Beat Battles: What are They and Why are They Important? Logan Vinluan

“During the Fall Semester of 2024/2025, AOTA partnered with Professor Cristian Labaren Sanchez and his RCAH Community Engagement Course at MSU.

Part of that partnership included a team of Social Media Interns. One of their projects was to create blog posts centered around topics that many ask questions about when they hear about our work.

Please enjoy the following topic written by Logan Vinluan, RCAH Social Media Intern”

If you're anything like me, until recently, you may have had no idea that beat battles existed. Sure, I knew about beat making, but the idea of a “battle” was very foreign to me.

Beat Battles are described as “A type of music rhythm game in which you compete with others to create the best beat. The genre is derived from the competitive nature of hip-hop music, and the games typically feature a wide variety of hip-hop tracks.”

Simple enough, yeah? Like any competition, beat battles serve as a healthy way to mediate conflict and engage in some natural competition. Additionally, beat battles provide artists great opportunities to show their skills and receive feedback from other beatmakers.

Constructive criticism, inspiration, personal growth, new listening environment, networking, motivation, free advertising, and prizes are just a few of the things people serve to gain from participating in a beat battle.

After hearing all that, I’m sure you’d like to get involved in a beat battle. Whether going as a listener or participant, a beat battle is a great way to build community with your local music scene and other artists.

Lucky for you, beat battles are super attainable. From the grand scale like OkayPlayer to small community events and virtual forums, there’s a diverse range of styles, such as; live tournament style (in a club setting), message board/forum style, submissions, live beat making, and producer competitions.

Additionally, every year AOTA hosts “The Jump Off”, a professional beat-making competition right here in Downtown Lansing. This year it’s happening on Saturday, May 17th, on 517 Day at AOTA. They are also in the process of holding space for producers in an open session style, starting in the next few months.