Resetting the metronome: Philly beatmakers build community through monthly meet-ups

Dan Brightcliffe knows the isolation of beatmaking. All the hours spent fixed to an MPC drum machine or needling through sample packages on a laptop can be grim even for the most withdrawn of producers.

To forge a culture of collaboration, Brightcliffe, 33, and fellow producer Quinton “Q No Rap Name” Johnson, 30, host Flipabeatclub, a monthly beatmaking event that is generating buzz and building community in Philly’s music scene.

Since August, Johnson and Brightcliffe have drawn producers to Cratediggaz Records to create hip-hop, house, and electronic beats in tandem. Some dig into their vinyl collection, and others use computer programs or phone apps, but what brings them together is their love of beatmaking and eagerness to connect.

Philly’s FABC looks to reset the metronome by bridging the gap between artists and producers, and expanding the club’s reach beyond the city’s borders.

“There really hasn’t been much of an outlet for people who make sample-based music,” said Brightcliffe, who produces under the name “Philth Spector.” “It seems like there’s a slight disconnect between the people who make beats and the people who rap, which is one of our goals outside of just giving producers a platform and a network to create.”

Producer Matt “$LiMs” Leahey, who has been a part of the Philly club since its inception, said FABC is etching a path for beatmakers who create boom-bap and lo-fi tracks, and veer away from the trap-heavy sound of mainstream rap. The monthly meetups are also big for Philly rappers, many of whom haven’t caught the same gleam as artists in other cities with hip-hop influence.

“I think [FABC is] really important because Philly doesn’t have much of a hip-hop scene in the same way that Atlanta, New York, or L.A. [does],” Leahey, 21, said. “Most rappers in Philly that I’ve seen come up in the last decade — except for superstars like Lil Uzi Vert, Meek Mill, and others — don’t really break out of Philly.”

Leahey said the same problem goes for the local beat scene. But with the presence of FABC, he’s confident things will turn around.

Bob Fisk, who owns Cratediggaz, said FABC is the grounds from which producers can perfect their craft and form connections with Philly rappers, songwriters, and singers. And in time, breathe new life into the city’s soundscape.

“There’s so much talent in the city, it’s crazy,” Fisk, 39, said. “There’s always been the existence of it. New York had the clubs, but we always had the talent.”

At each meetup, club members craft a beat from a chosen sample, then play their records on a Zoom call with FABC chapters in L.A., Toronto, D.C., and Sacramento. And at the end of each month, their beats are packaged as a compilation and released on Bandcamp.

The Sacramento club is helmed by FABC founders Donell McGary and Armando Montesinos, better known as “Dibia$e” and “Mon$rock,” who started the beatmaking network in November 2021.

Back then, only a handful of creatives met at Sacramento record store Twelves Wax for a session. But after a surge in COVID-19 cases, McGary and Montesinos moved the sessions to Zoom, which quickly drew in viewers like Brightcliffe and others from countries as far as Tasmania and Turkey.

“Being a hip-hop producer has always been guarded, like you don’t share your secrets,” said Montesinos, 43. “But it’s important to spread love, connect with people, and have those interactions.”

One of the club’s original members was Johnson, a Dallas native, who used to drive from Vallejo to Sacramento to make beats alongside McGary and Montesinos when he lived in the Bay Area. Before he moved back to Philly, Johnson talked to Montesinos about bringing the FABC brand to the East Coast.

Johnson, unsure of the new chapter’s direction, met Brightcliffe at the first event in Philly, and brought him on as a cohost. Inspired by the Sacramento club’s success, Johnson wants to bring Philly’s beatmaking sessions to a live audience.

“They built like a Wu-Tang of beatmakers out there,” the Mount Airy resident said. “I don’t know if it was planned this way, but now they have built up a lineup if they ever want to do a show … Our plan is to do something similar.”

Philly FABC member Gregory Bissell, 29, said he saw the chapter’s growth in attendance and impact after just three meetups.

The Louisville, Ky., native, who started making beats in 2020 to pass the time in quarantine, said the club’s beatmakers have already collaborated on shows with local artists. And with more members, showcases, and meetups outside Cratediggaz, he believes the music scene can reach new heights.

As FABC looks to stretch its reach even further, McGary, 46, said Brightcliffe, Johnson, and other chapter leaders just need to stay the course.

“There’s a five-year plan,” he said. “If we do this, and we do it well for the next five years, it will do wonders. It’s only going to magnify.”