QWEEN BEAT mixtapes piece for FACT Mag

My latest ballroom piece for FACT Magazine is a look at 3 recent mixtpes put out by heavy hitters at MikeQ's Qween Beat label - namely Beek, Byrell The Great and Divoli S'Vere:

What Brick Bandits are to Jersey club and what Teklife is to footwork, Qween Beat is to ballroom.

That is, unquestionably the number one production and djing crew, who set the standard for the music and culture in a scene that’s currently booming in popularity.

Headed up by the formidable MikeQ, resident at New York’s weekly dance showdown Vogue Knights and recording artist for LA’s Fade To Mind, Qween Beat counts among their ranks a dozen different members, with skills ranging from the usual production and remixing, to DJing and MCing (in particular the uptempo, in-your-face styles known as “commentating” and “chanting”, unique to ballroom and distinct from other rap-based vocal forms).

This past summer, three of the main members of Qween Beat – Divoli S’Vere, Beek and Byrell The Great – have all released their latest mixtape installments, showcasing each producer’s individual style and their take on the ballroom sound. While the genre is very much rooted in ’90s house and current East coast American club styles – with recognisable signifiers like the Kenlou “HA”/krash and vocal snippets from the like of Kevin Aviance (“cun-ty”) and Loleatta Holloway (the instantly recognisable “woop” vocal from Armand Van Helden’s “Witchdoktor”) – there is much more to ballroom than just a specific set of samples married to a minimalist club/house aesthetic.

I spoke to Divoli, Beek and Byrell to get the low down on what makes a track “ballroom”, but also to find out how exactly these talented producers differ from each other, and what else the Qween Beat crew has in store for us in the future.

READ THE REST HERE. 

The QWEEN BEAT interviews pt 1: BEEK

QWEEN BEAT is the ballroom production family headed up by Mike Q, and featuring some of the most talented young producers/MCs in vogue life. Some of these folks I have wanted to cover here on CVNTY for a while, so I have decided to do a QWEEN BEAT special series, featuring interviews with three of my favourite artists from that camp. 

Kicking things off it's Anthonyy "BEEK" Badon, a young MC/producer beginning to make serious waves with his tracks and mixes. A supporter of CVNT Traxxx since the very beginning, it seems only right to start off this series of interviews with BEEK, and to showcase his mixtape for Brother Sister Records, which features the best of his own producitons and remixes.

Who is Beek?

Beek is a Southern-Raised, Loud-Mouthed, Know-It-All who is always in some type of mess. Beek gets away with most things that I, Anthonyy, can't.

How do you describe what you do? 

I would describe what I do as an “eargasmic experience.”

How did you get involved with the whole ballroom scene? 

Honestly, just like many other people, YouTube! I started watching clips on YouTube and pretty much fell in love with it.

And what do you think of the ballroom scene now in 2013? 

I think it's going just a strong as before.
 
Can you explain for our readers the different types of "MCing" (commentating, chanting, etc) used in ballroom, and how these are different and might have developed? 

Commentating and Chanting are basically the same things. The Commentator is the MC who does the chanting. Chanting is repeating a short set of words.

How did you arrive at your own, quite unique, style? Both in terms of production and vocally? 

Well, I've always had my own personal way of writing and producing my music. But starting out I was afraid of how the world would perceive it. So I listened to other artist's music and mimicked their kick patterns and such. After a while people started comparing Divoli S'vere & I's style, and said we were “too similar.” That was when I knew I had to change it up and be myself.

What is your favourite production you have been involved in? 

My fav production has to be working with Sugur Shane on “Ckuntie”. 

Who are your favourite ballroom MC? 

My Fav is of course: B. Ames, I don't know if she is even considered an MC or not. We'll just call her a vocalist.

How did you get involved with Qween Beat? 

Well, I didn't really know exactly what Qween Beat was before I met my good friend B. Ames. After I started making ballroom tracks for fun he told me about the group of talented ballroom producers that he was apart of and helped me prepare my first mixtape to send to over to MikeQ.

What does Qween Beat mean to you/ how would you describe it? 

I would say Qween Beat is like a family. A family built of different people, from different parts of the globe brought together by their love for fabulous music.

What does the future hold for Qween Beat? 

I see a successful future for Qween Beat. Once everything is right and the ball starts rolling there's no stopping it.
 
Can you explain for the readers what "cunt" means in ballroom? 

“Cunt” is a mindset, a feeling. A feeling of empowerment!

BEEK's mix for Brother Sister Records.



1. Beek - Pulse (Witch Dokter Stomp Remix)
2. Kimbra - Settle Down (Beek Remix)
3. B. Ames - Like, Really Cunt (B. Ames Jersey Club Remix)
4. Beek - Blow Ya Smoke (Higher)
5. French Fries - Yo Vogue (Beek Remix)
6. Beek - Boom-Chiki-Boom (ft. Buddah)
7. Beek - JNGLFeevah 8. Beek - Feel It! [UNRELEASED EXCLUSIVE]
9. Beek - Like This, Like That
10. Beyonce/Kelis - The Naughty Milkshake (A Beek Mix)
11. Britney Spears - Toxic [UNRELEASED EXCLUSIVE]
11. Beyonce - End Of Time (Beek Remix) [EXTENDED VERSION]
12. Beek - Ckuntie (ft. Sugur Shane)
13. Beek x Divoli - Give It To Me Pt. 1
14. $1 Bin x Kilbourne - Hey Hoe (Beek Remix)