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Most kids think beatboxing is just some guy providing a basic beat for freestyle rappers on the street but when done properly, it is absolutely amazing, especially when you consider that these guys are doing with their voices almost the same thing as a million dollar studio or at least a drum kit. It’s really a case of man versus machine. Once when I was stumbling down Granville with my friends at around 3am after a night at the club, I came across three guys on the street with a huge crowd around them. Two guys were freestyle battling while the third was providing the beats…and not just regular beats. I remember he did Usher’s Yeah, Jay-Z’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder and the like…it was nuts.
So I came across this video on YouTube this morning of what is apparently a French version of American Idol. This kid is crazy…I was already nodding along when he started with Billie Jean. There’s another video of him doing stuff like Sweet Dreams, Benny Bennasi’s Satisfaction and Britney Spears.
Of course, the king of beatboxing is probably Rahzel, the Godfather of Noise, of The Roots. He’s done entire albums where you’d swear it was an actual set of drums and synthesizers. The thing makes Rahzel so ridiculous is that he doesn’t just do the beats…he can usually add the vocals too. Yeah, I’m not kidding…feel free to look up Rahzel on YouTube if you’re interested. With both these videos…the first half of either isn’t all that special but it gets pretty crazy in the second half. The first is him covering Jesus Walks by Kanye West. The second is freakin’ IRONMAN, dude. Note how the beat continues as he growls “I AM IRONMAN.”!
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Very cool stuff, i’ve always been fascinated with beatboxing… well, those who can do it really well. most of the stuff you hear sounds like garbage tho lol.
Oh, and I almost got motion sickness watching that 2nd video… a 3 yr old could handle a camera better than they did, absolutely terrible!
That Morning Cafe vid almost made me sick from dizziness.
It’s so hard to find someone who is truly good at beatboxing… I love that stuff, it’s amazing!
Yea! Get the beats movin’ boys! The people that can really do these rock the streets.
A big trick to beatboxing is that they make sounds when they breathe in, so it can seem like they never take a breath.
What I can’t figure out is how they do 2 or 3 sounds at once!