5 amazing vocal beatbox performances
August 5, 2008This post celebrates the ability of some talented individuals to make compelling music with nothing but their voice.
Beatboxing is an art form that was established in hip hop in the 80s by Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie and Buffy from the Fat Boys, but modern beatboxing owes a great deal to Rahzel whose style and amazing riffs opened many eyes to the potential in the form. The classic example of Rahzel’s innovative contributions is the famous “If Your Mother Only Knew” in which he popularised the art of beatboxing the beat and the vocal at the same time, inspiring countless covers and imitations.
These days, beatboxing, vocal percussion and a cappella vocalising has branched out from its more common hip hop roots and enterprising, innovative artists are creating amazing music in genres from dance electronica to contemporary adult pop.
Gathered here are five impressive performances by various artists from diverse genres (Thanks for the idea Biscotti!).
Eklips
Thought I’d start with a performance in the traditional style – or at least the contemporary, Rahzel-influenced tradition – by french MC Eklips, whose vocal skillz have seen him share the stage with former Roots member Scratch, amongst others. If you haven’t seen the current form of beatbox that incorporates scratching and other DJ techniques normally reserved for a needle and vinyl, then Eklips is a good introduction to the top end of the genre.
Watch him perform a Daft Punk “Work It” remix whilst dropping elements of Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” and Gangstarr’s “Full Clip“.
Naturally 7
Another contemporary take on a traditional style – Naturally 7 perform a cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” live on the Paris Metro. White kids in suburban american colleges seem to be afflicted with something vaguely resembling a cappella but Naturally 7 prove that natural skill trumps school spirit any day ; ).
Imogen Heap
I’ve posted this clip before but Imogen’s incredible talent has to come up anywhere “amazing vocal performances” are mentioned.
How dare I call her performance “beatboxing”, you say? Well, I may be using the term creatively to include ‘a cappella instrumentation’ but like Kid Beyond, Imogen lays vocal loops in increasing layers and switches between them to create the dynamics of a song; here she lays her own form of vocal percussion (the “ha aye aye” part) and vocal harmony layers (the harmonized “just for now” parts) and then soars over the top of it with her seemingly effortless lead vocal.
Ricoloop
Ricoloop’s “one man jam” act is a fascinating, loop fuelled exercise in some kind of ambient trip hop. His work is not exclusively vocal – he layers vocal percussion and harmony with sparse instrumentation to great effect but this clip from a Berlin concert performance initially showcases his vocal gymnastics on their own.
Kid Beyond
I’ve blogged about the Kid before. He’s like a more mainstream version of Ricoloop (albeit entirely vocal) but his rapping is competent and natural, unlike Ricoloop’s (not to discredit the awesome ability of Ricoloop in the other areas of his sound). Andrew Chaikin (aka Kid Beyond) popularised the Ableton Live software with an impressive video of his skills that went viral-istic.
Kid uses Ableton Live to record each pass of his vocal and programs his footswitch to add fx and mute certain tracks as necessary. This allows him to build layer after layer of instrumentation and switch between musical sections (i.e. chorus, verse, bridge) at the ‘kick’ of a switch.
Honourable Mention
Taige Jensen
Most people have seen the Lasse Gjertsen original – this is a reply to his edited beatbox antics by Taige Jensen using only body sounds….
