Le beatbox royale.

March 13, 2007 11:58 AM

Beatboxing in France? Who knew? (warning: lots of YouTube coming up.) The Art of Noise had their Beat Box (and live) . It's all good and well but maybe this beatbox is just a bit more interesting. There's even a very well documented history behind it. The Fat Boys did it, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh did it and we've already seen Super Mario Beatboxed with a flute. Roxorloops takes another turn. And even more French beatboxing.
posted by horseblind (21 comments total)

Now this is how you do youtubefilter.

Great post. Thanks.

And thanks especially for reminding me about "Close to the edit." 23 years later, it still sounds like the music of the future.
posted by googly at 12:30 PM on March 13, 2007

Is yet another beatbox-related post going to go by with no mention of CR Avery?

But great post.
posted by roll truck roll at 12:35 PM on March 13, 2007

You can always edit yourself to beatbox glory.
posted by ssmith at 12:42 PM on March 13, 2007

Now this is how you do youtubefilter YouTubesday.

Become the ruling body!
posted by Plutor at 12:56 PM on March 13, 2007

Universal Nation!

Beat boxing trance is too easy, though.
posted by empath at 1:17 PM on March 13, 2007

RTR: Did you mean CR Avery? (playing tonight)
posted by horseblind at 1:25 PM on March 13, 2007

i was going to use this thread as an opportunity to start bitching and moaning about how i still haven't been able to find La Haine on Region 1 DVD, but alas my dream has come true - the Criterion version is now on sale at Amazon.
posted by phaedon at 2:25 PM on March 13, 2007

RTR: Did you mean CR Avery? (playing tonight)

Yeah, that guy. He's great.

I guess I could have been unlazy and found the YouTube videos myself, so thanks.
posted by roll truck roll at 2:49 PM on March 13, 2007

I saw Rahzel eight years ago in Peabody's Down Under in Cleveland. I'm 99% sure that's the night they recorded his infamous live battle with a turntablist (i want to say rob swift but i know im wrong). It's ridiculous. This sweaty fuck gets on the stage, was wearing about 4 too many layers for the temperature inside the cramped little spot, and just tears it up.

none of the live video clips do him justice. here's his music video for his only mainstream hit. the track by the way on p2p networks is called "if your mother only knew"... they used to have the full version but now it appears its just a clip of the entire show.

posted by phaedon at 2:49 PM on March 13, 2007

ok yeah! its on itunes and its called 'rahzel vs. rob swift'. delicioso.
posted by phaedon at 3:06 PM on March 13, 2007

Shlomo does IDM-ish beatboxing. This video is worth it alone to see look of What-The-Fuck bafflement on Pete Doherty's face.
posted by meehawl at 3:30 PM on March 13, 2007

Jamie Lidell ain't no slouch, either.
posted by mkb at 4:03 PM on March 13, 2007

Fantastic, thanks!
posted by Onanist at 4:15 PM on March 13, 2007

I took a video camera to a Rahzel show once.

About halfway through he spotted the little red light, stopped the show, pointed right at me, and commanded me to turn it off.

And to think, I coulda been one of those YouTubeFilter links *sniff!* :'(
posted by stumcg at 5:35 PM on March 13, 2007

You guys may be interested in this video of kids in Yanbian, China, many of whom have gotten heavily into beatboxing.
posted by subtle-t at 6:11 PM on March 13, 2007

Stumcg: I was at a Common show once where the tour manager yanked my camera out of my hand and threatened to destroy it. One of those people that i wish i could teleport back to and kick their ass. Is this practice still frowned upon? I would think most of these knucklehead rappers would benefit from such type of exposure. (I admit, the onstage call-out beats my story any day.)
posted by phaedon at 6:48 PM on March 13, 2007

Right now I bet you there's somebody working on inventing a way where your own eyeball can be used as the camera and a device small enough to fit on your glasses transmits what is perceived by the rods and cones in your retina to a device small enough to fit in a vest pocket, which records up to twelve hours of whatever you see, blinks and all, on a chip a tenth of the size of a DVD disc. Then there'll be a couple other devices about the size of hearing aids which cover your auditory canal, that picks up everything you hear, then transmits it to the same device in your vest pocket. No wires. No visibility. Anyone in the joint would just assume you have bad ears and eyes - that you need glasses and a hearing aid.

The thing is though, your recording will be more than just something for an mp3 or a CD. The devices will not only record what you hear, but will use the very echo chamber that is your head to make it sound crisp and real, and the visual pickup will be not from the perspective of a bulky camera or a low quality cellphone. It'll be what the eye itself actually sees. Dr. Fritz was a binaural microphone shaped like a human head, set atop a complicated recording apparatus roughly the size of a Volkswagon Bug. It only picked up sound. Imagine a world where you're your own Dr. Fritz. They might have to invent a special player that can recreate the experience more viscerally for the audience.

Imagine a world where people could just walk around recording whatever happened to them, undetected. How could copyright laws possibly be policed then? They gonna slap down everyone with a hearing aid and glasses? Just in case?

I wouldn't beatbox while wearing the recording invention. Might blow out the speakers.
posted by ZachsMind at 11:20 PM on March 13, 2007

Representing the UK - Beardyman in the Kitchen.
posted by johnny novak at 3:18 AM on March 14, 2007

Don't forget Joseph beatboxing on Nouvelle Star.
posted by wander at 9:34 AM on March 14, 2007

Also, excellent post!
posted by wander at 9:35 AM on March 14, 2007

johnny novak - that Beardyman video is way cool. So's the french stuff. And the rest of it. Great post.
posted by handee at 10:49 AM on March 14, 2007