Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Milwaukee Rappers Bury the Hatchet
Competition has been one of hip-hop's dominant lyrical themes since the genre's earliest days, and from the Juice Crew/Boogie Down Bridge Wars of the '80s to the Nas and Jay-Z quarrel last decade, rivalries have inspired some of rap's greatest creative triumphs. When those beefs spill over into the real world, though, they can quickly turn destructive, with the violent Death Row and Bad Boy records clashes of the mid-'90s looming as the ultimate cautionary tale. It was with real concern, then, that fans in the Milwaukee rap scene several years ago observed tensions boiling over between two groups, House of M and UMG.
After a dry spell around the turn of the century, the local rap scene was enjoying a renaissance in 2008. More artists were playing shows, more fans were coming out to those shows and, after years of skepticism toward rap music, more venues on the East Side and in Riverwest were booking them. UMG, a loose network of rappers including Prophetic, Ka$h and Yo-Dot, and House of M, a quirky, now-defunct superhero-themed rap collective, were the driving forces of the local hip-hop resurgence. But although they shared roughly the same audience, relations between the two units began to sour in 2007.
“It started over something small—just personalities rubbing, really,” says JC Poppe, a promoter who once represented House of M. “But it grew into something more, as both of these acts got bigger and wanted to be recognized for their talent and their music. There was this competition there, and they started to take it personal. It got very uncomfortable, seeing these two groups exchange barbs online, because threats of violence were tossed around so freely by some people. It's good that it stayed online and never actually turned physical.”
The mere threat of physical confrontation, however, was enough to shake the confidence of promoters and clubs already wary of hip-hop, and by 2008, the UMG/House of M rivalry was creating a spectacle.
“All those daggers thrown back and forth online spilled over into the shows, where the acts were taking digs at each other on stage,” says Andrew Davis, UMG's manager. “Certain parties would go out to the other group's show and try to ruin them. Nothing physical broke out, but there was a whole lot of arguing back and forth, and when there's a group of three or four guys shouting loudly, especially in a small club, all heads get turned and people start talking.”
Three years later those tensions have mostly cooled, but with attendance at local rap shows down significantly, the effects of the feud are still felt.
“It was really a waste, because there were so many people that liked both acts. But the conflict drew this line in the sand, so you couldn't go to the other act's show without fearing some sort of backlash,” Davis says. “It really killed everything that had been built up on the East Side scene.”
In a display of reconciliation, two acts from each camp, Prophetic and Yo-Dot of UMG and AUTOMatic and Raze from House of M, will share a bill at the Cactus Club on Saturday, May 28, called “The Bury the Hatchet Show.” The show is an important step toward unity in the rap scene, and also a showcase of some of the scene's most prominent talent, Poppe says.
“AUTOMatic is gaining popularity; Proph is continuing to steamroll his competition and getting more prominent locally and regionally; Yo-Dot is growing more buzz with each project he does, and Raze engineered six albums last year and put out his own record,” Poppe says. “We have some really important pieces of the hip-hop culture here, and each brings a different style along with them. It's going to be a diverse night of hip-hop, and I know there's going to be a healthy competitive feel, because all these acts are going to want to put on good performances.”
The Bury the Hatchet Show begins at 10 p.m. at the Cactus Club on Saturday, May 28.
After a dry spell around the turn of the century, the local rap scene was enjoying a renaissance in 2008. More artists were playing shows, more fans were coming out to those shows and, after years of skepticism toward rap music, more venues on the East Side and in Riverwest were booking them. UMG, a loose network of rappers including Prophetic, Ka$h and Yo-Dot, and House of M, a quirky, now-defunct superhero-themed rap collective, were the driving forces of the local hip-hop resurgence. But although they shared roughly the same audience, relations between the two units began to sour in 2007.
“It started over something small—just personalities rubbing, really,” says JC Poppe, a promoter who once represented House of M. “But it grew into something more, as both of these acts got bigger and wanted to be recognized for their talent and their music. There was this competition there, and they started to take it personal. It got very uncomfortable, seeing these two groups exchange barbs online, because threats of violence were tossed around so freely by some people. It's good that it stayed online and never actually turned physical.”
The mere threat of physical confrontation, however, was enough to shake the confidence of promoters and clubs already wary of hip-hop, and by 2008, the UMG/House of M rivalry was creating a spectacle.
“All those daggers thrown back and forth online spilled over into the shows, where the acts were taking digs at each other on stage,” says Andrew Davis, UMG's manager. “Certain parties would go out to the other group's show and try to ruin them. Nothing physical broke out, but there was a whole lot of arguing back and forth, and when there's a group of three or four guys shouting loudly, especially in a small club, all heads get turned and people start talking.”
Three years later those tensions have mostly cooled, but with attendance at local rap shows down significantly, the effects of the feud are still felt.
“It was really a waste, because there were so many people that liked both acts. But the conflict drew this line in the sand, so you couldn't go to the other act's show without fearing some sort of backlash,” Davis says. “It really killed everything that had been built up on the East Side scene.”
In a display of reconciliation, two acts from each camp, Prophetic and Yo-Dot of UMG and AUTOMatic and Raze from House of M, will share a bill at the Cactus Club on Saturday, May 28, called “The Bury the Hatchet Show.” The show is an important step toward unity in the rap scene, and also a showcase of some of the scene's most prominent talent, Poppe says.
“AUTOMatic is gaining popularity; Proph is continuing to steamroll his competition and getting more prominent locally and regionally; Yo-Dot is growing more buzz with each project he does, and Raze engineered six albums last year and put out his own record,” Poppe says. “We have some really important pieces of the hip-hop culture here, and each brings a different style along with them. It's going to be a diverse night of hip-hop, and I know there's going to be a healthy competitive feel, because all these acts are going to want to put on good performances.”
The Bury the Hatchet Show begins at 10 p.m. at the Cactus Club on Saturday, May 28.
If every MC & DJ in MKE got together... sure they still probably couldn't record one decent track... but i'm sure that would make for one hell of a promotional backstage/making of HD video on youtube and the corresponding universal hype by all milwaukee media. I love reading whitey eastside journalists put on their kangol hats and feign creditability. Does anyone besides myself find JC Poppe's pimp/promoter approach to journalism heavy handed and childish in his constant state of awe. All these Crowd Rapper antics are hilarious but "I'm on a boat" cliches made by area rappers and the media are pathetic. I mean is this CB4 or is this for real? Was there ever a hair band vs. death metal brawl in West Allis that went unnoticed. What is it about URBAN people and their inability to gather without something breaking out? Fashion, Fights, Crews, Cliques, Celebrity, Creds, Contests, Charity, Crowd Rapping, Lip Smacking, Sanctimony, Deaths, Dissing, Interviewing, Youtubing, Posing, Pimping and Pandering, Video Making... Stepping UP... but nobody getting down. It appears MKE area rappers have accomplished everything in rap/hip hop culture... except the old cliched... amazing track.
....and lots and lots of grimacing... almost forgot.
This reminds me of his 2009 article about the Milwaukee Urban Music Awards. Remember that?! People were shot! IT WAS A TRIBUTE TO AN ANTI-VIOLENCE ACTIVIST. I think the lesson learned is... you can have all the good intentions you want... all the positive spin possible... and if its an 'Urban Gathering' somebody is going to get shot half the time. As much as I hate most of the hip hop and rap music I hear... I hate the hip hop and rap culture even more so... almost all of it is bravado garbage that could end up wasting somebodys life over throwaway tracks... and street cred...when nobody cares except for themselves about their street cred if they ACTUALLY HAD some amazing music. WIMPY WHITE AND WITTY... is what i'm feelin' in this city.
The Duck Your Head Show!
Another Thing! Is there another literate black person the Milwaukee media can rustle up for at least a step towards tokenism… I mean look at Onmilhonky.com… hell look anywhere blacks are in the local music scene… its ALWAYS white DJ’s and Producers and white Promoters and Journalists and Record Labels and Musicians, Venue Operators, Record Collectors, Store Owners, and bands all white Printing Press T-shirt press all white… maybe a token Black Frontman! Plenty of black rappers with no real rhyme or wit maybe one or two token black beat makers. Looks like white people have stolen black music and sold it back to them. At least sell them some beads… Or maybe the great people can teach them how to appreciate their own culture and play instruments and stuff… like fruity loops and a catalog of previously used samples! damn it lets teach them basketball, Graffiti, and beat making… no that’s not a narrow minded naïve stereotype it’s the knowledge they need to make it in this world.
The media is so wonky that in place of reviews and opinion or even just a fair and honest description they have put a Music Promoter/Band Manager disguised as a journalist ala JC Poppe. A mincing of media and the conflict of interest of having a band manager promoter be our local music ‘blogger’. The redundant hype of any piece of crap rap by all four Milwaukee Propaganda outlets out of fear of not representing da’ hood.. Putting chowder head black guys in the journal cause they think they look like some cute black kid their kids watch on the Disney channel… probably the closest affinity most wonky people at the MKE Journal have. The medias wonky attitude lately towards covering everything in triplicate that is urban MKE music reminds me of when every show on every television network overnight was some black sitcom. There was all this redundant hype by every network and it all sucked. Not one of those black sitcoms since Cosby was funny. It was dumb ‘color blind’ white network producers making up for ‘The Wonder Years”. Is that what the MKE media is doing now? Making up for all the years they over looked all those great Milwaukee rappers like… I forget their names. I know Milwaukee Media does not understand local black music… that is clear. My only real question then is does black Milwaukee understand local black music?
Many elitist whites think it’s their duty to put on their dashiki, kaftan or boubou and attempt to once again gain interest and value in old black music dismissing anything new… with people who are looking forwards to a musical future of their own… or at least that represents their own time. Retro retread retard rehash is all fine and dandy for those whose musical heart lies decades before they were born or at a time since expired but for people much younger than you and me I guess we can see there has to be more than that. And if there isn’t then it’s all either OLD GOLD or NEW TRASH and frankly I’d like more options.
There has to be something new better and if there isn’t….. then music has in a sense already begun and ended before… soon if not already… it’s over in a sense… and we are left with a limited supply… which conveniently puts more value on the culture. I understand why most young people will always be caught up in the music of their time regardless of what it is how good it is.
I guess that’s what this is about… the locals trying to get our own NEW TRASH but the thing is… the NEW TRASH is so FICKLE and FUTURISTIC we are simply left behind here in Milwaukee… with a few grimey, quirky, recluses holding a slivered shard of an ember that shined …the local scene is neither overly FICKLE or FUTURISTIC. By the time your culture has failed to the extent that there are probably more getting dead rappers than there are getting ahead rappers… more getting shot… than getting hot… a lot of shooters but nobody getting ‘hits‘… and even your supposed new music is redundant … much less your new local music which is just echoing what they hear last year… is it still something to be celebrated…
When in Rome… throw people to the lions… its obvious just like the Romans gladiator coliseum wants the drama… MKE rap scene and media coverage celebrates death and violence and drama or at the very least benefits from it… there is too much drama in the MKE.
I’ll give you something positive, next time all the rappers in the city gather up, go into the studio instead of another show… get with a pound of the best weed you can find, and stay in the studio all summer, no wifes no kids, nothing but weed and the studio and only single women… and make an album about smoking weed in MKE all summer long… yes a Milwaukee Supergroup of Rappers rapping only about their experiences surrounding weed… I think you can do that… it would solve all your problems…I think. Dude, call it MilWEEDee… get me a pass for the cannabis cup bro….. medical…..peas!
To me, you are a slug in the sun. You are an ant in the afterbirth. It is your nature to do one thing correctly. Before me, you rightly tremble. But fear is not what you owe me. You owe me awe!
ALL THE COAL IN THE WORLD (DON”T MAKE NO DIAMOND)
Let me tell you about geology and love
Because all the coal in the world
Don’t make no diamond
No matter how long you wait
Forever’s too late
All that Time all that Love
Won’t make no diamond
That lump of coal ain’t worth no diamond
All that coal dust blood is hiding
All that grinding still no pearl
Ain’t no diamond in this world
All that fools ain’t real gold
Ain’t got no jewels from days of old
Two choices so your told
1 the future won the fold
Either way your feeling bold
You have strange new material
Aluminum cast from mold
Never rusts so we’re told
Cafeterial and somewhat satirical
You have some new material
People gather overtime
like Indian mounds
And bums with wine
Try and simulate your sounds
Flocking birds dressed as clowns
Kind of like mocking birds
More like sucking farts and turds
Because all the coal in the world
Don’t make no diamond
Won’t get no diamond
Forever’s too late
No matter how long you wait
Won’t get no diamond
All that Time all that Love
Won’t make no diamond
-F.E. Brewster
FunkyBrewster...If you are still out there Holla back. You hit the nail on the head....your perspective is right on point.