Beatboxing Means...

Joel Turner, Champion Beatboxer

Beatboxing? What's that??

Its a response your likely to get when you say something about beatboxing to anyone in India. To say that people are ignorant about it would be lying. They are downright clueless about it!!

Beatboxing or vocal percussion is a technique of producing sounds of musical instruments through using one's throat, tongue, wind pipe, lips, teeth and anything which can be made use of to make different sounds. Sounds as varied as Kick drum, snare to vinyl scratching can be reproduced by a beatboxer. Basically its making musical sounds with your mouth. Modern day beatboxing or vocal percussion originated out of the Hip-Hop culture in the USA, where amateur rappers in the absence of musical instruments, depended on beatboxers for providing them with music. It was only after that beatboxing became a full fledged art. Amateur rapping crews always had a beatboxer with them to make up for the lack of any musical instruments.

The first to take beatboxing apart from conventional Hip-Hop were Doug E. Fresh, Buffy and Wise. They were the first pioneers of beatboxing and established it as an art. But till date beatboxing remains mostly underground. Several beatboxing championships in Europe and US have made it popular, though. Famous present day beatboxers are Joel Turner , Rahzel, Felix Zenger and Roxorloops.

The scene in India is however depressing. Not only do people don't know anything about beatboxing, they frown upon anyone who does it in public. Its considered rude if you do it in front of someone. Most people will either laugh at you or just shake their heads and some will write it off as mimicry.

But India does have its share of beatboxers and a niche audience which enjoys it. But lack of recognition, absence of forums for budding beatboxers to jam together and no platforms to showcase beatboxing talent is what is hampering this art from becoming big in India. Communities on Orkut provide a place for beatboxers to meet but they are limited to online interactions and beatboxers aren't able to jam together. What is needed is a pan-Indian association of beatboxers with city chapters so that beatboxers from the same city could meet under a single banner and take beatboxing further.

Hoping that happens, I sign off, Cheers!!!

BEAT BOXING RULES!!!

P.S: I'm an Amateur Beatboxer too!! So I know what I'm talking about!! Please Comment!