Biz Markie

One of the long-standing pillars of hip hop culture, beatboxing is as old as the hills. Maybe even older still… 

Words by Tim Hill

First published in Stranger 14 - April 2007

"We’re gonna put the beat, the bass, the verse and the chorus together now! Y’all ready for it?” And sure enough, beatboxing’s mega star Rahzel effortlessly drops in each sound with the end result the now legendary ‘If Your Mother Only Knew’. Close your eyes and you could be forgiven for thinking he’s back with his old band The Roots. Not this time. This is just one man and his mic…

This footage can be found on the time eradicator that is YouTube. After you’ve sifted through the ‘me and my mate doing Police Academy impressions at 4am’ tripe, you’ll find performances that’ll make your jaw drop. The videos are makeshift and spontaneous – much like the origins of beatboxing itself.

It’s alleged that ancient Indians used their voices to make percussion sounds during meditation chants, and the ‘voice as an instrument’ has subsequently been employed in a million and one different situations. In the 1880s, barbershop quartets would improvise bass and snare sounds, a skill re-created in New Orleans in the 1930s by hard-up jazz musicians.

But it wasn’t until 1980, in New York City, that Doug E. Fresh claimed to have invented beatboxing as we know it today – as an integral part of hip hop culture. Rap crews in the Bronx now had drums to freestyle over. Like graffiti, it breathed life into the housing projects of the South Bronx and beyond, inspired by both a lack of money to buy equipment and a creative flair at odds with the social degradation. With the appearance of the pioneering Biz Markie, beatboxing – and hip hop in general – soared in popularity and legendary symbols still associated with the culture were set in stone. Adidas tracksuits. Puma Clydes. Cold Chillin’ records. And Biz making music with his mouth.

But by 1990, beatboxing (along with break-dancing) was suffering a backlash after persistent claims it was nothing more than a novelty. All this would change in 1999, with the release of a landmark album made by the cousin of Furious Five member Rahiem. Make the Music 2000 made beatboxing credible again, and saw its creator Rahzel crowned the first person to conquer the art of simultaneously singing and beatboxing at the same time.

It hasn’t just stopped there though. The current generation of beatboxers are doing it whilst playing flutes, pianos and even accompanying orchestras playing Mozart. There’s talk of a dolphin sanctuary in Florida choreographing a dance routine alongside seven of the World’s best beatboxers too. It sounds ridiculous. But if it turns up on YouTube, we’ll let you know.