Rahsaan Roland Kirk is one of the great jazz masters of the 20th century and also one of the most entertaining musicians of all-time. How can you not dig a guy who plays three saxaphones at the same time… with occasional nose flute? Unreal breath control. He was able to harness circular breathing (a talent shared by other prominent jazz musicians such as Wynton Marsalis and former circular breathing world record holder Kenny G) in order to make a constant tone and could channel his breath through different mouthpieces, allowing him to play multiple instruments at the same time.

Circular breathing has long been a specialized skill of players of wind instruments but I think it has also moved into the realm of hip-hop, as evidenced by the Human Beatbox, Rahzel. I’m not certain that Rahzel uses circular breathing to perform beats as well as spoken or sung lyrics simultaneously, but it seems to be a logical conclusion. How else do you explain this? And if he doesn’t use circular breathing, how sick of a beatboxer could he be if he did?

For a circular breathing lesson from Kenny G, click here.

Last night I attended Dos Equis “The Most Interesting Show in the World” at The Recher Theatre in Towson, Md. The show was amazing and showcased a lot of talented actors, musicians and entertainers.

Particularly, I wanted to point out the female performers because they showed some amazing talent on stage! My favorite was the first act, Phatima, The Pharaoh’s Private Vocalist. She managed to beat box and sing so fluently and did it with attitude. I loved it so much, I took two videos with my FlipCam to show off her talent to those who didn’t make it out.

And here is another one with Angelo Moore, aka Dr. Madd Vibe, on the saxaphone.

Another performer that stood out to me was Mei Ling, Esteemed Equilibrist of the East. She was raised by circus acrobat parents and trained by martial arts masters and has some amazing strength. Check out this video to see her balance her whole body on one hand!

One more act that stood out in my mind was Melody Sweets, The Sultry Siren of San Michele. This burlesque singer had a great voice and stage presence. Some women may find this portrays when as sex symbols, but when looking at all of the performances as a whole, I found this one stood out for the talent. It shows a woman that is comfortable with her body and is not afraid to be a little bit of a tease.

Your thoughts on the show? What do you think these acts say about women? Positive or negative?

Matisyahu

What do you think of when you hear the words “Hasidic Jew?” Probably the last thing to come to mind would be rapper. But that is exactly what Matthew Paul Miller, better known as Matisyahu, epitomizes. By blending traditional Jewish themes with reggae, rock, beat box, and hip-hop, Matisyahu defies most racial boundaries as an unexpected but talented artist. His race and religion is not a detriment, but a blessing and he treats it as such. Singing of self-proclaimed “songs of love and healing,” he effectively spreads the messages of his religion and beliefs.

Dressed in traditional Hasidic Jew attire complete with a black fedora and long beard, Matisyahu is constantly surprising audiences with his music. His major hit song, “King without a Crown” was a Top 40 hit and was plastered all over MTV and the radio. He was even named as the Top Reggae artist of 2006 by Billboard. Matisyahu appeals to both young and old audiences as he delivers messages of Bible stories accompanied with a hip, catchy reggae beat.  His vocal style mixes traditional Rasta Roots with a dub sound. His lyrics can be deeply spiritual at times, while other tracks are lighter in tone. Some of his musical inspirations include Bob Marley, Phish, and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.  Most of his songs are completely in English although he does occasionally use some Yiddish and Hebrew terms.

Matisyahu – King Without A Crown

Although he may not look like the stereotypical rapper, Matisyahu performs with “crooning, spell-binding vocals” (Meadows) that create a unique and refreshing sound. Equally impressive is his ability to take a genre such as rap and use it in an atypical way to spread positive messages instead of the hate and degradation that is common in many rap songs. Matisyahu uses his race and religion to separate him from other similar artists. His culture makes him so dissimilar from the rest of the rap artists that people really pay attention when they hear his music in combination with his exterior presence. In essence, he stands out. The intrigue surrounding Matisyahu negotiates the two different representations of self and industry stunningly.

He stays true to himself, his religion, and his music without conforming to the standard message, style, stereotype, and influence that comes with traditional rap music. In Matisyahu’s case, his race and unique representation of himself is a tremendous benefit because he is so distinctive. Most are pleasantly surprised when they hear his music after previously judging him based on looks alone. In a genre primarily dominated by African Americans, Matisyahu successfully differentiates himself from the rest of the pack not only with his looks, but also and most importantly with his unique and refreshing musical styles. Disregarding industry pressures, Matisyahu delivers inspirational music without compromising who he is.

Matisyahu – Jerusalem

Ali Armour

]]> http://willcady.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/source-audio-hot-hand-and-soundblox-artists-kid-beyond-aka-andrew-chaikin/ Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:01:55 +0000 willcady http://willcady.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/source-audio-hot-hand-and-soundblox-artists-kid-beyond-aka-andrew-chaikin/

Just began working at a company called Source Audio.  They make a product called the Hot Hand which will blow your mind.  Click the link for a video of Kid Beyond giving a performance with it.

Se você acha que a arte do Beat Box já é difícil, dê uma olhada no vídeo abaixo e confira a perícia do Flautista BeatBox!

Abraços,

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Amazing!
My favourite neu video.

Thanks to Mister Manouvers

His name is Daichi; an 18 year old beat-boxer looking to express his talents.

This video actually has nothing to do with the basic concept of my blog.

However, I thought it was amazing enough to deserve some internet coverage regardless of how much it may not apply to my live music mission.

Meet Juila Dales the WORLD CHAMP Online beatboxer.  She is 17 and Canadian.

Julia opens her beatbox contest entry video with, “My name is Julia Dales and I want to win the Beatbox Battle Wild Card.” Julia got her wish, taking first place in the 2009 Online Beatbox Battle World Championship this year.

Congrats, Julia.

credit : TheBeatboxHitman2 @YT +royalaces@WP

Just when you thought it’d end with one post on my blog…

Some beatboxing to Genie by Girls’ Generation:

Some security guard fun to the tune of Nobody by Wonder Girls

And last but not least, a televised dance cover of Tell Me by Wonder Girls done by police officers!

Whistle FTW! If you’ll notice, the members of Wonder Girls are actually watching from the side of the stage.

LOLOLOLOLOL, FTW Korea, FTW!

I love these kinds of videos for some reason. I think it’s… something like ingenuity trumps talent and makes awesome. This pleases me.

This one popped up a while back.  Stay with it – the awesome doesn’t really begin until 0:40:

The first instance of this style I ever saw was here:

He did another video worth checking out. Same concept but executed with instruments (no, he can’t actually play any of these – the editing makes him a maestro):

This video is brought to you by Neurosonics Audiomedical Lab in collaboration with The Scratch Perverts, Foreign Beggars, Shlomo and Will Clarke with sound design by Will Cohen.

[via Motionographer]