// THE HISTORY
OF BEATBOXING
by White Noise
July 1st, 2002
First
of all, an explanation. Despite the fact that Beatboxing is an
important piece of Hiphop, A Capella, and the music world as a
whole, some people still aren't clued in.
Beatboxing
is The Art of Vocal Percussion. i.e - making drum sounds and beats
using your lips, tongue, mouth, throat, and vocals. Summed up
by the guy in the hoodie with his hands cupped over his mouth
spitting and making noises.
The history
of Beatboxing is blurry. It appears, like graffiti, to have begun
it's life as an urban art form. In the ghettos, the slums of USA,
where beat machines, samplers and sound synthesisers could not
be afforded. Necessity is the mother of invention. Without machine-supplied
beats to rap over, a new instrument was created. The mouth. And
Beatboxing was born.
There's a
lot of discussion about who was the first. The creator. This is
not important. The real beginning was when Hiphop trio The Fat
Boys (originally known as the Disco 3) gave us 'Buffy'.
In 1983, Darren "Buffy, the Human Beat Box" Robinson
won a talent contest at Radio City Music Hall thanks to his talent
for using his mouth to recreate Hiphop rhythms and a variety of
sound effects. News spread, and Beatboxing was brought to a wide
audience. Buffy was followed by Beatboxers Doug E Fresh (MC Slick
Rick's sidekick), and Biz Markie.
Beatboxing
caused a storm for a while, but slowed down. Beatboxers were held
back by people's perceptions of them as novelty value circus acts.
On Dec 10, 1995, Darren "Buffy the Human Beat Box" Robinson
died of a heart attack in Rosedale, NY. Beatboxing in hiphop virtually
disappeared.
Beatboxing/Vocal
Percussion popped up in jazz, and was the foundation for a new
breed of A Capella groups using soft organic percussion to keep
time in their tracks. The art form spread slowly and quietly into
many genres, including rock music with the group The HouseJacks,
and jazz great Bobby McFerrin showed off more and more of his
skills as his audience grew. Vocal boundaries where also smashed
by Michael Winslow the Vocal Effects Master. You probably know
him as the guy form the Police Academy movies who does the amazing
sound effects that you, like me, assumed were fake. He also did
behind-the-camera sound effects for films such as Back to The
Future.
Beatboxing
returned to hiphop a few years ago when Rahzel of Philadelphia
hiphop group The Roots gained fame for his skills. Rahzel is the
greatest Beatboxer of all time. Rahzel has brought new interest
to the art form, he has given it new life. Although, Rahzel is
a true Hip Hop artist, he maintains the belief that Beatboxing
is not limited to hiphop. The Roots also put forward Scratch,
who claims to be able to imitate any sound made on a turntable.
Judging from his vocal scratching, i'd say he's not far off.
Beatboxing
is not just urban. It is not just a partypiece. It is the evidence
that the human voice is the most underestimated instrument.
if you want
to witness the magic of this art, i strongly, strongly reccommend
you go to the Temple Bar Music Centre on 2nd August and see Killa
Kela, a UK Beatboxer. Not quite in the same league as Rahzel,
but he is an amazing artist, who specialises in drum and bass
recreation.
- White Noise
1/7/02 .:: http://www.whitenoisebeatbox.tk
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