CHENNAI: The sound of a drum fills the room, littered with the shrill tones of a cymbal. But there’s no instrument in the room. All we see is an individual, standing on stage with a mike kept close to his mouth.
Beatboxing is a musical art form that developed in the 1980s as part of the hip-hop movement in America. It was a musical and political upheaval that took over the music world in the West. This art form travelled Eastwards to India, and then down south to Chennai, in the early 2000s.
“Around 2007-08, I think I was the only person to beatbox in the city when there was little to no knowledge on what beatboxing was. A lot of people thought it was mimicry, and sound engineers used to even shout at us and tell us not to spit on the mike,” says Bharadwaj Balaji, a beatboxer in the city.
A self-proclaimed ‘old-school beatboxer’, Balaji explains that he took up beatboxing to supplement his rapping, as both rely heavily on beats, rhythm and flow. In an attempt to make the music more accessible to Chennai audiences, Balaji began to spread awareness by beatboxing at cultural events in the city and hosting talks on the music. But it was only in 2013 did the scene see some change.
Cultural changes
“I think the reason beatboxing got more popular was because of the growth of the hip-hop scene in Chennai. Not only did the music, but also the effect of graffiti, which used to be all over train stations, lead to the growth of the hip-hop scene and beatboxing,” he says.
From 2013 to now, the growth of the community has been incredible. From a handful of beatboxers, Chennai now boasts around 90 beatboxers. However, the first few years were not very organised, with the community meeting only during college culturals. In 2017, the Chennai Beatboxing Community (CBC) was established to bring the community together.
“We meet up regularly for jam sessions and battles - we hold this almost weekly. Battles are very popular in the city because people like to come and compete with each other,” says Rohith Sanjeev, co-founder of the Chennai Beatboxing Community. Soon after, in 2018, the Chennai Beatboxing Championships was held in the city, organised by Beats Club, and Rohith emerged as the winner of the competition. This was the first time such an event was held in Chennai and it helped boost the city’s reputation in the nation’s beatboxing scenario.
East meets West
To further make the art form more accessible to the public, Chennai beatboxers have employed unique ways to make audiences appreciate and understand their art.“I am a Tamil paiyyan, through and through. So I decided to incorporate south Indian sounds into beatboxing by learning how to beatbox the urumi. I’m still learning how to beatbox the mridangam, which is a little difficult, but there are a few beatboxers who can do it,” says Balaji. Many beatboxers in the city have adopted the same as well, and Balaji says that this is because the sounds are more familiar and accessible to general audiences, who may not be able to understand the nuances of a performance right away.
Furthermore, Balaji decided to incorporate stand-up comedy into his performance to keep audiences entertained. “New-school beatboxing has a lot of trap, trance and EDM in it. In that sense, old-school beatboxing is a bit more accessible to audiences because it focuses on the typical sounds of a base, snare and cymbal,” says Sanjeev. Beatboxing in movies such as Kaala and Gully Boy has also educated larger audiences on the musical form.
CBC has been working with corporates to organise avenues for beatboxers to perform their talents for monetary returns, but Sanjeev feels that the scene is still too young in the city for a performer to take up beatboxing professionally full-time. “The scene in Chennai is between underground and mainstream. But 2020 will be our year, just you watch,” he says.