After traveling the world to tons of beatboxing events, there are trends that I’ve identified across every beatbox community. From guys who try too hard to emulate Gene and Alem, to meme-worthy beatbox superstars.

Now, I understand that beatboxers ironically hate being put in a box, which is why I wrote this article just for fun (don’t be offended, people!)

Here are 13 types of beatboxers I see every day. Tag a mate and let us know which one you relate to!

1.The Musical One aka Gene Shinozaki’s Regen

We all have a friend who practices those damn vocalized lip oscillations every waking second of the day, edging one step closer to emulating the legendary Gene Shinozaki. No matter how hard he tries, the chances are slim that he’d ever get there. Hey, we can’t deny we’ve all tried to be Gene in some shape or form.

All jokes aside, the musical beatboxer, while not as technically gifted as others, are so musically inclined to the point you forget they’re even beatboxing anymore. They’re a joy to listen to and serve as true pioneers in our industry, making beatbox enjoyable to the masses.

2. The Speed Demon aka Alem Jr.

That beatboxer who’s beatbox round looks like this:

1. Sings off-tune for 30 seconds
2. Build up involving heavy breathing and peh snares
3. Totally unrelated drop, littered with over 30 sounds per second

The speed demon is the technical beatboxer who you probably don’t want to be sharing a microphone with. Chances are, the mic is flooded with spitballs or it broke after the most mind-blowing PTK combos on the planet. Speed demons possess incredible structural knowledge, although they are a little hard to understand at times (sorry for my plebian ears).

3. The Guy Who Overuses One Sound

This is the guy whose unique beatboxing style is literally defined by one sound. While he’s happy to show it off at the most anticipated section of each drop of his beatbox routine, he feels a little reluctant to put out any YouTube tutorial videos on how to do it properly. Heck, there’s also a high chance he named the sound after himself.

4. The Guy Who Overuses One Sound and It's Lip Rolls

Don’t be that guy. Less is more.

Further reads: The Art of Simplicity

5. The Really Good Beatboxer With Terrible Mic Technique

This is the kid who is killing it on discord, but has never owned a proper microphone nor has performed on stage. His technical and musical abilities gets people hyped about his talent, but he falls flat once he’s on the big stage.

This is easily trained though, especially with our guide on how to hold the beatbox microphone.

6. The Guy Who Only Quotes Beatbox Memes

The guy who has nothing interesting to say besides regurgitating awful beatbox memes. He only became ‘that guy’ after he got a few chuckles after screaming “BBK” at a battle once.

7. The Judge

The new generation of kids refers to this beatboxer as the judge, without realizing he was the best beatboxer of his time, which cemented their place as a world-class judge in the first place.

The judge shrugs off the comment graveyard of YouTube, and offsets the negativity by traveling to the world’s most prestigious beatboxing events. They have incredible knowledge of the nuances, trends, and artistic brilliance of beatboxers from the past and the present, making high-pressure decisions in the best tournaments in the world.

8. The French

If you name the top 20 beatboxers in the world today, 80% of them are probably French. If you can’t identify them with their immense beatboxing capabilities, you can hear them singing allez, allez, allez while waving a small French flag in between every round of a beatbox battle.

9. The Beatbox Lotto Winner

That one guy who got picked up by Vine, Unilad, Humanbeatbox, Swissbeatbox, Beatbox TV, The Voice, and American Idol all within a week. This beatboxer most likely has a few really nasty covers, but doesn’t have the chops or creative output to stay alive as an artist in the long-run. We’ll remember you though from the early days of the interwebz.

10. The Too Many Shoutouts in a Shoutout Beatboxer

That one guy who treats a shoutout video like winning a Golden Globe, giving thanks to his mom, his beatbox crew, his local community, Jesus, and Krishna.

11. The Teamspeak / Discord Beatboxer

The super talented kid who wins every online battle, and touts that he has only been beatboxing for two months. They might turn a few heads on the international level, and sit on the cusp of making it big in a year or two. This beatboxer is also likely to have a shoutout video with their age listed in the title as clickbait (little shade intended).

12. The Possessed Beatboxer

This beatbox can’t stop moving their hands, feet, legs, and head. They’re spazzing out so much that you get so distracted from their actual beatboxing, because you’re deciding whether you should be calling the exorcist or an ambulance.

13. The Nice Guy Who Doesn’t Really Beatbox but is Friends With Everyone and Always Has a Good Time

Usually the guy you go to for weed.

That’s it!

Which one do you relate to the most? Am I missing anyone? Let me know in the comments below! 👇