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Beat Fights Fight #689: Bangaz By Boon vs. P.A.T.  [Fight Ends: 5 days, 50 minutes left]
Beat Fights Fight #688: V.J. Retro vs. DJ Excellence  [Fight Ends: 3 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes left]
Beat Fights Fight #687: Kane the MOD vs. Fury Beats  [Fight Ends: 9 hours left]

Warzone Beat Battle - May 19-23, 2026

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Fade

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
The next battle will be from May 19-23rd! See the information below.

Signups

The signups will be on May 19th at 12pm ET, and end around 8pm ET, or until we reach 16 contestants (whichever comes first).
Voting will be each day from 8am ET to 7pm ET.

Check out the Warzone ranks: https://www.illmuzik.com/beat-battles/ranks/cat/war/

*Note: check out https://www.worldtimebuddy.com to find out the correct time difference for your timezone.

The upload page will close at 8pm ET!

The Signup page is here (it will open up on the signup day)​

Theme: NONE
Time Limit: 2 minutes
*Vocal Track Allowed?: NO
**Vocal Snippets Allowed?: YES

===========
* VOCAL TRACK ALLOWED? This means you can have a full vocal track with your beat (acapella, for example).
** VOCAL SNIPPETS ALLOWED? This means you can have vocal snippets in your beat (very short vocal parts, for example). This is where you can also have an intro with talking (like from a movie).
===========

Rounds

*All times are in Eastern Time.
*Note: After each round, the numbers that won will be posted in this thread.
  • Round 1: Day 1 - 8am to 7pm
  • Round 2: Day 2 - 8am to 7pm
  • Round 3: Day 3 - 8am to 7pm
  • Round 4: Day 4 - 8am to 7pm
  • Results: 7:10pm

Rules

If you're not sure about the rules, read this thread.

Voting Criteria

You can use whatever sounds you want, samples, synths, just remember to read the rules for the rest of the restrictions. What the judges will be looking for is originality, creativity, mixing skills and overall dopeness!

If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions about the competition, please post them in here.

warzone_flyer2026051923.jpg
 
Iron Keys

Iron Keys

ILLIEN MBAPPÉ
Great work, gentleman.

Not sure whose my favorite was, particularly liked @Leopard Cohen 's drums though.

I'm going to hazard a guess his may have been my favorite as I accidentally tried to vote for it whilst viewing results :LOL:
 
BiggChev

BiggChev

StormBourneMusic
Congrats @Stan1 - It's been a while since I've given one of your beats a listen; and I'm impressed with the improvement on your mix. I also think you did a better job with the arrangment. Distilling a beat into a 2 minute format can be hard. Your beat had a good flow in terms of energy and transitions. The gritty diatonic vibe with minor seconds is always cool to me, but can be challenging to work around. The use of the "eastern" scale for the main melody was a nice way to build on it. I love me a dusty break beat, so the drums pulled me in right away. This is probably the best beat I've heard from you...but the mix (while a marked improvement) still sounds "thin" and a bit "amateurish." Regardless, the arrangement flowed well, the sound selection gelled decently, and the beat as a whole had some captivating qualities (in terms if melody and transitions).

@Dodgy John - I really, really wanted to like this beat. Actually, I DID like this 'beat." I did NOT like the vocals...as much as I tried to. I genuinely appreciate the artistic decision, but 1) the vocals sounded slightly out of key...not entirely, but enough to disconnect the listening experience to my ear. I liked the sample choice and the chops, but the vocals take priority in the mix. The drum pattern, chops, and filter sweeps were all well done, but lose impact being buried behind the vocals. Overall, a very cool idea; executed 5/10 of the way there. Aside from my thoughts about the vocals, I feel like a more 'confident' mix would really accentuate the core elements and groove of this beat - for example the bass line. It took me 3 listens to really catch the nice, groovy bass line you had. This is the first beat of yours I've heard - and I'm excited to hear more - as I think you have some good sample chop instincts.

@COOL J. - This is a vibe! For what it's worth; I DON'T like trap and I DON'T like 808s...but I REALLY enjoyed this beat! Despite my dislike for 808s, specifically 808s as bass lines, I loved what you did here. There's a raw, industrial quality to this track - ironically a soul/character - something I find this genre typically lacks. The SFX, ear candy, and sonic "sprinkles" really brought this beat to life. I think the mix is nice (again, not my style, so not critical). Sound selection is good, as every element fits together cohesively to support an intentional, overall sound. This sound like if Trent Reznor tried to make a trap beat -- which is a compliment!

@Leopard Cohen - I am entirely convinced that your are some sort of Caribbean Voodoo Priest! What you do with drums/percs is pure groove, vibe, and hypnosis. I'm sure I've said it several times before, but you have the best rhythm sections on your beats across ALL of the Ill. Then, you put these sharp, jagged, stepping drums/percs against these smooth ass reeds, and samples with a receptive tribal quality --- pure hypnosis, almost entrapping! The space and dimension of this joint - man, it's a poignant experience. I feel like I'm sitting in the centre of a drum circle surrounded by hippy poets reading my Zoarstrian horoscope lol. I always enjoy your music. Sick!

@DJ Excellence - Just my luck I get matched up against you!?!? LOL. I'm a sucker for cinematic/orchestral beats, so you got my props (despite knocking me out of the tournament lol.) There's not much to say, arrangement has a good flow and progression. While the mix is nice and pristine, I feel like it may be too consistent. There are a lot of really tactfully done energy/dynamic shifts that make this beat very interesting...it all just happens to be at a high energy/volume. Now, the fact that I still picked up on the 'lifts" means you managed to convey them effectively...a hyper nit-pick, but that's the one thing I think that takes this from a "beat" to a "composition." Also - fuck you for knocking me out lol.

@BiggChev - I'll be a bit introspective here -- I missed on the mix. So much so, I was compelled to go back and re-mix this after uploading. I am however, happy with the arrangement. I typically struggle with B-Sections/Choruses and tying ideas/themes together - something I think I managed half decently here. For anyone that's interested there are only 3 samples on this beat, for a total of 5 actual notes. I've been trying ti develop a sound that is reminiscent of that 90s 12-Bit crunch AND "collage of samples." I've been writing, sampling, and re-sampling my own original licks and would love some honest feedback/insights from the community.

@Kane the MOD - I like every individual element of this beat; the drum sounds, and their groove. The sample selection, and chops. The bass, and the tone, vocals and the atmosphere that comes with them...all VERY cool! I just don't think they blend together as well as they should. This beat has that Sp1200, early 90s, collage of sounds "Sound" just not the cohesivness or thematic glue. There are a few pieces I don't think jive harmonically. And, while I love the "collage of samples" style, I do think they need to be massaged together a bit. Every sample/chop on here sounds like it's living exclusively in it's own lane sonically. Its a style that can work, and has a cool character, but blending the edges together may help ties it all together.

@P.A.T. - I knew this was you as soon as I heard those nylon strings! Full disclosure, I think this beat should have won. You already know I think you're the melody king. This is one of your best mixes (at least from what I've heard) and of course, the musicianship is phenomenal. No notes, no feedback and could possibly improve this beat. Very, VERY, well done!
 
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