Beatboxing is the art of vocal percussion. Although the term beatboxing derived from hip hop culture, it is not limited to hip hop music.It is primarily concerned with the art of producing drum beats, rhythm,and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and more. Itmay also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments. It is a form of vocal music, etymologically related to scat singing and puirt a beul.
The term beatboxing most likely refers to early drum machines which came with pre-programmed musical patterns.[citation needed]
The simplest and stereotyped beatboxing pattern is as follows:
However, this pattern may be unrecognizable in more elaborated and skilled beatboxing.
History of beatboxing
The technique and the art of replicating percussion sounds withone's voice is thought to be conceived in India several thousands yearsago, and the Chinese developed Kouji which was one kind of vocal percussion performing arts. These had little relation with hip hop,however, and are not related to modern Western beatboxing. This kind ofsound-simulating technique is called humming and chanting. Beatboxingis currently experiencing a second wind, thanks in part to the likes ofartists like Rahzel and Kenny Muhammad, who have carried the artform across the world. In 2002, the documentary Breath Control: The History of the Human Beatbox premiered. It is a history of the art form that includes interviews with Doug E. Fresh, Emanon, Biz Markie, Marie Daulne of Zap Mama, Kyle Faustino and others.
Beatboxing's early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Buffy from the Fat Boys. Doug E. Fresh is credited for being the first "human beatbox,"[1] and Barry B for coining the term along with Buffy perfecting the art.[2] The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes.
[edit] Vocal percussionists
Throughout a series of concerts in 1969, most notably at The Fillmore East in NYC, John Mayall (formerly the frontman for "The Bluesbreakers") with a new band introduced an acoustic style of the Blues[citation needed].Without drums and, for the most part electric guitars, Mayall and theband included a tune called "Room to Move" which included a middlesection of pure beatboxing predating and outdoing almost every otherfuture attempt at this style short of Bobby McFerrin's "Don't worry, be happy" almost twenty years later. The Mayall concerts were recorded on an album called "Turning Point".
In 1970, British band Mungo Jerry released In the Summertime,eventually selling 23 million copies worldwide. An interesting quirk ofthe track is that no traditional percussion is used, with all rhythmicand incidental percussion generated by the vocalist(s)[citation needed].
Viv Fisher,a frustrated amateur British musician and sound engineer released a 7"vinyl single of multivocal work in 1978, entitled "Blaze Away,"performing as "Me, Myself and Me Again," on which he performed allparts of a brass band, additionally using multitracking techniques to satisfy his desire for an accurate portrayal of the many instruments and depth of sound in a real brass band.
Mbube is a style of close harmony choral singing, originating in Africa. One of its components is the vocal representation of percussion and bass sounds by one or more members of a choir. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a well known group performing in this style and have been releasing music in this genre since 1973.
[edit] The early eighties
The art form enjoyed a strong presence in the 1980s. Many people's introduction to the art form came when Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick released "La Di Da Di." However, the Fat Boys"Stick Em" and the album on which it appeared, "The Fat Boys," wasreleased in January 1984, one year before the "La Di Da Di" single,which appeared as a B-side to "The Show" in 1985. (The rap communityand beyond celebrated Buffy's heavy-breathing style on "Stick Em.") TheFat Boys' movies (such as Disorderlies) introduced the art form to a wider audience as well.
[edit] The 90s
In many ways, beatboxing fell off the radar along with breakdancing in the late '80s; it almost slipped even deeper than the underground[citation needed].Though many people kept the art form alive on the streets, in ciphers,within B-boy circles, and in showers, it didn't re-emerge until Rahzel"the Godfather of Noyze" released "Make the Music 2000," which is thefirst album focused primarily on beatboxing. The title is a referenceto "Make the Music With Your Mouth," one of the first recordedbeatboxing tracks by the hip hop sensation Biz Markie. (Markie also achieved moderate success with his single "Just A Friend.")
In the mid-'90s, Rahzel proved a versatile entertainer. He was formerly the vocal DJ for The Roots,a group that contributed to the popularity of live instrumentation inhip hop. Not only did he help put beatboxing back onto the stage, heintroduced its modern form, an impressive if not awe-inspiringcombination of polyrhythms, vocal scratching, and simultaneous lines ofmelody, rhythm, and singing. Rahzel himself acknowledges that hecombined his influences of pioneer Doug E. Fresh, jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and sound effect master Michael Winslow (of Police Academy fame) to give rise to his modern format.
On "If Your Mother Only Knew," a beatboxing sample of Rahzel, hewows an audience by singing and beatboxing simultaneously—a feat nowconsidered easy by the growing young beatboxing community. On severaltracks, he introduced the idea of simulating turntable scratches withhis throat, something even underground beatboxers upholding the artform through the lean years hadn't even heard until the album's release[citation needed].
Using his commercial appeal, Rahzel paved the way for beatboxing'smigration to the center of the stage, both literally andmetaphorically. In its beginning, beatboxing was relegated to asupporting role or gimmick, like a side show. With beatboxing'sincreased popularity, Rahzel began touring the country [citation needed] doing solo shows.
Many amateur beatboxers express frustration with Rahzel receivingmost of the attention and being known as the best beatboxer in the world[citation needed].Though many well-practiced amateur and professional beatboxers possessdifferent levels of skill, each one brings something different to theform. As Carlo Aguirre (also known as Infinite), a beatboxer and MCfrom San Francisco's famed Felonious says, "Each person has a different instrument."[citation needed]
Other well-known, seminal beatboxers whose work is well known throughout the international beatboxing community include Queens's Kenny Muhammad (also known as Kenny X, The Human Orchestra); Philadelphia's Scratch, beatboxer for the Roots; Killa Kela, one of Europe's finest; Click Tha Supah Latin, an MC and beatboxer located in Los Angeles; Shlomo, who has collaborated with Björk; MC Squared, an internationally renowned 5-time winner of Showtime at the Apollo; RoxorLoops from Beatoxic Crew; Each who is a key organiser with the Vowel Movement located in California; "mouthdrummer" Wes Carroll of The House Jacks, also located in California; and Canada's own scratch pioneer Poizunus[citation needed].Others have played important roles in bringing the artform to largecommunities outside of hip hop including Radioactive wformerly ofSpearhead and Kid Beyond.
[edit] The four elements
The last track on Rahzel's CD 'Make The Music 2000' is a track withhis "If Your Mother Only Knew" routine. But it contains a hidden bonustrack, which is a 'Man vs. Machine' which he and Kenny Muhammad (HumanOrchestra) vs. turntablists DJ Skribble and DJ Slinky. The song iswidely referred to by most beatboxers as The Four Elements.
- The first element is Earth (performed by Rahzel), using basic beatboxing techniques with a dry 'taste,' in a fairly simple beat pattern.
- The second element is Wind (performed by Kenny Muhammad), acomplex and fast beat with words in it said in a very low voice. It hasa stormy character. Wind is probably the most popular beatbox routine.It is a cover of the song "Nummern" ("Numbers") by the German group Kraftwerk.
- The third element is Fire (performed by Rahzel). It is theonly element containing sounds that were not produced by the humanmouth. Fire is a cover of "Rock The Bells" by LL Cool J.
- The fourth and last element is Water (performed by KennyMuhammad). It is one of the most popular amongst beatboxers after thewind. The sounds are punchy and fast. Water is a cover of a tune called"Funky Drummer" by James Brown.
Increasingly, The Four Elements is becoming a very popular concept within the beatboxing community.[citation needed]
[edit] Major centers
[edit] New York City
New York City is the birthplace of the art and still home to many ofthe world's most original and impressive beatboxers. These includeBuffy of The Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh, Rahzel, Kenny Muhammad, MC Squared, Matisyahu, DOA,Masai Electro Baba Israel, Yo-yo Beats, D-Cross and many others. In2002 Kid Lucky created Beatboxer Entertainment, an organization tounite NYC's beatboxers, which has since grown to include beatboxersnationally. New York City is arguably an epicenter for beatboxingculture as the New York scene continues to produce some of the besttalents in the world. Quite notable are Adam Matta, Shockwave (ChrisSullivan) and Chesney Snow. Adam Matta who is currently an "Artist inResidence" at Cornell University, is noted for his vocal instrumentalsincluding brass, beats, vocal scratches/turntablism, and mechanicalsound effects, Matta references blues, rock, rap, heavy metal,drum-and-bass, freestyle jazz, and Middle Eastern styles of music.Chris Sullivan better known as Shockwave attained critical acclaim forhis work in the hit theatrical show "Freestyle Love Supreme" including "Shockwave bowls the audience over with his breakneck beatboxing ability" AOL City Guide just to cite one. Chesney Snow featured on the MTV UnpluggedSeries with Polish superstar Kayah in 2006 which has since become abestseller. His live beatboxing sound is captivating and unique for itsrealism to an actual drum machine.
[edit] The United Kingdom
There is a vast wealth of both up and coming and well establishedbeatboxers in the UK. Beatboxers like Shlomo, Beardyman, Faith SFX,Hobbit, Killa Kela, WanDan and Bellatrix have been pushing the artformforwards, creating new sounds and bringing it to the masses for yearsnow and are all part of the UK Beatbox Agency ALLFROMTHEMOUTH which isthe UK's first specialist artist agency designed specifically forprofessional human beatboxers. A nationwide spread of artists meansthey can find you a beatboxer from almost any UK city, whatever theevent. They hope to create a scenario where every hip hop jam, musicfestival, product launch or educational event in the UK featuresbeatboxing on their line up. Although it is a UK based agency, moreartists from around the world are starting to sign up.
The UK is also the birthplace of HUMANBEATBOX.COM which is thelargest online beatboxing community in the world with over 40,000members and more registering every single day. It's ethos is simple; Toprovide as much free information as possible and to provide as muchsupport to beatboxers as possible. In December 2001, A-Plus registeredwww.beatboxing.co.uk and within days, he had put up a forum - a strokeof genius. On that first day, several beatboxers signed up includingnames such as Banardo, TyTe, Emcee Live and Eliot who are still activemembers of the site today. In 2002, TyTe created the world's firstbeatboxing tutorials using text and some short MP3 recordings. In March2003, the site was redesigned, rebranded and relaunched asHUMANBEATBOX.COM. In 2003, TyTe added 52 video tutorials to the siteand in 2004 released the tutorials on the Learn to Beatbox Vol.1 DVD.All of these video tutorals are available to watch for free on thesite. In April 2003, the first international gathering took place inLondon. In late 2004, TyTe purchased the Web site from A-Plus and stillruns the site today.
[edit] The Human Beatboxing Convention
On 26th April 2003, A-Plus - founder of HUMANBEATBOX.COM - decidedto gather beatboxers from across the world with the first InternationalHuman Beatbox Convention. The convention took place in London andattracted beatboxers from all over Europe, North America and Australia.The idea behind the convention was not simply about having acompetition or a battle, but to network, exhange ideas and educate.Apart from showcases from international artists, there were also talkson technical, performance and business topics. The day was a hugesuccess and a 2003 Beatbox Convention DVD was produced. The secondInternational Beatbox Convention took place in NYC in 2004 and washosted by Beatboxer Entertainment. The third one was hosted in thesouth bank centre in london where hundreds of people attended. For moreinformation go to HUMANBEATBOX.COM
[edit] Other centers
However, even though reading the whole article gives you theimpression that beatboxing is only legal in the united states and thereare no beatboxers from any other country FACT, beatboxing isn't solely based in the US, as a matter of fact its a widespread hobby/profession all over the world.
With the larger communities in Europe, Australasia, the Uk, andAsia, beatboxing is just as popular in the US as it is all over theworld.
[edit] American Idol
In 2003 Joel Turner, an auditionee on the Australian version of American Idol, was selected by judge Mark Holdento make the Beat Box Alliance, a group of the best beatboxers fromacross the country to perform at the Australian Idol grand final.Turner has since made his own mark, with his group the Modern Day Poets.
In 2007, Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol,brought beatboxing into the mainstream spotlight by performing it inseveral of his songs during the competition. Some of the songs that heperformed in which he incorporated beatboxing elements were Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity", 311's "All Mixed Up", The Zombies's "Time of the Season" and Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name." In the competition's finale he performed a beatboxing routine with Doug E. Fresh.