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Beatboxing

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Beatboxing (also known as human orchestration) is the vocal percussion of hip hop culture and music. Considered by many to be a fifth element of hip hop, it is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats, rhythms, and melodies using the mouth. It can also involve singing, vocal scratching (the imitation of turntable scratching), the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments, and the replication of a vast array of sound effects.

What comes to mind for most people when beatboxing is mentioned is the following ubiquitous imitation of a back beat drum pattern (in common drum set notation):

Beatbox

This imitates the bass (boom) and snare (chick) drums.

In 2005, HumanBeatbox.com developed Standard Beatbox Notation (SBN) to promote the simple communication of beat patterns via ordinary text. This is particularly useful on the internet where traditional music notation is awkward, and allows notation of more than drum sounds or musical notes.

The above beat could be written in SBN as: [ boom _ / chick _ / boom boom / chick _ ]

History of beatboxing

Born in New York City, the fifth element is currently experiencing a second wind, thanks in part to the likes of artists like Rahzel and Kenny Muhammad, that has 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, and others. The same year even saw the emergence of a beatbox clothing label, mic(ism)® - sported and supported by beatboxers worldwide®.

Beatboxing's early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Buffy from the Fat Boys. Doug E. Fresh is credited with being the first "human beatbox"[1], and Barry B for coining the term [2]. The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes.

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. Sans drums and, for the most part electric guitars, Mayall and the band included a tune called "Room to Move" which included a middle section of pure beatboxing predating and outdoing almost every other future attempt at this style short of Bobby McFerrin's "Don't worry, be happy" almost twenty years later. The 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 of the track is that no traditional percussion is used, with all rhythmic and incidental percussion generated by the vocalist(s).

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 all parts 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. Two 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.

The early eighties

The art form enjoyed a strong presence in the 1980s. Many people's introduction to the art form, and perhaps one of its first recordings, 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," was released 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 community and beyond celebrated Buffy's heavy-breathing style on "Stick Em.") Even today, when people make fun of beatboxing, they imitate the deceased Buffy by huffing and puffing into their hands. The Fat Boys' movies (such as Disorderlies) introduced the art form to a wider audience as well.

The mid eighties

Other important beatboxers in the mid-'80s who followed the greats like Doug E. Fresh included Greg Nice, Ready Rock C from Will Smith's crew, and The Jock Box from the comically named Skinny Boys crew.

In 1984, Viv Fisher recorded the first known multivocal TV theme tune, vocalising parts of a Brass Band for the title sequence of a BBC gameshow series entitled Bob's Full House. In 1985, he performed the same role for BBC drama series, Blott on the Landscape, this time vocally recreating all instruments and percussion.

The nineties

In many ways, beatboxing fell off the radar along with breakdancing in the late '80s; it almost slipped even deeper than the underground. 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 the first album focused primarily on beatboxing. The title is a reference to "Make the Music With Your Mouth", one of the first recorded beatboxing 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 in hip hop. Not only did he help put beatboxing back onto the stage, he introduced its modern form, an impressive if not awe-inspiring combination of polyrhythms, vocal scratching, and simultaneous lines of melody, rhythm, and singing. Rahzel himself acknowledges that he combined 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, he wows an audience by singing and beatboxing simultaneously—a feat now considered easy by the growing young beatboxing community. On several tracks, he introduced the idea of simulating turntable scratches with his throat, something even underground beatboxers upholding the art form through the lean years hadn't even heard until the album's release.

Using his commercial appeal, Rahzel paved the way for beatboxing's migration to the center of the stage, both literally and metaphorically. In its beginning, beatboxing was relegated to a supporting role or gimmick, like a side show. With beatboxing's increased popularity, Rahzel began touring the country [citation needed] doing solo shows.

Of course, many beatboxers express frustration with Rahzel receiving most of the attention and being known as the best beatboxer in the world. Though many well-practiced amateur and professional beatboxers possess different levels of skill, each one brings something different to the form. As Carlo Aguirre (also known as Infinite), a beatboxer and MC from San Francisco's famed Felonious says, "Each person has a different instrument."

Other well-known, seminal beatboxers whose work is well known throughout the international beatboxing community include the Bronx'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, Rey, one of young rising stars, 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 and Canada's own scratch pioneer Poizunus.

The Four Elements

The last track on Rahzel's CD 'Make The Music 2000' is a track with his famous 'If Your Mother Only Knew' routine. But it contains a hidden bonus track, which is a 'Man vs. Machine' battle with beatboxers Rahzel and Kenny Muhammad vs. turntablists DJ Skribble and DJ Slinky. The song is by most beatboxers referred to as The Four Elements, because it contains an impression of the four elements in beatbox style at the end.

  • 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), a complex and fast beat with words in it said in a very low voice. It has a stormy character. Wind is probably the current most favourite 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 the only element containing sounds that were not produced by the human mouth. Fire is a cover of 'Rock The Bells' by LL Cool J.
  • The fourth and last element is Water (performed by Kenny Muhammad),Its one if the most popular amongest beatboxer after the wind. The sounds are punchy and fast. Water is a cover of a tune called 'Funky Drummer' by James Brown.

Nowadays, The Four Elements are very popular amongst the beatboxing community.

Internet presence

The largest [citation needed] beatboxing community on the Internet is Humanbeatbox.com, created in 2002 by UK beatboxer Alex Tew (also known as A-Plus) and developed by Gavin Tyte (also known as TyTe, a beatboxing reverend). This site has greatly fuelled the recent resurgence in beatboxing. Beatboxers in different areas have used this site, and the Internet in general, as a means to meet in person, forming important clusters that populate Europe and the U.S. as well as organising the first Human Beatbox Convention, which took place in April 2003. TyTe developed the first Internet-based beatboxing tutorials as well as the first video tutorials and this has helped tens of thousands of people get started in beatboxing. The central feature of HumanBeatbox.com is the community forums where beatboxers and non-beatboxers alike converge to share and discuss their interest in this art form.

HumanBeatbox.com is affiliated with allfromthemouth, a UK beatboxer agency, and Fr-Shh, a beatbox clothing and merchandise business formed by HumanBeatbox.com admin member Archangel, which initially serves as the merchandise branch of the site.

In 2004, beatbox-centric label mic(ism)® completed development of the non-profit International Beatbox Association®, the world's first artist agency dedicated to beatboxers and vocal percussionists. The IBA®, as it became known, was created to aid beatboxers in getting paid work, and thereby to help beatboxing attain the public level of credibility as a musical art form deserved of remuneration, as already enjoyed by more mainstream instrumentation. Through the IBA®, it is now possible for professional beatboxers to be contacted directly by individuals wishing to book them, without artists having to make their personal contact details publicly available. In this way, beatboxers can now be safely contacted by promoters, agents, talent scouts and record labels worldwide.

Major centers

New York City

New York City is the birthplace of the art and still home to many of the world's most original and impressive beatboxers. These include Buffy of The Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh, Razel, Kenny Muhammad, Matisyahu, MC Squared, Taylor McFerrin, Kid Lucky, Masai Electro, Baba, Herb Watson of The Herb Lincolns, and many others. In 2002 Kid Lucky created Beatboxer Entertainment, an organization to unite NYC's beatboxers, which has since grown to include beatboxers nationally and internationally.

United Kingdom

Beatboxing began to gain visibility in the United Kingdom in early 2002, thanks in part to the founding of UK-specific beatboxing communities. While Killa Kela is often considered to be the most famous UK beatboxer, others such as Shlomo, Lianhart, Faith SFX, and BeardyMan are gaining their own followings.

The King of the Jam beatbox picnic created by Mark Splinter was the first beatboxer gathering held in the United Kingdom. Beginning with a meeting of four beatboxers, one MC, some sandwiches and a video camera at St. James' Park in London, the event grew deeeeeeeeeeeeem sharply in popularity, drawing 80 artists to the 2004 Tournament. Though Splinter has since relocated to Lithuania he continues to arrange the meetings at the same park on a bi-annual basis, and a World Tour is planned.

The first Human Beatbox Convention was held in London in 2003, bringing together 100 beatboxers from around the world.

Other beatboxer events in the UK include Bristol's 'Make Some Noise' in May and the UK Beatbox Championships, which are held in various cities during the months of February, June, and July. The 2006 UK Beat Boxing Champion is BeardyMan.

San Francisco Bay area

The Vowel Movement, created by Bryan Neuberg (also known as Process), Kid Beyond, and Tim Barsky, is a collaborative San Francisco Bay area community that supports the art of beatboxing. It features regular showcases that emphasize sharing and inclusivity amongst its practitioners, bringing the art form to a diverse audience, and pushing the boundaries beyond the classification of hip hop.

Australia

Australian beatboxer Joel Turner (founder of 'Beatbox alliance') first came to fame after appearing on the Australian Idol competition, and then went on to become the world's first World Beatbox Champion by winning the Hip Hop World Challenge in Germany, 2005. Before Joel, Tom Thumb (also a member of 'Beatbox Alliance') developed and still holds a legondary underground status amougst the Australian HipHop community. While Joel Holds the Solo world championship, Tom Thumb and Joel also hold the Duet Championship. Tom thumb also toured Australia and performed solo in "The Buggin' Tour" with, Redman & Methodman of the Wu-Tang clan, Rahzel, DJ JS-1, DJ Kool, and DJ Premier.

Toronto, Canada

Canadian beatboxer Poizunus first entered the spotlight after a Much-On-Demand beatbox battle that aired nationally on MuchMusic across Canada. Since then he has starred and provided beats for two MuchMusic commercials alongside Toronto MC Divo and also freestyled on MTV Live with World Record Freestyle Champ D.O.. He is currently set to release his first EP which is tentatively titled "The PreP", which is scheduled for a fall 2006 release.

Ireland

White Noise is a hardworking beatboxer performing in Ireland with 300+ live shows under his belt since 2001. He's also represented Ireland at beatbox battles in Leeds and the World Championship in Leipzig, 2005. Sometimes performs with fellow Irish beatboxer Hemlock. Has also used delay effects and live looping in his shows. Bigger gigs include performances at the Irish DMCs, ITFs, and at the Oxegen music festival, 2006.


As the worldwide beatboxing culture is growing and becoming part of mainstream music, more and more beatboxers are appearing in Ireland too. Although there are a very limited number of beatboxers in Ireland, these numbers will rise gradually, as Hip Hop is becoming more popular in Ireland.

See also

Wikinews has related news:
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