Beatboxing Scene in India - The Fifth Pillar of Hip-pop

Artwork: Love to the Mic by KWC Art. Source: Fine Art America

Beatboxing being the fifth pillar of Hip-pop has grown massively around the globe. From Michael Jackson’s songs to mainstream commercials in every sector, we’ve weaved it into almost every genre of music possible. In India, it wasn’t purely a form of music but a cultural amalgamation reflecting the richness of our society. Just as singing has been a part of our culture and religion since the birth of musical notes, beatboxing existed as a vocal exercise for our people - from pranayama yoga to monks and saints practicing chanting via different tone and timber at par with vocal chords; which has been a gift to human beings.

When beatboxing travelled from around the globe to us, it was like an addition to our knowledge of music to tune in with our souls. As commonly said, experiencing music is a cathartic process for the artist as well as the audience listening. This Hip-pop element opened doors for our musicians to explore deeper, employing their skills to produce something extraordinary for the world. Beatboxing for instance, uses mouth and throat to imitate sounds of nature and other musical instruments. And it is rarely known that there is no limit to any sound which can’t be produce within the capacity of our vocal chords.

Delhi being the center of attention along with Bombay, filled with artists exploring thyself to grow better in this field, acted like a doorway to boost it amongst the population. From collegiate festivals to national TV shows, we’ve come a long way to say that Indian beatbox adds its own gourmet flavor. Recently, our community experienced one of the largest Indian Beatbox Championship which was held in Bombay where almost every beatboxer pan India was present and shared their perspectives on Beatboxing culture. From Loopstation artists looping live with beatbox samples to Solo and Tag teams’ battles, we saw everything.

Delhi Beatbox community is one of the most active communities in India to initiate the creation of awareness in our societies and making people understand that this art has its own way of expressing itself in the field of world music. From monthly meetups to micro battles around the city, there are people who have dedicated themselves for the fulfillment of our goal i.e. to make artists feel comfortable and included of this era and their style of expression. If you ever get to experience the beatboxing cyphers or battles, you’ll see that it’s a healthy dynamic where everyone gets to learn from other artists as well as compete in a respectful way.

Artwork: Beatbox Inn by Chase Fleischman. Source: Fine Art America.

There have been a few accomplished beatboxers who outstand and represent the best of us out in the world. From representing Folk Beatbox and winning one of the most prestigious shows, IGT, Dvk has been on the top of the list. Also, to look into it academically, Cameron Martin Campbell has published a research paper explaining how beatboxing can be its own universal language. To know more about us you can follow our YouTube and Instagram pages. For almost each state there’s a community existing and if you want to experience beatbox up and close then hit them up and stay tuned with their updates on cyphers and battles around your city. Just type the <“State” Beatbox Community> in the search bar and you’ll find one. For e.g. Delhi Beatbox Community or Bombay Beatbox Community so on and so forth. See you in the next battle!

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For the love of art,

Mohit Butta

Beatboxer | Percussionist | Event Curator