Meccah Maloh stays busy in the studio and prepares the MKE Pad Masters for the new season

By Dylan Deprey

Meccah Maloh is a certified “studio geek”. He lives to make music. He has an apartment, but he sleeps in his studio. He surrounds himself with instruments, drum machines, samplers and everything that makes noise, so when inspiration comes he’s good to go.

The purple neon lights bouncing off the recording booth dance on the walls of his studio, as he furiously beats a rhythm on his MPC with his finger. It is laser focused. When he is in “fashion”, he escapes reality for a second.

His work ethic is unmatched. Whether he’s at the microphone or behind the boards, he’s not looking to be the best in Milwaukee, he wants to be the best in the world.

After losing his mother and having a frightening battle with COVID-19 in 2020, he’s made it his mission to add as many accolades as possible to his ever-growing resume. From managing the MKE Pad Masters National Beat Battle Team to securing a spot on the Bucks Drum Line, it’s been 100% hard work and creativity.

The Milwaukee Courier met with Maloh to discuss new plans and the upcoming season for the Milwaukee Pad Masters and the National Beat Battle Association (NBBA).

“Right now I’m working on five projects at the same time,” he said. “I don’t punch a clock, I have no children, I only have time.”

Mecah Maloh is bringing some big hitters for the new season for the National Beat Battle Association. (Photo courtesy of MKE Pad Masters)

He plans to release a production compilation tape that showcases the tracks he has made with local artists. He also plans to release his full hip-hop album, which is primarily produced by him and features local and national artists.

Taking inspiration from West Coast legend DJ Quik, he decided to make a more jazz-based live-instrumental album based on his favorite producer’s “Quik’s Groove” series.

“I didn’t want to get caught up in the whole ‘you’re just a sample producer’ talk, it’s like ‘no I’m a musician’,” he said.

He said some days he’s a whirlwind in the studio. It goes from bass to drums to synths and lets the music almost create itself.

While planning his own plans, he has also stacked the MKE Pad Masters for the upcoming 2022 NBBA season. After narrowly missing out on the title for the first official NBBA season, Maloh said the MKE Pad Masters needed of an even larger arsenal.

He brought in former beat battle contender and super producer GodXilla, as well as multi-faceted hip-hop instrumentalist Klassik. He also added R&B singer and producer Jlyn Rose.

Back in the team, Chefboi JC, Elete Trax, Fearjoy, Lito Dose, Pharoah Gahmoe, tOOneBeatz, Tuan G and Scott Summers.

“The team we have, I don’t see us losing,” he said. “Other cities just have producers on their team, we have the best producers and musicians in our city on our team.”

The fights are virtual again this year, and he said this season they put more emphasis on the performance aspect. The new season begins on January 22, 2022.

“We were playing at a very high level last season, but this year we are building up the pressure,” he said. “One point made the difference last year, and we want to kick ** this season.”

For more information on the new releases and the new season, visit Meccah Maloh and the National Beat Battle Association on social media.