Midwest Hip Hop - Milwaukee

Milwaukee

Milwaukee hip hop dates back to the early 80’s. Until the end of the 1990s, the Milwaukee scene was largely confined to the city’s North Side. However, as members of the hip hop generation began to attend college in the early 2000s, cultural organizations at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee began to invite acts such as Talib Kweli to perform on the East Side campus. The success of these shows led to local groups with similar followings, such as Black Elephant and Rusty P’s being booked for on-campus sets as well. This, in turn, opened the door for the local acts to play off-campus venues on the East Side such as Onopa (now Stonefly) Shank Hall, Up & Under and BBC that had previously been off limits to hip hop (presumably due to the stereotypes associated with such crowds).

Meanwhile, Memphis club music was rapidly finding its way to Milwaukee’s North Side via Southern transplants and North Siders who either had relatives and/or attended college in the area. During this time Coo Coo Cal, who had a more typical Midwestern quick-tongued style (albeit, with a noticeably slower delivery) enjoyed moderate commercial success with his debut single “My Projects” and the follow-up “How Does It Feel”. The result is a more artistically driven scene that is centered on the East Side, and a more commercially driven scene that is centered on the North Side .

The East Side scene is characterized by socially and politically charged lyrics, neo-soul influences and the relatively common use of live instrumentation. Conversely, the North Side scene is characterized by its gritty lyrics, southern club music influences and willingness to follow commercial trends.

Acts such as Rico Love, and Gerald Walker have had (or been featured on) moderately successful singles and mixtapes in recent years. Streetz-n-Young Deuces, 2006 Get 'Em Magazine Award Winners, have gained national support with the release of their mixtapes. .

88.9 Radio Milwaukee has acknowledged several hip hop artists during their Milwaukee Music Awards including artists such as ¡¡OYE!!, Klassik, and Prophetic.

For the past several years, Milwaukee has hosted a local event called The Miltown Beatdown which served as a beat showcase/battle for local area producers. This has been another tool that has helped to join the North and East side styles together. Milwaukee is also the founding city of the largest DJ organization in the world, The Core DJ's (founder, Milwaukee native & DJ, Tony Neal)