Beatboxing 

(also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips,
tongue, and voice.[1] It may also involve vocal imitation of turntablism, and other musical instruments. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, often
referred to as "the fifth element" of hip-hop, although it is not limited to hip-hop music.[2][3] The term "beatboxing" is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in
general.

Contents

 1Origins

 2Contribution to hip-hop

 3Modern beatboxing

 4Notation

 5Phonology

 6Multi-vocalism

 7World records

 8Selected discography
o 8.11980s

o 8.21990s

o 8.32000s

o 8.42010s

 9In popular culture

 10See also

 11References

 12External links

Origins[edit]
Techniques similar to beatboxing have been employed in diverse American musical genres since the 19th century, such as early rural music, both black and white,
religious songs, blues, ragtime, vaudeville, and hokum. Examples include the Appalachian technique of eefing and the blues song Bye bye bird by Sonny Boy
Williamson II.

Additional influences may perhaps include forms of African traditional music, in which performers utilize their bodies (e.g., by clapping or stomping) as percussion
instruments and produce sounds with their mouths by breathing loudly in and out, a technique used in beatboxing today.[4][5]

Vocal percussion [is], "the imitation or approximation of percussion instruments," and beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion but can be described as, "music
with your mouth... beatboxing is making and being the music, not just rhythm." ...Beatboxing is both the rhythm — predominantly through the bass and snare
drums as well as hi-hat — while also incorporating various sound effects such as DJ scratching, synthesizers, and bass lines. Using the mouth, lips, tongue, and
voice to make music is thus the beatboxer's equivalent to a pianist's fingers and arms.[6][7]

Many well-known performers used vocal percussion occasionally, even though this was not directly connected to the cultural tradition that came to be known as
beatboxing. Paul McCartney's "That Would Be Something" (1969) includes vocal percussion. Pink Floyd's "Pow R. Toc H." (1967) also includes vocal percussion
performed by the group's original lead vocalist, Syd Barrett. Jazz singers Bobby McFerrin and Al Jarreau were very well known for their vocal styles and
techniques, which have had great impact on techniques beatboxers use today. Michael Jackson was known to record himself beatboxing on a dictation tape
recorder as a demo and scratch recording to compose several of his songs, including "Billie Jean", "The Girl Is Mine", and others.[8] In contrast, the English folk
rock band Jethro Tull adopted beatboxing on at least one track on their 2003 Christmas album. Gert Fröbe, a German actor most widely known for playing Auric
Goldfinger in the James Bond film Goldfinger, "beatboxes" as Colonel Manfred von Holstein (simultaneously vocalizing horned and percussive instruments)
in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, a 1965 British comedy film.

Contribution to hip-hop[edit]
Modern beatboxing first began as a way to assist or backup the MC. When drum machines were unavailable or unaffordable, communities in the inner city of New
York began to mimic the sounds with their voices in cyphers. The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of early drum machines, then known as
beatboxes, particularly the Roland TR-808.[1] The term "beatbox" was used to refer to earlier Roland drum machines such as the TR-55 and CR-78 in the 1970s.
[9]
 They were followed by the TR-808, released in 1980, which became central to hip hop music[9] and electronic dance music.[1] It is the TR-808 that human
beatboxing is largely modeled after.[1]

"Human beatboxing" in hip-hop originated in the 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, the self-proclaimed first "human beatbox" (and arguably its most
famous practitioner);[10] Swifty, the first to implement the inhale sound technique[citation needed]; Buffy, who helped perfect many beatboxing techniques;[11] and Wise, who
contributed significantly to beat boxing's proliferation. [citation needed] Wise inspired an entire new fan base of human beatboxers with his human turntable technique. Other
pioneers of beatboxing include Rahzel well known for his realistic robotic sounds and for his ability to sing and beatbox simultaneously, Scratch a beatboxer and
musician well known for further revolutionizing the use of vocal scratching in beatboxing, Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra, a beatboxer known for his
technicality and outstanding rhythmic precision, who pioneered the inward k snare, a beatbox technique that imitates a snare drum by breathing inward, and
Emanon, an early protegee of Doug E. Fresh associated with Ice T and Afrika Islam.[12] Many refer to beatboxing as the unofficial 5th element of hip-hop.
Modern beatboxing[edit]
1:33

An example of modern beatboxing

Biz Markie beatboxing

The Internet has played a large part in the popularity of modern beatboxing. Alex Tew (aka A-Plus) started the first online community of beatboxers in 2000 under
the banner of HUMANBEATBOX.COM. An early example of modern beatboxing was seen in the 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film My Sassy Girl. In 2001,
Gavin Tyte, a member of this community created the world's first tutorials and video tutorials on beatboxing. In 2003, the community held the world's first Human
Beatbox Convention in London featuring beatbox artists from all over the world.

Beatboxing's current popularity is due in part to releases from artists such as Rahzel, RoxorLoops, Reeps One and Alem. In the Pacific, American beatboxer
of Hawaii Chinese descent Jason Tom co-founded the Human Beatbox Academy to perpetuate the art of beatboxing through outreach performances, speaking
engagements and workshops in Honolulu, the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city of the 50th U.S. state of Hawaii.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Sometimes, modern beatboxers will use their hand or another part of their body to extend the spectrum of sound effects and rhythm. Some have developed a
technique that involves blowing and sucking air around their fingers to produce a very realistic record scratching noise, which is commonly known as the "crab
scratch." Another hand technique includes the "throat tap," which involves beatboxers tapping their fingers against their throats as they throat sing or hum.
Beatboxers today can produce up to 2 different sounds at the same time.[citation needed]