Love, Peace And Beatbox Page #2

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and was the first to perform on stage.

Then there was the

Hip-Hop World Challenge...

We were the only team representing

Germany, which was great.

The jury awarded us second place,

that is, we were vice world champions,

but unfortunately that's not official.

- No official title is bestowed.

The jury just mentioned it in passing.

- That was a shame.

They loved it and told

us it was really close.

But in the end Australia won both

the solo and team competition,

something we hope

to do this year.

There's something going on in

Berlin pretty much every week.

In 2005 we gave

Meaning we were drunk

at least 83 times.

Where does Beatbox

fit in with Hip-Hop?

It's said to be "the

fifth element"...

I disagree:
I

consider it the first.

The technique is

difficult to learn

It requires a lot

tongue and finger skills,

plus a good sense of

rhythm and musical talent...

Beatbox isn't just Hip-Hop. You

can apply it to any musical genre:

Drum 'n' Bass, Techno,

Reggae, Ragga, Dance Hall...

Besides that,

Beatbox can be used

to achieve all kinds of

special effects, of course.

You can imitate horses,

explosions, helicopters...

The Foley artist's craft, which

came in with silent films...

...is now called Beatboxing.

With 4XSample, we always prepare

sets of about four to six minutes.

For the simple reason that that's the

time limit you have in most battles.

Usually we rehearse at

my house or Mando's...

We listen to songs we want to

cover or use for bastard pop,

where you mix the beat from one

track with lyrics from another.

So we'll work out a set, and in

between maybe do some freestyle.

We'll just jam till we

come up with something cool

or an interesting pattern.

Pattern are specific sequences of

measures that can vary in length

and are repeated in loops.

And that's how sets are born.

But we've started using ten-minute

sets. It just gives you more time.

Four minutes, that

can be exhausting.

We did one set in the 2005

championships that contained 14 songs.

Just imagine, 14 songs in four

minutes, plus scratches and solo parts!

It gets too much for people to take

in. Of course we hear every single beat,

but for the audience,

it's just a blur.

By the time they recognize a song

and start clapping, it's long gone.

So we're cooling it down...

Doing longer sets...

and writing them down.

I'll kick the beat, you rap?

- Like always.

Yup.

- Yup.

What tempo?

- I don't know, around 95 or 98 bpm.

Okay...

No, seriously...

Sittin' here in the

park Makin' our mark

Enjoyin' the weather

Chillin' together

Berlinutz says turn it up, I agree

Berlin's cool, the place to be

And we're lovin' it, livin'

it, Beatboxin' and rappin' it.

That's me, I'm not no hectic MC

I do it nice and cool and easy

Keeping things real in my head So

many MCs in this town are stupid

So come on down And

see the best in town:

Wetlipz, Berlinutz, Zirkus Mandolini

And all the girls in bikinis

Girls dancing, baring it all And

I'll beat that weenie MC at pinball

I'm all charged with energy

Just like that dolphin on TV

So come and see us anytime We're

in our prime, we have the rhymes

Moving our lips a mile a minute

Keeps us sharp, keeps us fit

Oops, lost my thread But

that's okay, time for bed

Tomorrow it's off to work in

Neuklln Early bird gets the worm

When I do Beatboxing,

I'm the kind of guy who...

...was born to make other people laugh.

It may sound weird, but it's true.

It makes me happy when

I can get people to laugh

and say, "That guy's

cool. I dig him. "

That goes for when I

perform on stage, too.

You joke around with the

audience, keep the banter coming...

If a guy heckles, I might josh

him, "Just a minute, Sugar!"

Once they're laughing and

eating out of your hand...

Then you put on your best

show and they lap it up...

That's like pure gold.

That's just the best.

And I just go with

the flow and enjoy it.

When I get home from my drum

lessons, I always practice

the new patterns with my mouth.

- Cool. What does that sound like?

Like this...

Wow.

Great... job... I'll say!

Now let's have some

yummy cocoa, okay?

I'm Bee Low from Berlin and

I founded Beatbox Battle.

I busted my ass over

the last few years

to provide the German

Beatbox community

with a forum for

fair competition.

I started out

hosting DJ battles.

I would time the

DJs with a stopwatch,

each one would get 90 seconds.

And when there was

a technical glitch,

the sound guys had to

replug cables or whatever...

In situations like that, as

the host I'd take the mike...

...and keep the audience

entertained with some beats

till the next act went on.

That's when I realized

how well Beatbox went over.

People liked it in its own

right, apart from the battles.

So I thought, 'Why not

have our own event? '

And the idea for the Beatbox

Championship was born.

The plans gradually

took on shape in 2001.

Maxim, may he rest in peace, who's

sadly no longer on this planet...

He and I thought everything through

and planned it all out together.

And on September

the first German Championships at

the Icon in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.

Zeero won the first title in

we did some publicity work,

sent out press releases...

We spread the word to people,

and the feedback was incredible.

Right away, we were invited

to the Austrian championship...

Zeero and I traveled

to Switzerland,

and it continued with Poland, the

Czech Republic, Finland, the UK...

Beatbox Battle was everywhere.

I was at all the events.

Usually I was on the jury,

as I couldn't very well host

in Finnish or whatever...

Two champions, and the

man who made them: Me.

Hey!

- Hi! You have ten minutes?

Sure.

- Great.

Hi, there. How are you doing?

Here are the contracts.

Pretty standard.

A copy for each of us.

But don't let them see.

That's strictly confidential.

- Okay.

Sh*t, I'm in business

but I haven't seen a cent.

It pisses me off, honestly.

As I was saying, for

the past few years

I've been hosting

events throughout Europe.

That includes DJ Championships

held by the ITF and DMC,

Breakdance championships,

and various Rap battles.

I've seen the dissing at Rap

battles. "I'll f*** your mama... "

"Your daddy this or that... "

And then a big fight breaks out,

bottles fly, the cops come...

And in the end the lights

go on and the party's ruined.

That's not my scene. To me,

it's about the element...

It's about demonstrating our

skills on stage in a fair way,

showing what we can do,

something not everyone can do.

And, without wanting to boast,

battling in a fair competition.

That's why I always

try to convey to people:

Being there is what counts, not

winning. Get to know each other...

It's not about "that guy's

my enemy" and all that.

Sure, when they're on

stage, face to face,

they'll eyeball each other

and try look intimidating,

you know, mock

shooting and stabbing...

But there's no real

violence of any kind.

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