L.A.’s Team Supreme Turned Beat-Making Into a Game—and You Can Too
Jack London once said that you have to go after inspiration with a club. To that end, Team Supreme created one.
For two years, the Los Angeles-based DJ/producer collective has produced innumerable hours of forward-thinking electronic music through their weekly beat cyphers, which they release for free online. While the sounds are diverse, their output is a reflection of this “anything goes” moment in the electronic underground. The group makes little to no money from its efforts, and their rapid expansion and rise in acclaim are second only to their growth as artists, as friends, and as a locally grown musical community. Simply put, these guys are an L.A. underground phenomenon.
"I don’t even know what I’d sound like if it weren’t for Team Supreme."
Born out of a night of beat-making in 2011, Team Supreme began when Dane Morris, who performs as Great Dane, challenged himself and friend/fellow producer Preston James (Virtual Boy, Penthouse Penthouse) to compose a one-minute beat in one hour using a set BPM and vocal samples from The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems.” Their results were unusually good, and before long, more producer friends were making beats using these same rules. James made a mix of all these beats and uploaded it online under the name Team Supreme—taken, of course, from the sampled Biggie lyric, “My team supreme, stay clean/triple beam lyrical dream, I be that.”
“At first, we were thinking of calling it ‘Beat Farm,’” James says, laughing. “I’m kind of glad we didn’t roll with that.”
Shortly after the initial cypher, 17 Team Supreme members (all friends, or friends of friends) were selected, and the official rules were reworked into their current form.
To start, the one-hour time limit was lifted, and the week-to-week guidelines varied in even more creative ways. One week, for instance, contributors were only allowed to make their beat with an 808 drum kit. Another week, they had to rap (even the ones who couldn’t rap at all) over their beats. For several cyphers, members had to adhere to odd time signatures. They’ve also had guests—including the venerable DJ Shadow—provide the rules.
These constant curve balls have served as a sort of beat-making boot camp, helping Team Supreme members improve as artists, and affording them the opportunity to work on music they may not have otherwise. “Basically everything I’ve learned has been through Team Supreme, through all my producer friends, and all the people that submit beats,” Morris says, just days removed from performing in Canada with L.A. DJ/producer Gaslamp Killer. “I don’t even know what I’d sound like if it weren’t for Team Supreme.”
In addition to their weekly cyphers, Team Supreme holds monthly shows in Los Angeles. The fan base has recently outgrown two smaller venues, forcing Team Supreme to the more spacious Echoplex—the revered indie venue on the eastside of town, which they frequently sell out. With members representing various local labels, Team Supreme strengthens both their own brand and others’ with each show. At any one of their monthlies, you’re likely to see supporters from L.A.’s revered “beat scene” bastion Low End Theory, which many Team Supreme members have played numerous times.
On May 24, Team Supreme held their two-year anniversary show at the Echoplex. A majority of the collective performed, each sporting Team Supreme tees and commemorative bling around their necks. The depth and diversity of their roster was readily apparent. After producer Snorlax played bass guitar over his carnivalesque beats, Penthouse Penthouse delivered their funk-laden suites with producer and multi-instrumentalist Tk Kayembe on drums. Then, Great Dane nearly destroyed the sound system with his barrage of low-end-heavy, hip-hop-inflected bangers. The seemingly inexhaustible variety continued when Kenny Segal brought out a coterie of rappers affiliated with famed rap collective Project Blowed.
As a result of all the exposure they’ve received, Team Supreme members have become increasingly busy with other projects. Mr. Carmack, for example, recently produced “Webbie Flow,” a song on the debut EP from Top Dawg Entertainment rapper and 2014 XXL Freshman Isaiah Rashad. Team Supreme beats have been incorporated into several Diplo & Friends BBC Radio 1Xtra mixes. They’ve also opened up the cyphers to producers all over the world. Potential contributors need only look at the weekly guidelines on the Team Supreme Facebook page and send their beats to James, who has selected and compiled each mix for two years running. “We like to find people who have a very unique sound, people who are just doing music that represents them,” James says. While submissions were initially sparse, he now receives over 100 each week.
For now, all 110 mixes are currently available for listening/downloading on SoundCloud. [https://soundcloud.com/beatteamsupreme] Many are also on YouTube, which allows listeners to see who produced each beat as the mix plays. “My personal favorites are pretty early [mixes],” Morris says. “It’s just this time capsule of people progressing. It’s super rare.”
And while Team Supreme’s fan base has grown exponentially, all the original heads remain. “When we go to these shows, not only is it a family reunion for us,” Morris says, “but also, I recognize almost half of the crowd every time.”
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