It has to be said. Stop the Kaila hate.
Kaila Mullady has been subject to heavy criticism as of late - almost to the point where it has been discouraging to see how much the community has changed.
In this post, I’m going to cover why Kaila is actually more than just a wonderful musician, but is also a wonderful person. I want to mention why it’s important for us to maintain our values in the community and to be supportive of each other.
Background
Kaila was born in Long Island and discovered beatboxing when she met J-Flo at a party. She was amazed by his talents and J-Flo began to mentor her. Soon thereafter, her life was changed as she took a deep dive when she met beatboxers like Chris Celiz (NYCBeatbox), Amit, and Kid Lucky - all when the American beatbox scene was beginning - or as we thought - to slowly dissipate. Kid Lucky then pushed her and his students to explore all forms of vocal performances where Kaila developed her talents in beatrhyming.
Understanding Her Style
Under Kid Lucky’s influence, Kaila has taken a holistic approach to beatboxing. To her, it’s more than keeping a beat; it's crafting an entire performance, from the movement of her body to her outfit to her unique beatboxing style. As a former actress, she is never shy to show her theatrical side.
Beatrhyming is when you sing, talk, or rap while beatboxing at the same time without separation. Kaila fell in love with beatrhyming because she’s communicating in a way that a general audience would understand, sharing both a story and an opportunity to go home with a catchy tune stuck in the head.
Kaila is not Pe4enkata
Let’s get things straight. Kaila is not Pe4enkata, the same way Reeps One is not Alem. They are both extremely talented in their own right and direct comparisons have little to no basis besides the fact they are both female.
“She won just because she’s female.”
By far my least favorite argument. This argument not only discredits the ability of the judges, but is simply sexist. How are we going to call ourselves a family when we cheapen a woman beatboxer’s ability to simply her gender?
Making these claims not only hurts Kaila, but all the hopeful female beatboxers in the world. Gender-bashing comments like these are the exact reasons why the scene has made very little progress in diversity and inclusion - where the likes of Kaila, Sparx, Pe4enkata, Track IX work hard to promote.
“She’s too cocky.”
When a woman is timid on stage, she is bashed for lacking confidence. When she exudes confidence, she is bashed for being too cocky. There is a clear double standard here.
Kaila is a natural performer - she is able to steal the show while confidently expressing herself on stage. At the end of the day, beatboxing is a performance and in her own unique way, she is entertaining.
We forget they are human, too.
As beatboxers begin to pick up fame and the community grows larger, what seemed like a close-knit family has become much harder to manage. We used to know each beatboxer by where they were from, what their backgrounds were, and what their hobbies are. We treated each other as friends and family, because we knew who they were as people.
Many beatboxers have now reached the status of practically a celebrity. Unfortunately, for artists and genuinely kind people like Kaila, many have been subjected to sexism, and harsh criticisms that have dug up the ugly side of our community. This is not what we’re about.
Opinions are okay!
Differing opinions are okay and we should continue promoting a safe place for us to discuss our personal preferences and sharing our thoughts. We’ve done this successfully through our ‘We Talk Beatbox’ discussion group. But as the scene grows - we just wish to see better ways to communicate them.
We love you, Kaila
Kaila loves beatboxing and the community. It saddens me that she has been subject to such hard criticism where she stands as one of the biggest advocates for the scene to grow.
We love your style, Kaila. We love your courage, passion, and love for the scene. Continue being bold, we’re all counting on you.
Right, Kaila is a beatrhymmer. She’s good for being female beatboxer, but for some reason of audience perceptions that Kaila was only won just because she’s an part of BEATBOX HOUSE and it’s influence. Community always thinking of it. Added of his boyfriend’s issue. We can’t deny misjudging in a particular competition and Kaila is involve with it. But for me Kaila is a good beatboxer because she cannot be on top if she’s not deserving at her place today…..