BENGALURU: The stage is set, the limelight is on him and then he starts off with the magic trick, which makes audience go wow. And when I say magic, he does not use any black art or crimp; his vocal chords are enough. Meet Vineeth Vincent, a musician, an Emcee, entrepreneur, performing artist and one of the pioneers of beatboxing in India.
Vincent, who is in his early twenties, has been chosen to judge the first all India Beatboxing championship, which is being held from December 6 to 9 in Nagaland. He is one among the five judges, who are coming from across the globe, for the show.
Vineeth is super excited to be a part of this unique championship. Recalling his initial days as a struggler, Vineeth said, “I was 19 when I decided to take up beatboxing. I was an Emcee and used to come up with unique sounds on stage. Then I started working on it, learnt about beatboxing, and then decided to take it up full time. Gradually I started receiving positive response from everyone, which helped me make a career out of it.”Beatboxing, a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice, is the latest fad among youngsters. Vineeth opines that Bengaluru tops the list when it comes to the craze for this.
However, the journey wasn’t a cakewalk for Vincent. Initially his family too was skeptical about his career choice. But, when he started getting shows regularly, his family realised that he was tailor-made for it. “Back then in 2008, many people didn’t know about it. In fact, even now, many don’t know about this. So before the show, and in between, I explain about beatboxing to my audience, before they confuse it to a music that’s coming out from a musical instrument,” he adds.
Unlike many others who do this part-time, Vincent has taken up beatboxing as a full-time job and says this has actually helped him to pay his bills and also make some decent savings. “I have completed 1,250 shows till date in India and looking forward to perform soon in abroad. The problem with a few people who start off with beatboxing is that they want instant success. They want their first show to be super-hit, which can get them name and fame. What they don’t understand is that as an entertainer, one has to come as a package. People are not just here to see how talented you are; they are here for entertainment. And if you can’t entertain them, you cannot succeed,” he opines.
Crediting internet for the rapid growth of beatboxing trend, Vincent says it is not at all difficult to learn this art.
“All you need is a good Internet connection to learn through YouTube tutorials and there you go. You can certainly make it big here,” he signs off.