Beatboxing (a.k.a 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 skills), the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments, and the replication of a vast array of sound effects.
The words beatboxing, vocal percussion, and multivocalism are sometimes used interchangeably, but originally referred to different schools with different influences, techniques, and rhythmic repertoires. Some still use the older terms when describing the art.
Vocal percussion is more commonly associated with a cappella groups, whereas beatboxing and human beatbox are terms usually associated with hip hop or other urban music genres. Multivocalism is a relatively new term, coined by the UK’s Killa Kela, to describe the collective use of beatboxing, singing, and sound imitation (fundamentally anything vocal) used in a musical sense. The boundary between the first two has been blurred as their practitioners have informed each other, and have become graduates from both schools. Pioneering vocal percussionist and beatboxer Andrew Chaikin, a.k.a. Kid Beyond has discovered a space somewhere between the two that amazes some of the greatest beat-boxers around.
On the streets, beatboxers serve as human beat-machines, often providing the rhythmic backbones on which MCs lay their flows. On stage, many beatboxers have, and still do, serve as human jukeboxes organizing their routines as medleys of well-known songs. As the art form has evolved, it has extended its reach to include physical theater routines, and has integrated itself into hip hop (and other forms) of theater. Beatboxers with backgrounds in vocal percussion stand in for drummers, and percussionists in theater ensembles, live bands, and other line-ups. Some beatbox into instruments, such as harmonicas (Yuri Lane) and pan flutes (Radioactive), and one (Tim Barsky) has mastered doing so through a classical flute, achieving several simultaneous streams of rhythm and melody. Kid Beyond has mastered live-looping, using computers and triggers to create songs in real-time, replete with rhythm tracks, instrumentation, and full choirs of singing.
Born in New York City, the fifth element is currently experiencing a second wind, thanks in part to the likes of Justin Timberlake, 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», and Barry B for coining the term. The term «beatboxing» is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes.
- Benjamin Stevens – Vocal Percussion – Educator and board reviewer offers small collection of MP3 vocal samples, link to homepage.
- The Box – Hip Hop Archive – Beatbox Audios – Old school rap archive with photos, MP3 samples and video clips of beatboxing legends.
- Got Spit? : Percussion – Offers hints, tips, tricks, techninques, articles and links for vocal percussion performers and enthusiasts.
- Mouth Drumming – Wes Carroll, the «human beatbox» with the San Francisco group, the House Jacks, offers video and private instruction as well as links to scheduled performances and instructional sessions. Biography, video sales.
- MouthGrooves.com – Official website of vocal percussion / beatboxing virtuoso Tony Brown. Site includes concert schedule, tips and tricks, MP3 sound clips, biography, photos, and information on classes and private lessons.
- Scat! Vocal Improvisation Techniques – [changingtones.com] Instructional book and CD by Bob Stoloff, covering vocal drum articulation, bass lines and drum grooves. Page includes description, cover scan, audio samples and ordering information.
- Vocomotion, LLC – Ordering information for the TH60 throat microphone for amplifying live produced vocal percussion. Includes photos, technical specs and audio samples.
