Tag Archives: Beat Box

Pop Culture Reflection: Beat Boxin’ Pioneers

1 Jan
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My props to the beatbox

One perk about growing up in the 80s is remembering and appreciating beat boxin’ skills from hip hop pioneers like The Fat Boys, Police Academy actor and comedian Michael Winslow and rap icon Doug E Fresh.

My description of human beat boxin’ is anyone who can create or mimic the sounds of a drum machine (a.k.a. beat box ) through vocal percussion. This is one of the coolest skills that I think anyone could have.

The Fat Boys were a popular hip hop trio in the mid 80s.  They covered the song Wipe Out and had a popular music video for it and they also filmed a comedy called Disorderlies in 1987. I loved this movie as a kid and my favorite part of the movie was when they sing Baby You’re a Rich Man.  Darren Robinson known as the human beat box of the trio was simply amazing to listen to and watch in his beat boxin’ action. Robinson sadly passed away in 1995 but his pioneering role in beat boxin’ lives on.

I also remember the first time I watched Police Academy and listening to all of the insane noises Michael Winslow could mimic with his mouth. He could even sound like a guitar and that blew me away as a kid.

My whole beat box reflection triggered after watching a recent episode of the The Arsenio Hall Show which I have been tuning into ever since Hall made a come back with his classic late show.

The show featured Doug E Fresh beat boxin’ and making his signature clicks sound that only his tongue can make. So many artists have covered his classic hit Lodi Dodi and it really doesn’t get any better than that song which sort of sums up the 80s beat boxin’ era for me.

Beat boxin’ has made a comeback with newer artists who are more in the spot light now than their 80s pioneers like Kenny Mohammed or french beat box great Alem.

My heart still hangs on to the 80s time of beat boxin’ and hip hop, after all it’s what I grew up listening to.

Below is a link from Adam Mcnasty You Tube channel showing my favorite beat box legend clip from the movie Disorderlies.

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Gem of the Week: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

6 Nov

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis pumped up the crowd with a fun and high-energy filled show on Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, MI.

Last year the Seattle-based rapper (Macklemore) and producer/DJ (Lewis) performed at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit to a small group of fans. ( 800+  capacity)  This year at The Palace the Hip-Hop duo performed to over 6,000 fans, quite a jump and I’m happy for their success!

Their popularity has soared with the debut album The Heist producing big hits like Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us.

I like The Heist album a lot and the show opened with the song Ten Thousand Words. A few songs into the set he performed Same Love along with vocalist Mary Lambert, who sings on the studio version too.

Macklemore sported a Detroit jersey as fireworks, confetti and wild stories filled the stage. He also incorporated old school elements like beat boxin’ and freestyle rapping into his show.

He kept things interesting in between songs by going into goofy long-winded tales, including more sincere matters like his recovery battling drug addiction.  He definitely has storytelling  ability as he kept myself and the audience engaged each time.

My favorite story was after a few songs he started talking about how he arrived in Detroit early and decided to go to Lake Michigan. He took in the view of the lake and decided to take his clothes off and jump in. While he is in the lake he noticed two guys going through his things who then run off with his clothes. So here he was standing alone and naked in the lake. Now, at this point in the story the crowd and myself knew it was leading into a some type of punch line and we were waiting for it!

He continued saying how he noticed an old lady feeding birds and he went over to her. She told him to get on her back so she could carry him. He hesitated as she was so old but he did it.  As the woman starts carrying him off he asked her where she was taking him. The old woman replied that he had no clothes so she was taking him to the thrift shop. He goes right into performing the hit song and I loved the whole interlude even if it was a goofy way to introduce Thrift Shop.

My appreciation for Macklemore’s humble gestures took a step further when during his encore he took a few minutes to introduce everyone on stage with him.  He started introductions from his back up dancers to his trombone, cello and violin players. He was very sincere in giving recognition to everyone that is part of his live show.

Also, he performed his biggest hit twice! It was awesome and I have not seen an artist do that before. He started telling fans that it was near the end of the tour and he would not be back until next year so he wanted to hear Detroit go crazy one more time and he went into performing Can’t Hold Us again.

I loved the live show and I look forward to the future of Macklemore and wish the duo continued success.

 

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