This week's Top 10 shows some love to Asian beatboxers around the world!
Hello, Beatbox Family!
From music videos to submission vids, we've got it all this week, with a twist. Given all the recent championships and growing Asian and Asian-American beatboxing scenes, there was an abundance of mind-blowing beatbox videos from our brothers from Asia. Let's go!
10. Summit | Weight in Gold (BeatBox Cover)
Starting our list this week is a cover of "Weight in Gold" by Korean beatboxer Summit. The emotional energy and confident "sing-boxing" makes this a must watch for all lyrical beatboxers. Everything about the presentation, his stance, his facial expressions, and the video filter help to communicate the vibe of the music. Great job, Summit, we wish every beatboxer put this much emotion into their beats!
9. Dharni and Maryla Modzelan | Love On The Brain (Rihanna Beatbox Cover)
Dharni always kills it with the collabs. It's hard to choose from all his awesome content, but this cover stands out not only because of the musicality in his routine, but also the ultra clear bass notes he drops half way through. He and Maryla live up to a long list of awesome duets he's done (check out our Top Ten Halloween Edition for reference), and we hope they do even more than they already have up on his channel.
8. Sung Lee | Starboy / I Feel It Coming - The Weekend/Daft Punk (Beatbox Mashup)
This one had us hooked in the first few seconds. Sung Lee hits us with some straight up expert looping. The mashup cover is a reminder of how versatile beatboxing is, especially when combined with looping: his chords, beats, and singing build on each other to make a totally "full" sound. Not only is his technique great, but he's also really jamming to the music, which makes us jam out with him.
7. Echo | Beatbox/Dat Beatboxer Official Music Video
Echo, a Taiwanese singer, made this super high-quality beatbox music video. Now, I'll be honest, the only lyric I understood was when he switched to English and said "beatbox" and "freestyle," which made me feel like a pretty ignorant American. But that didn't keep me from loving the sick beatbox breakdown at 2:26. What really stood out to us about this video was how seamlessly beatboxing was mixed with pop music and produced beats. Way to go, Echo! Echo! Echo!
6. Trung Bao vs. Komodo | 2016 American Beatbox Championships
These two have been the talk of the town since the American Champs. The two up and comers face off in one of the most high energy battles of the American Champs. With very different styles, the battle, unlike some, stays fresh for the whole thing. Somehow, even in the semifinals, they keep surprising the crowd and the judges at every turn with interesting takes on new school beats. As Patrick says, "These new school cats... make some noise for the new school!"
5. Spectrax | 2016 Canadian Beatbox Championship Prelim
Spectrax really plowed his way to the finals of the Canadian 2016 Champs, starting with this dope prelim. He really takes control of the stage, knowing exactly how to move to capture the crowd. And his showmanship isn't the only thing that makes him stand out. His newer take on more old-school techniques like reverses, breath technique, and grimy bass produce beats that give us everything we want: flow, swag, and clarity.
4. MOUZIK | We Don’t Talk Anymore (Beatbox Cover)
Here is another great cover from Mouzik, the Taiwanese beatbox crew led by 4-time Taiwanese Beatbox Champion Jimix. We don't know too much about the collaborator, but they altogether have a wonderful balance. We've been noticing a trend of beatbox music videos lately, and we love it! Keep them coming, Mouzik!
3. Hiss | 2016 Online Beatbox Battle Submission
Hiss wowed us with his entry to the 2016 Online Beatbox Battle. Making variations on a catchy melody, he shows off his expert technique and structure throughout the short routine. Seeing this, it's no surprise that Hiss made it all the way to the finals. Big ups! Oh, and if you haven't seen the rest yet, check out the submissions from the rest of the Top 16 here!
2. Napom | "Making Use of the Useless" Beatbox House Party
All right, so NAPOM might not be Asian, but he is headed to China right now to judge the China Beatbox Champs of 2016. And he just got back from the Japanese Beatbox Champs. And this is an absolutely nasty routine, that he himself created. And he's got those X's on his hands just to remind everyone that you don't have to be old to be 2x American champ. Need I say more?
1. Reatmo Beatbox | Live Looping
It's a slow burner, but well worth the wait. Reatmo reveals what's possible when someone has sick beatbox skills and excellent singing. Not many beatboxers could pull off a slower song, but, through spot on intonation, musical instincts, and layering, Reatmo does it with ease. It's videos like this one that make us want to go out and buy a 505 loopstation! And yes... it's, okay if you cried during this.
BONUS VIDEO: Beatboxers Read Mean Comments ft. Beatbox House
Here's an old We Talk BeatBox video we've re-uploaded on the HBB channel (remember the WTBB days?). Title says it all. Check it!
Well, that's it for this week! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to check us out every Monday for the Top 10 Beatbox videos of the week. Can you guess our theme for next Monday?
