HiTech Is Ready to Shake Miami Up

"Straight debauchery." That's what Detroit trip-hop trio HiTech expects when they come to play Miami for the first time on Friday at the Ground. The group will bring its signature ghettotech sound to the 305 in hopes of getting the party started during Club Space's reopening weekend.

Rappers King Milo and Milf Melly, alongside DJ 47Chops, have been a part of the techno scene that has been underrepresented to an extent. HiTech's bass-heavy, fast-paced sound is impeccably infectious and sure to keep you grooving.

"Our presentation came very naturally, bro. It naturally did what it was supposed to do," Milo tells New Times. "When I was rapping beforehand, I had an approach on how to present myself in front of people. Chops was a DJ, and Melly was in a group as well. We kinda felt out Detroit, but we didn't know how it was gonna be perceived everywhere. But we just was doing what we did, and it just let it flow naturally."

That authentic yet unique approach has allowed each of them to shine in their own way, with Milo and Melly making sure to get the crowd hyped up and energized during every live performance.

"I think it's just like niggas just give each other room to do what we trying to do, but we make each other be better at what we're doing," Milo explains. "We got to make each other strive for more. And the dynamic is, I guess, just more of a personality-based thing instead of a work ethic thing. Like we don't be sitting down, like building a relationship off of how we make music. We build a relationship off of how we see each other as people, and then we move forward in that."

"It's just easier being in a group than just being by yourself," Melly adds. "'Cause you know, you get lost in the sauce real quick and shit. We just seen some shit, and we just glad that we just got each other to depend on. And if we see one of us slacking, we'll just tell the other person, 'Yo! You gotta get that shit together.' So being in the group is way better than being solo in the industry."
With such an expansive sonic palette, HiTech's influence comes from many different sources. The members call out Future, Playboi Carti, Kendrick Lamar, and Pharrell as some of the acts they admire. Still, they are acutely aware of where their ghettotech roots come from.

"Ghettotech, in its essence, is like Detroit. It's Chicago. It's like all that shit from DJ Rashad to like Assault and Slugo," Milo says.

47Chops, who is hanging back, pipes up to tell New Times about his appreciation for jazz music. Melly, on the other hand, is a big fan of SoundCloud, thanks to its ability to help find a broader range of music. "SoundCloud has a very influential part in my taste of music because sometimes you just let it rip, and you'll just find some shit, especially from 2016 and up," Melly shares.

For the uninitiated, ghettotech coalesced in the late '90s and is a mixture of Chicago's ghetto house, techno from Detriot, and, of course, Miami bass. Thanks to DJs and crews like HiTech, the genre has gained traction among a new generation of listeners, who have found music from veteran acts such as DJ Assault, DJ Godfather, and MCR-T.

"I would say people definitely are educating themselves more on the genre and even Detroit and what's going on in the city. I feel like the sound is being embraced more like on flyers or just DJs spinning the shit overall. That's pretty cool as well," Chops adds.

Milo has a more bawdy take on how the genre has evolved. "People are starting to be OK with talking about how they get government checks or shorties being more prone to shake ass," he posits. "They're like talking about how they been shaking their ass or what kind of g-string they wearing or what the room smell like after sex — funny shit like that. People are starting to pop out with these crazy statements in the music. The people making the music think about dancing now, so BPMs are more of a conversation than they ever were before."
Much of ghettotech's influence stems from Miami bass, which is why the parties and raves that HiTech plays are reminiscent of the shows in the early '90s where the 2 Live Crew and Poison Clan would perform.

"Everybody's ready to party, bro. Everybody's ready to embrace and kill club culture with us because, to be honest, man, it's too much of the same thing going on and not enough of breaking the neck. Like we need necks broken. We need ass shaking, dick swinging, juices flowing, liquor poured," Milo says. 'Everything that you can think to happen positively and consensually because it's supposed to be a safe space, but ultimately, we want it to be a party and the one that you don't forget."

Despite their rowdy nature, HiTech ultimately wants to give off positive vibes.

"The goal is just to get everybody to be easier on each other, bro. Be a little more personal," Milo adds. "If we can make that happen and people talk about it, ghettotech is the thing that pushed it, that moved it, that tilted the needle toward this direction."

Nia Archives. With Maleigh Zan, HiTech, and Sel.6. 11 p.m. Friday, September 20, at the Ground, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; thegroundmiami.com. Tickets cost $10 to $20 via dice.fm.