsin” and we’re dropping it in August,” he said. “This is me all healed up from everything I’ve been going through. My last album “Benchwarmers” I was really dark on; this one is on the lighter side and more upbeat. We’re really having fun with this one.”

MoCity performs at Cactus Club for Good Vibes Only on July 21st.