Love, Peace And Beatbox (2008) Movie Script
Sharper. Press your
lips together hard.
Ever heard of Beatboxing?
- No.
Or Beatboxers?
- No.
Human Beatbox?
I don't... Oh, right, yes.
Making beatbox sounds.
Making noises with your mouth.
A kind of microphone art...
Done with the voice. And
it's heavy on the beat.
A sort of rhythm group
with mouth-made beats.
No, what's that? Beat... what?
Hi, there!
Welcome to my pastures!
That's my dog, Toby.
Sit! Very obedient, huh?
Mostly cooped up inside
Now we're out on the streets
All around, far and wide
Everyone's rockin' to Wetlipz' beats
I'm Wetlipz, from the
And I'm thrilled to be here...
Out in the sun...
This is Pirat.
Go on!
- I'm Pirat MC of Berlinutz.
We do Hip-Hop and Rap,
usually with these guys.
That's it...
- And we're having a beer.
You know, Beatboxing...
When I started in 1999, 2000,
people sounded like this.
Mostly crap. Then I heard
Rahzel and Killa Kela,
and I was like, "Amazing!
I want to do that!"
Beatbox was so new people
thought it was a martial art.
"Oh, really, Beatboxing?
Can I see a move?"
"You don't do moves, you make beats. "
That's how it was till about 2003, 2004.
In the first battles I was in, it
was mostly Old School Beatboxing.
Basically pretty basic
stuff, you know, like this...
Doing that well,
maybe adding...
...a bit of scratching or melody,
was enough to win a battle.
If the show was good, at least.
The show counted more then.
Today you'll go to a battle
and some 18-year-old...
...will rattle something
off like a machine.
It sounds cool, sure,
but it's almost... freaky.
That's what I'd call
New School Beatbox.
Mando, my 4XSample Crew homie,
was German Champion in 2006.
And he's very good, of course.
And what can I say? I'm sure
he'll win this year, too...
But it'll be harder this time.
Congratulations!
LAST YEAR... BEATBOX
CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
The German Beatbox
Champion: Mando from Berlin!
Mando, come on and join
us up here on the stage!
Mando, from the
the new German Human
Beatbox Champion!
Congratulations!
You won the Fourth German
Championship! Here's your certificate.
Now the winner will serve up
some beats with the golden mike!
We need the blue cable, guys!
Looks like it works. Thanks!
- All right!
We need to set up for later.
When I give a workshop, one
of the main things I try to do
is tell people about what Hip-Hop is,
what its origins are and what it means.
There are five
elements to Hip-Hop.
First of all the DJs, the
guys on the turntables,
Then there's the MC,
the Master of Ceremonies.
That's something a lot
of newcomers don't know.
And then...
Next there's Breakdance.
Breakdance is a word
the media coined, though.
The real term for Breakdance
is actually "b-boying. "
But the media dubbed it Breakdancing,
so we'll use that term for the moment.
Then there's graffiti...
Some call it vandalism,
but we disagree.
Sure, there are jerks who scratch
their tag into every glass pane around.
You can't even read them.
To me, that is vandalism.
And there's Beatboxing,
the fifth element.
We had to fight hard to get it
officially recognized as such.
About three years ago we won,
and now it's the fifth element.
Wait... How did that go again?
Right...
Let's hear some Rap.
Wherever in Berlin that I go The
DJs ain't got soul, ain't got flow
All the stuff that I'm
hearin' Is so shitty and dreary
Every jerk thinks he's
king Even kids of ten
Not yet in their teens
Get fucked up in this scene
The system's a bitch Every
jerk wants to get rich
Pen bad rhymes about tits and
speed And call himself an MC
To know what I mean
Check out Rap City Berlin
You suck, your business is weak
Listen to me, you kids in our scene
You're way better
than those freaks!
This aggro vibe in Berlin
That sucks, it's got to stop
And it's going
to kill Hip-Hop
Cool. You done?
- Yup, done.
My turn.
- Okay, you rap now.
And I'll do Beatbox?
- Yeah.
Sittin' here on the meadow
Feelin' pretty mellow
Yeah, this is cool Though
I wish I had a stool
Having a root up my butt kinda
blows But that's okay, I got flow
Sitting on the grass
That's got class
Cool, huh? Bet you can't top that.
- Yeah. Strike!
Right! All right!
I grew up in a
high-rise project.
I said to my mom once the
streets were my school.
But that's bullshit.
I'm a pretty normal guy.
My family's cool, but
my dad's an asshole.
He left us when I was ten.
My mom told him to fuck off.
It was better that way,
though at first I freaked out.
They asked me who I wanted
to live with and I said
I'd rather live on the street.
I tried it, but I
lasted about two hours.
Then I'd had it and
went home crying.
But that's history.
Anyway, I grew up in what
used to be East Berlin
and dropped out
of high school.
I had other things on my
mind, and I mean, literally.
Around the same time I moved closer
to the center, to Friedrichshain.
I got a job where I trained to be
a game-level designer, bla bla...
What can I say, I
think do pretty well.
People always say
I'm spaced out.
But I'm no space cadet,
I know what I'm doing.
What's taking him so long?
- Yeah...
If that flake isn't here by
the time I count to three!
One...
Two...
Two-and-a-half...
Lucky for him!
- That was close.
Coming!
That's it, keep it up, guys!
Sorry, I had to go buy beer.
The beginning is fairly easy.
It starts out with a hi-hat...
That kind of thing.
It starts out smooth.
It's fairly slow at first.
And then it builds up.
- Right, later it's...
And who's going to
do... the hi-hat?
Me.
- I agree.
My parents are from Argentina,
from San Nicols near Buenos Aires.
It's around 30 kilometers
south of the capital,
about as far away as
Bonn is from Cologne.
I was born here in Germany.
I've been doing
Beatbox for six years.
And I really enjoy
doing lip disco.
The battles are where you
get together and meet people.
It's like a forum where Beatboxers
meet, in Germany at least.
And then we have jam
sessions on the street.
Just like in the Bronx, with
braziers and "yo!" all around.
Well, almost... It
was dark, anyway.
So, we had this session and
they showed me some stuff...
And Mando said he
could tell I had talent,
but we both kind of
held back at first.
It was funny, he was the only one
who was holding back like that.
I suspected right away there was more...
- That he had more tricks up his sleeve.
'Cause everyone else was
going all out to impress,
but he just listened in, with
maybe a "pfft" now and then...
But the others...
- Yeah.
Then we realized we were
way cooler than the others,
so we swapped numbers and
decided to get together.
We'd heard there was a
championship for teams...
So they exchanged
numbers and met,
and Mando told me that
he'd met the horse guy.
I said, "Oh, the horse guy.
" I called him Jolly Jumper.
That's Lucky Luke's horse.
Show him why they call you that.
- Yeah!
Well, it's because...
It's 'cause of a sound I really like
and was the first to perform on stage.
Then there was the
Hip-Hop World Challenge...
We were the only team representing
Germany, which was great.
The jury awarded us second place,
that is, we were vice world champions,
but unfortunately that's not official.
- No official title is bestowed.
The jury just mentioned it in passing.
- That was a shame.
They loved it and told
us it was really close.
But in the end Australia won both
the solo and team competition,
something we hope
to do this year.
There's something going on in
Berlin pretty much every week.
In 2005 we gave
Meaning we were drunk
at least 83 times.
Where does Beatbox
fit in with Hip-Hop?
It's said to be "the
fifth element"...
I disagree: I
consider it the first.
The technique is
difficult to learn
It requires a lot
tongue and finger skills,
plus a good sense of
rhythm and musical talent...
Beatbox isn't just Hip-Hop. You
can apply it to any musical genre:
Drum 'n' Bass, Techno,
Reggae, Ragga, Dance Hall...
Besides that,
Beatbox can be used
to achieve all kinds of
special effects, of course.
You can imitate horses,
explosions, helicopters...
The Foley artist's craft, which
came in with silent films...
...is now called Beatboxing.
With 4XSample, we always prepare
sets of about four to six minutes.
For the simple reason that that's the
time limit you have in most battles.
Usually we rehearse at
my house or Mando's...
We listen to songs we want to
cover or use for bastard pop,
where you mix the beat from one
track with lyrics from another.
So we'll work out a set, and in
between maybe do some freestyle.
We'll just jam till we
come up with something cool
or an interesting pattern.
Pattern are specific sequences of
measures that can vary in length
and are repeated in loops.
And that's how sets are born.
But we've started using ten-minute
sets. It just gives you more time.
Four minutes, that
can be exhausting.
We did one set in the 2005
championships that contained 14 songs.
Just imagine, 14 songs in four
minutes, plus scratches and solo parts!
It gets too much for people to take
in. Of course we hear every single beat,
but for the audience,
it's just a blur.
By the time they recognize a song
and start clapping, it's long gone.
So we're cooling it down...
Doing longer sets...
and writing them down.
I'll kick the beat, you rap?
- Like always.
Yup.
- Yup.
What tempo?
- I don't know, around 95 or 98 bpm.
Okay...
No, seriously...
Sittin' here in the
park Makin' our mark
Enjoyin' the weather
Chillin' together
Berlinutz says turn it up, I agree
Berlin's cool, the place to be
And we're lovin' it, livin'
it, Beatboxin' and rappin' it.
That's me, I'm not no hectic MC
I do it nice and cool and easy
Keeping things real in my head So
many MCs in this town are stupid
So come on down And
see the best in town:
Wetlipz, Berlinutz, Zirkus Mandolini
And all the girls in bikinis
Girls dancing, baring it all And
I'll beat that weenie MC at pinball
I'm all charged with energy
Just like that dolphin on TV
So come and see us anytime We're
in our prime, we have the rhymes
Moving our lips a mile a minute
Keeps us sharp, keeps us fit
Oops, lost my thread But
that's okay, time for bed
Tomorrow it's off to work in
Neuklln Early bird gets the worm
When I do Beatboxing,
I'm the kind of guy who...
...was born to make other people laugh.
It may sound weird, but it's true.
It makes me happy when
I can get people to laugh
and say, "That guy's
cool. I dig him. "
That goes for when I
perform on stage, too.
You joke around with the
audience, keep the banter coming...
If a guy heckles, I might josh
him, "Just a minute, Sugar!"
Once they're laughing and
eating out of your hand...
Then you put on your best
show and they lap it up...
That's like pure gold.
That's just the best.
And I just go with
the flow and enjoy it.
When I get home from my drum
lessons, I always practice
the new patterns with my mouth.
- Cool. What does that sound like?
Like this...
Wow.
Great... job... I'll say!
Now let's have some
yummy cocoa, okay?
I'm Bee Low from Berlin and
I founded Beatbox Battle.
I busted my ass over
the last few years
to provide the German
Beatbox community
with a forum for
fair competition.
I started out
hosting DJ battles.
I would time the
DJs with a stopwatch,
each one would get 90 seconds.
And when there was
a technical glitch,
the sound guys had to
replug cables or whatever...
In situations like that, as
the host I'd take the mike...
...and keep the audience
entertained with some beats
till the next act went on.
That's when I realized
how well Beatbox went over.
People liked it in its own
right, apart from the battles.
So I thought, 'Why not
have our own event? '
And the idea for the Beatbox
Championship was born.
The plans gradually
took on shape in 2001.
Maxim, may he rest in peace, who's
sadly no longer on this planet...
He and I thought everything through
and planned it all out together.
And on September
the first German Championships at
the Icon in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.
Zeero won the first title in
we did some publicity work,
sent out press releases...
We spread the word to people,
and the feedback was incredible.
Right away, we were invited
to the Austrian championship...
Zeero and I traveled
to Switzerland,
and it continued with Poland, the
Czech Republic, Finland, the UK...
Beatbox Battle was everywhere.
I was at all the events.
Usually I was on the jury,
as I couldn't very well host
in Finnish or whatever...
Two champions, and the
man who made them: Me.
Hey!
- Hi! You have ten minutes?
Sure.
- Great.
Hi, there. How are you doing?
Here are the contracts.
Pretty standard.
A copy for each of us.
But don't let them see.
That's strictly confidential.
- Okay.
Shit, I'm in business
but I haven't seen a cent.
It pisses me off, honestly.
As I was saying, for
the past few years
I've been hosting
events throughout Europe.
That includes DJ Championships
held by the ITF and DMC,
Breakdance championships,
and various Rap battles.
I've seen the dissing at Rap
battles. "I'll fuck your mama... "
"Your daddy this or that... "
And then a big fight breaks out,
bottles fly, the cops come...
And in the end the lights
go on and the party's ruined.
That's not my scene. To me,
it's about the element...
It's about demonstrating our
skills on stage in a fair way,
showing what we can do,
something not everyone can do.
And, without wanting to boast,
battling in a fair competition.
That's why I always
try to convey to people:
Being there is what counts, not
winning. Get to know each other...
It's not about "that guy's
my enemy" and all that.
Sure, when they're on
stage, face to face,
they'll eyeball each other
and try look intimidating,
you know, mock
shooting and stabbing...
But there's no real
violence of any kind.
And when the show is over
and they go backstage,
it's friendly handshakes
and slaps on the back,
and they swap numbers
and e-mail addresses.
The best example is the
They met at a Beatbox Battle,
they really hit it off,
and decided to found a crew.
Now they do
professional recordings.
I'm Zeero, two-time
German Beatbox Champion.
I won twice, but the bigger deal
to me is that I was the first.
That's something no one
can ever take from me.
We were 13 or 14.
I don't know if
I should say this,
but weed was actually
what brought us together.
I had this computer game he
liked and he had the connections.
So we got together one evening,
hung out, gamed, and got high.
He asked if I wanted
to listen to some music.
I figured he meant on his ghetto
blaster and said "sure" and kept playing.
When he started making these
sounds, I just stared and thought,
'Wow, what's that? ' I had
never heard anything like it.
And he knew some ace
tricks, for those days.
First I just watched five or ten
minutes as he did this Breakdance beat.
And then he went on to do a whole
show with all sorts of beats,
and I went on playing
Mortal Kombat on the side.
That was my first
encounter with Beatbox.
There was this
telephone chat...
People would meet in
chat rooms and talk,
kind of like on the Internet
today, but on the phone.
I recognized a friend's voice,
but he didn't recognize me.
So I start saying his
name in a robot voice
and imitating Rahzel beats.
He thought it was the CD
and is like, "Cool, Rahzel!"
He got the CD 'cause of me,
actually. So when I said his name,
he was bowled over.
"Hey, who is this?"
When he realized
it was me, he said,
"Hey, I want to see you do that
myself. I bet you used a computer!"
When I did a demonstration, he said,
"That's great, you should keep it up. "
Soon after that
I met Bee Low...
He got me to go on stage with him,
and it kind of went from there.
Soon people knew about
me, a few, at least.
Okay, that's enough!
- Out, out!
Bee Low, he's some
guy! Maximum respect!
Just thinking of him
makes me grin, you know?
The way I see it, Bee Low
is the godfather of Beatbox.
The seminal battler,
in Germany, especially.
He's amazing. I just love him.
He MCs at all the Beatbox battles.
He pretty much invented the scene.
It was a struggle at first, but
now it's a Europe-wide thing.
Worldwide, even.
Bee Low knows
people everywhere.
And practically every Beatboxer
in the world knows who he is.
So, really, all I can say is:
Maximum respect to Bee Low!
Oralic Sound Machines,
Machines, Machines...
For me, it all started when...
Around '83 or '84.
It was a bit different
with me than most others.
I didn't get into it by
hearing stuff from the States.
In my case it all started with me
trying to imitate different sounds.
I actually wanted to do
stand-up comedy originally.
I experimented a lot.
I'd do animal noises James
Brown loops, and stuff like that.
I'd do live performances,
with just a mike.
And it really went
over well, too.
I traveled all over the place.
And then, sometime
in '84 or '85,
someone told me Beatboxing
had its roots in Hip-Hop.
And that someone was Maxim.
I had my posse in Wedding,
the part of Berlin where
I was born and raised.
Maxim's scene was
Kreuzberg and Schneberg.
We each did our thing on our own turf,
but then we got to know each other.
But due to the tensions
between Wedding and Kreuzberg
we'd actually meet
secretly to practice.
Before the Wall fell, we used to
meet at Friedrichstrasse station
'cause it was neutral territory
and the cops couldn't bother us.
We became good friends with the
guys from the BVG transit authority.
They'd turn the key,
a huge wrench, and say,
"Stand clear of
the closing doors. "
And there would be a microphone
and speakers on the left side,
and the same thing
on the right side.
So, we got hold of one of the keys
and presto: Beatbox in the subway.
Back when I
started coming here
and started hanging out and I
first heard them doing Beatbox,
I thought, 'What's that? '
I was kind of intrigued by it,
but I at first I was too shy
to get up in front of the
guys all alone, as a girl.
But Mesia kept saying, "Come
on, why don't you give it a try?"
I was still scared, but finally
I got up my nerve and did.
It kind of went from there.
I kept at it... and here I am.
Mesia and those guys
were my teachers.
They showed me lots of stuff.
I'm Neves, and my Beatbox group
is called Oralic Sound Machines.
It's been about five years. At
first I wasn't into it at all.
I thought it was really weird,
like: 'What the hell is that? '
But then one day I went
to see Killa Kela perform.
He's from the U.K. And
he's really well known.
I ended up talking to him, and
after the show I was so psyched
that I just had to learn that
and get so good that people
would really get off on it.
Just percussion, melodies...
You know, stuff
that grabs people.
And things just kind of fell into
place. I practiced a lot on my own...
Then a year or two later, I met Mesia,
who was still with Maxim back then.
I attended a few Beatbox
workshops, and it went from there.
I'm sorry to say Maxim
passed away a few years ago.
A situation got out of hand
and there was a big blow up.
But Mesia is the one
to ask about that.
He knows more
about it than I do.
The only people who
know what really happened
are the ones who were there.
But according to...
...the official story, at least,
the official version of events,
his wife was out shopping...
She had the baby
along in a stroller.
She didn't get a shopping cart
'cause she couldn't push both,
so she loaded the
groceries onto the stroller.
The problem was, this older
man took offense to that,
or however you
want to call it.
He went running to the cashier
and accused her of shoplifting
'cause she wasn't
using a cart, whatever.
Which was true, she
was using the stroller.
Anyway, the man sent the cashier
over, but when he saw her,
he said, "Oh, she's a regular customer!
She never uses a cart, it's no problem. "
Well, the old
geezer got upset...
He felt he wasn't being taken seriously,
whatever, and made a huge scene.
Anyway, it was Maxim's birthday.
That's why she'd gone shopping at all.
So she gets home and tells him about
it, not to egg him on, but just...
"Unbelievable, this old geezer
just accused me of stealing!"
"He's still down there, making a scene
and ranting on about calling the cops. "
So Maxim goes down to
set things straight.
"We're good customers
here and we don't steal. "
"So please stop
harassing my wife. "
Well, before he could
even finish his sentence,
the guy pulled a knife and
stabbed him in the chest.
And as luck would have
it, or bad luck, rather...
...he got him
right in the heart.
It wasn't even a long knife,
either. Just an itty-bitty thing.
I guess as a young man he must've
had special military training.
Either in the West or East German army.
Whatever, one stab and he killed him.
Thank you all for coming...
...and being here
to support his mom.
We only just found out she comes
here every year to honor Maxim,
at the site where he died.
And as we already said,
he not only died on that
day, it was his birthday, too.
I mean, on the same
day, that's just...
How could something
like that happen?
We still can't grasp it, the wound
still sits deep in his brothers' hearts.
We can't forget
him, because Maxim...
Let me just say a few
words about Maxim...
Maxim was the one who
launched Hip-Hop in Berlin.
He was the one who
introduced it to people here.
No one had even heard
of Hip-Hop in '82.
He was the one who first brought
all the American stuff over here.
He passed it on to the
kids and got them interested
so they wouldn't devote their energy
to criminal pursuits or whatever,
but to dancing instead.
'Cause Hip-Hop is an entire culture,
a culture Maxim tried to foster
and worked to preserve.
And...
As I said, it's hard for
me to find the right words,
'cause this is the
place where he died.
Where he was killed in
cold blood, if you ask me.
But the authorities
didn't see it that way,
and we just can't
understand that.
We still can't
quite believe it.
And don't forget the
ideals Maxim upheld:
No violence and no intolerance...
toward people of other races.
Maxim didn't care if you were
German, Turkish, Arab or whatever.
He invited groups from
the West to come to Berlin.
When bitter turf battles
were being waged here
over tags or streets
or names or whatever...
Maxim made people see
that wasn't the way to go,
that wasn't the message
of Hip-Hop culture.
Maxim tried to unite
us, make us one.
Maxim lives on in all
of us, in our hearts.
Thank you, everybody.
So there I was, on my own.
At first, I was ready to quit.
I mean, you work hard and
practice for ten or twelve years,
only to be told
you can forget it,
it's all over 'cause
your partner died...
You wouldn't believe the
stuff I had to listen to.
Anyway, I tried to...
I wouldn't say escape,
but get my mind on other
things, by working like a fiend.
Mostly with young people,
holding workshops and so on,
to carry on what we'd started.
If we couldn't
work as a group,
at least I could pass the legacy
on to the kids we'd been coaching.
And somehow, the
spark really ignited...
Eventually, we had a
group of about ten students
who were totally keen to learn
and work together as a group.
So one of them said, "Maxim's gone.
You two were Oralic Sound Machines. "
"You taught us. Now we'll
be Oralic Sound Machines. "
I thought that
was a great idea.
The cool thing about Maxim,
what fascinates me, is...
Yeah, initially it was with
Mesia, but also on his own...
He'd go to the kids on the
streets and encourage them
to do something: Breakdance,
scratching, DJ-ing, whatever.
He inspired them,
showed them they could do more than
just dis each other and get in fights.
He made them see that's not cool.
Beatboxing, Breakdancing, turntabling...
Winning people over with
skill... that's cool.
I really respect him for that.
There are a lot of kids out
there with nowhere to go.
Their parents have their own
problems and they're on the streets,
harassing cigarette vendors
for fun. That's just the pits.
That's where Maxim tried
to make a difference,
and I wish a lot more people
would follow his example.
That's what we're trying to do,
anyway: Love, peace and Beatbox.
I saw how Maxim and the
Old School legend Sugar Box
incorporated Beatbox in their
shows and the audiences loved it.
That really inspired
me when I was a kid.
And I hung out
with Maxim a lot.
He was like a
big brother to me.
He introduced me to graffiti
and Beatbox and all that.
Most important, he was a good
friend. That went beyond Hip-Hop.
And sadly, with
his tragic death,
when he was murdered
on his 33rd birthday,
our dream died along with him.
Maxim had the potential
to go really far
and make a true
difference in this world.
But we're going to keep nurturing
the roots we put down with him
and build on them
along with DJ Mesia.
And we'll hold them in respect
and make sure others do, too.
We know Maxim is watching from up there
and trusts us to do the right thing:
Not to sell out the Beatbox
community but to be there for them.
Women in the Beatbox scene...
There aren't very many.
I think partly it's
because a lot of them think
they could never
learn to do that.
It is often pretty heavy
on the bass, after all.
But besides that,
I think maybe...
I guess a lot of them,
how should I say...
...are kind of inhibited.
They're scared to try it...
...and to venture
into that world.
And you do have to prove
yourself, after all.
The cool thing about Beatboxing
is you don't need any equipment.
Just yourself, and stamina.
You can realize
your ideas right away
and turn them into music.
You can do it
anywhere, anytime.
You can have fun
and entertain others.
Time to take off winter attire
The down jacket's got to go
Get rid of that spare tire Now
it's fun in the sun, let's go
Let's play hooky and have a
lark Let's go party in the park
A few 'shrooms and some weed
What fun, that's all we need
Now it's light till ten p. m.
We can hang in the park and jam
We can barbecue and party all
night Hey, it's 90 degrees outside
Time for block parties, open-air
Feel that tropical flair, oh yeah
Girls strut their stuff, lookin'
pretty It's summer in the city
Head for the park or a pool that's
near Hey, this is our time of year
Berlin seems far away And
who needs money, anyway?
The love, the heat, what you
feel That's it, the real deal
Just get out, go for it, man!
Yeah, Hip-Hop...
Hip-Hop is cool,
definitely. And...
I think the whole Hip-Hop
lifestyle is pretty cool.
But it can be kind of
tiring and infantile, too.
Some things really get on my nerves,
like those MCs on "Rap City Berlin. "
They're not all like that, but a lot.
- Pretty much everyone but me.
Hip-Hop is just a word.
They needed a name they could use
to introduce it to the wider public.
I only heard the
term Hip-Hop later.
In '83 I was into Breakdance,
as a dance form and as music.
Which was basically
breakbeats...
...that the MC
would rap along to.
It wasn't like today's Rap,
where guys like 50 Cent
combine R&B with rap passages.
Back then the DJ was the main
element. The DJ was the king on stage.
The MC was the sidekick who
presented him: "This is my DJ!"
"Yo, you wanna hear what my DJ
can do? Then listen up, folks!"
I was being crap on purpose
just now, to make a point.
Back then MCs
didn't really do Rap.
Sure, Grandmaster Flash on The Message,
the Furious Five... they rapped.
It was a stylistic element. And
a style in its own right, sure...
But we never referred to it as Hip-Hop.
To me it was Rap music and Breakdance.
And to our mind, breakbeats
were the defining feature.
What it's really about is a
certain attitude, a lifestyle.
It's meaningful 'cause
you're part of a community,
if you're not into the MC
scatology thing, that is.
And it's a culture
understood around the world.
Like Heavy Metal is...
I mean, what is hard rock?
It's big hair, tattoos, riding
a Harley, I don't know...
It's a way of life.
And the same is true of
Hip-Hop: It's a way of life.
There's a certain worldwide consensus
about what constitutes Hip-Hop.
You move within those parameters
and try to get the most out of them.
In brief: It's a culture
and a way of life.
In the beginning, Hip-Hop
was about hanging in the hood,
"us against the world," but
it's not like that anymore.
Every Hip-Hopper says he's the greatest,
the coolest, has the biggest balls...
And everyone else is gay... or a "ho. "
- But then...
But if everyone sucks except for
you, who's going to buy your stuff?
Djibutie has a great line:
The one people respect is king.
Not the guy who
crowns himself.
There are a lot of posers
in Rap who say they're king.
"I'm the greatest, the baddest,
for this and that reason... "
They don't get what Rap is about.
It's about being a community,
not about being the greatest.
If people say you're the greatest,
fine, but not 'cause you tell them to,
but 'cause they liked your
track and say so on their own.
That's what Rap's about:
Not bigger balls or obscenity,
but skill and smarts.
I want to welcome
you all tonight
to Kalkscheune for the Fifth
German Beatbox Championship!
But before we start...
You guys were great last week!
- Thanks.
But you left so fast...
- Yeah, I was pretty beat.
It's hard physical labor, about
as tiring as construction work.
You're going on alone today?
- Yeah.
Another guy from my band
is also competing alone.
The short one?
- No, the tall skinny guy.
The guy from Zirkus Mandolini?
- Oh, okay.
Right... Wetlipz, or Kyrill.
So you may have to go up against him?
- Yeah.
It's happened twice.
It sucks, but...
Depending on how things go, we might
face each other early on or later.
In Munich it wasn't till
the final. That was great.
I ended up winning,
but we had so much fun
'cause we knew that either
way, we'd made the finals.
Tonight we're really
going to rock the house!
We're back to celebrate
our fifth birthday,
the Fifth German Beatbox
Championship, here in Berlin!
We just toured Germany and
held five preliminary rounds,
with the four best from each
one qualifying for the final.
Tonight...
...the best young talents
in Human Beatboxing
from all over Germany will
be performing on this stage.
They're going to get those
mikes rocking for you...
And you know what else?
They're going to party and
have a great time with you guys!
'Cause we're not
like all those haters
always dissing each other
"Your mom this, bla bla... "
We're a community and we're going to
represent tonight with all of you guys!
Beatbox, battle style!
Get ready for Wetlipz!
The two-minute elimination
round... starts now: Go!
Let's hear it for... Wetlipz!
That was... Wetlipz!
With the whinnying
horse on the mike!
We'll carry on with the battle
here in about ten minutes.
So you four Beatboxers get ready,
'cause this is the real thing!
Man-do!
Dark-manz!
And the first battle we're going
to see is Mando versus Darkmanz!
Uh, yeah, it was
good... just not for me.
But even if I wasn't
successful, I had fun.
The jury decides...
Butjurors are only human, too.
So, I didn't make it past the
first round, but whatever...
My band 4XSample won the
German Championship, so...
Maybe I'm better
as part of a band.
Maybe Mando will get to the
final. We'll see in a minute.
In any case, he already made it
past some pretty tough competitors.
I definitely think he
ought to be in the final.
But we'll see. The jury
decides, and jurors are human.
There can only be two
people in the final.
I see a lot of you are waving flags...
Let me see, who has the most fans?
Yeah, Mando's in the
final. He's done it again!
Mando will battle Robeat for the
title of Fifth German Beatbox Champion.
Okay, Berlin...
It's been an exciting night,
and now here's the moment
we've all been waiting for...
Robeat: Get ready, get set...
And go!
You play the trumpet? Me, too.
You play the guitar? Me, too.
You want to drive? I'd take
the subway if I were you.
Okay, get a load of this...
My new shoes do
some mean squeaks...
And now backwards.
I would say that was
pretty amazing, guys!
That was the final with
Robeat versus Mando!
Zeero, come on
up here, please!
Zeero will present
the golden microphone.
As you know, Zeero has
two golden mikes himself,
as a two-time German
Beatbox Champion.
And today he'll present the
golden mike to the new champion.
Mando is here, he's ready...
Okay, both finalists are
up here on the stage...
We'll keep it short and sweet:
Robeat, congratulations
on winning second place!
The German Vice-Champion!
Congratulations!
Second place... congratulations,
man! All the best!
Robeat, your show's the best,
so take it to Stuttgart...
You didn't win this time...
But Stuttgart won in soccer, maybe
the team can give you something
to go with this
certificate from us.
But, and I only wish Berlin's
soccer team were so lucky...
The old and new
Beatbox Champion is...
The title stays in Berlin...
Our maximum respect to...
...Mando, from
the 4XSample crew!
First of all, I want
to thank my family,
who supported me always!
When I made funny noises in the
shower, they didn't say I was crazy.
They said, "Hmm, interesting.
If you enjoy it, keep at it. "
I've been at it for eight
years, and it's my life.
And my girlfriend and all
my friends are here tonight,
and I want to thank
you all for being here!
My roommate... My band...
Thanks to everyone,
this is awesome!
And of course... Robeat!
I want you to know he's the
biggest talent around today,
and one of the youngest, too.
He is just amazing, so
give a big hand to Robeat!
Enough bla bla, now for an
encore before I get wasted!
I hope you'll join me
for a little session.
I want to play, too.
- Okay, everybody join in.
You have to break
in the gold mike.
Christen it with spit.
- Okay, here goes...
Volker! Thank you, thank you!
It was awesome.
It was... a hard-won victory.
I'm dead tired, and all
I want is to get wasted
and celebrate with the
band and all my friends.
I have to pee really bad,
but I always have time
for you guys: How are you?
A lot has been happening for me
lately: Gigs, projects, and so on,
that have helped me
grow as an artist.
That's one reason I was fortunate
enough to win the title again.
It's important to me
to keep developing.
You have keep pushing yourself
and keep fit if you want
to play in the big league.
And I try to do that: I
quit smoking, I go jogging...
I go swimming and
work out regularly.
Beatboxing is very demanding
physically, and if you smoke
and don't keep fit
through exercise,
you're going to be
exhausted after one round.
You can't keep your arms up.
You need great stomach muscles,
which I don't have, but...
But you need physical stamina.
And I try to keep as
physically fit as possible
so I can get through all
the rounds on a day like this
and still be able to
stand and talk to you guys.
Well, I have a big
piece of paper...
...or several, actually,
with my entire repertoire.
What you see here...
is everything I can do.
That's my entire
Beatbox art right there.
I should point out that the
greatest crime in a battle
is to repeat yourself.
If you do one beat three times,
the jury will subtract points.
The other guy might not be as good,
but he'll win if you repeat yourself.
He'll be rewarded for having
the guts to try new things.
That's why I wrote
down everything I do:
The old stuff, the new stuff,
the moves, the tricks...
Then I cross out what I've done
after each battle and use what's left.
In the end there were five
or six I hadn't done yet
that I was able to use, with
success. It worked out great.
And my opponent played
along beautifully.
He left the goal
wide open for me.
All I had to do was
kick the ball in.
Though I have to say that Robeat,
who was second and won for Best Show,
really is a huge young talent.
I'm sure that in years to come we'll
be seeing some wild stuff from him
and he'll be a major force
in the German Beatbox scene.
As for my future, I think
I'll try to win a third title.
If I succeed... yippee.
If I don't... boo-hoo.
Either way, I'll
participate one more time
and try to go for a triple.
If I pull it off,
I'd be the first
to be German Champion
three times in a row.
Then I'd retire, from
the Championships, anyway.
Of course I still have my band.
We're going to tour, go to New York...
Beatboxing will
always be in my life.
But most people in the
battling scene are really young,
and I don't think I'll want
to do that after next year.
I'll go for it one more time.
I'll work even harder,
come with new sounds and
an even longer list...
Then maybe I can pull it
off. If not, at least I tried.
But I did it twice,
like Zeero before me.
Major respect to him for that.
I just experienced for myself
how hard it is to defend a title.
Boy, I thought it would...
No, I didn't think it would be
easier, but I hoped it would.
Way cool!
- Thank you all!
First there was Bee Low Then
came Mesia and all them bro's
Then 4XSample came on the
scene And stole the show
Sorry, just kidding, you see
Mesia, Bee Low and me go back a ways
It was tough for all of
us Back in the early days
Beatbox wasn't for cash, just kicks
Berlin was all workshops and basics
Now Beatbox has unfurled
Its banner around the world
Now Bee Low tours the globe, he rules
And Mesia produces hits, way cool
Maxim, you'd be proud So
have fun up on your cloud
Life's a breeze, you know If you
take it easy, go with the flow
Do your thing, let your ideas
blossom Like 4XSample, man, awesome
And Pirat from Berlinutz
His rhymes kick butt, he rocks
Now he's tryin' out Beatbox
Most Beatbox ain't worth a mention
Him and my band are the only exception
But whatever, we're just going to jam
Here in some park whose name I forgot
But this shit is hot So
peace, Bee Low, peace Mesia
So peace to Maxim and peace to me
And peace to 4XSample, definitely
Here it comes: The Big Bang!
There's a basic step in
Breakdance: The six-step.
And there are three
basic elements in Beatbox.
Here's the first: The kick.
Make it sharper. Press
your lips together hard.
One more time?
That's better.
The next is the hi-hat. You
make a "ts" sound, like this.
Or just "ttt-ttt"...
Like this, you know?
I'll do it, then you try.
You can do better than that.
That's more like it.
One more time. Okay.
Next you make a "k"
sound, like this...
And then put them
all together...
I have a pointer for you, as
someone just starting out in Beatbox.
It helps to say "bad cat!"
in German: "Bse Katze!"
Training module
one: "Bse Katze!"
lips together hard.
Ever heard of Beatboxing?
- No.
Or Beatboxers?
- No.
Human Beatbox?
I don't... Oh, right, yes.
Making beatbox sounds.
Making noises with your mouth.
A kind of microphone art...
Done with the voice. And
it's heavy on the beat.
A sort of rhythm group
with mouth-made beats.
No, what's that? Beat... what?
Hi, there!
Welcome to my pastures!
That's my dog, Toby.
Sit! Very obedient, huh?
Mostly cooped up inside
Now we're out on the streets
All around, far and wide
Everyone's rockin' to Wetlipz' beats
I'm Wetlipz, from the
And I'm thrilled to be here...
Out in the sun...
This is Pirat.
Go on!
- I'm Pirat MC of Berlinutz.
We do Hip-Hop and Rap,
usually with these guys.
That's it...
- And we're having a beer.
You know, Beatboxing...
When I started in 1999, 2000,
people sounded like this.
Mostly crap. Then I heard
Rahzel and Killa Kela,
and I was like, "Amazing!
I want to do that!"
Beatbox was so new people
thought it was a martial art.
"Oh, really, Beatboxing?
Can I see a move?"
"You don't do moves, you make beats. "
That's how it was till about 2003, 2004.
In the first battles I was in, it
was mostly Old School Beatboxing.
Basically pretty basic
stuff, you know, like this...
Doing that well,
maybe adding...
...a bit of scratching or melody,
was enough to win a battle.
If the show was good, at least.
The show counted more then.
Today you'll go to a battle
and some 18-year-old...
...will rattle something
off like a machine.
It sounds cool, sure,
but it's almost... freaky.
That's what I'd call
New School Beatbox.
Mando, my 4XSample Crew homie,
was German Champion in 2006.
And he's very good, of course.
And what can I say? I'm sure
he'll win this year, too...
But it'll be harder this time.
Congratulations!
LAST YEAR... BEATBOX
CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
The German Beatbox
Champion: Mando from Berlin!
Mando, come on and join
us up here on the stage!
Mando, from the
the new German Human
Beatbox Champion!
Congratulations!
You won the Fourth German
Championship! Here's your certificate.
Now the winner will serve up
some beats with the golden mike!
We need the blue cable, guys!
Looks like it works. Thanks!
- All right!
We need to set up for later.
When I give a workshop, one
of the main things I try to do
is tell people about what Hip-Hop is,
what its origins are and what it means.
There are five
elements to Hip-Hop.
First of all the DJs, the
guys on the turntables,
Then there's the MC,
the Master of Ceremonies.
That's something a lot
of newcomers don't know.
And then...
Next there's Breakdance.
Breakdance is a word
the media coined, though.
The real term for Breakdance
is actually "b-boying. "
But the media dubbed it Breakdancing,
so we'll use that term for the moment.
Then there's graffiti...
Some call it vandalism,
but we disagree.
Sure, there are jerks who scratch
their tag into every glass pane around.
You can't even read them.
To me, that is vandalism.
And there's Beatboxing,
the fifth element.
We had to fight hard to get it
officially recognized as such.
About three years ago we won,
and now it's the fifth element.
Wait... How did that go again?
Right...
Let's hear some Rap.
Wherever in Berlin that I go The
DJs ain't got soul, ain't got flow
All the stuff that I'm
hearin' Is so shitty and dreary
Every jerk thinks he's
king Even kids of ten
Not yet in their teens
Get fucked up in this scene
The system's a bitch Every
jerk wants to get rich
Pen bad rhymes about tits and
speed And call himself an MC
To know what I mean
Check out Rap City Berlin
You suck, your business is weak
Listen to me, you kids in our scene
You're way better
than those freaks!
This aggro vibe in Berlin
That sucks, it's got to stop
And it's going
to kill Hip-Hop
Cool. You done?
- Yup, done.
My turn.
- Okay, you rap now.
And I'll do Beatbox?
- Yeah.
Sittin' here on the meadow
Feelin' pretty mellow
Yeah, this is cool Though
I wish I had a stool
Having a root up my butt kinda
blows But that's okay, I got flow
Sitting on the grass
That's got class
Cool, huh? Bet you can't top that.
- Yeah. Strike!
Right! All right!
I grew up in a
high-rise project.
I said to my mom once the
streets were my school.
But that's bullshit.
I'm a pretty normal guy.
My family's cool, but
my dad's an asshole.
He left us when I was ten.
My mom told him to fuck off.
It was better that way,
though at first I freaked out.
They asked me who I wanted
to live with and I said
I'd rather live on the street.
I tried it, but I
lasted about two hours.
Then I'd had it and
went home crying.
But that's history.
Anyway, I grew up in what
used to be East Berlin
and dropped out
of high school.
I had other things on my
mind, and I mean, literally.
Around the same time I moved closer
to the center, to Friedrichshain.
I got a job where I trained to be
a game-level designer, bla bla...
What can I say, I
think do pretty well.
People always say
I'm spaced out.
But I'm no space cadet,
I know what I'm doing.
What's taking him so long?
- Yeah...
If that flake isn't here by
the time I count to three!
One...
Two...
Two-and-a-half...
Lucky for him!
- That was close.
Coming!
That's it, keep it up, guys!
Sorry, I had to go buy beer.
The beginning is fairly easy.
It starts out with a hi-hat...
That kind of thing.
It starts out smooth.
It's fairly slow at first.
And then it builds up.
- Right, later it's...
And who's going to
do... the hi-hat?
Me.
- I agree.
My parents are from Argentina,
from San Nicols near Buenos Aires.
It's around 30 kilometers
south of the capital,
about as far away as
Bonn is from Cologne.
I was born here in Germany.
I've been doing
Beatbox for six years.
And I really enjoy
doing lip disco.
The battles are where you
get together and meet people.
It's like a forum where Beatboxers
meet, in Germany at least.
And then we have jam
sessions on the street.
Just like in the Bronx, with
braziers and "yo!" all around.
Well, almost... It
was dark, anyway.
So, we had this session and
they showed me some stuff...
And Mando said he
could tell I had talent,
but we both kind of
held back at first.
It was funny, he was the only one
who was holding back like that.
I suspected right away there was more...
- That he had more tricks up his sleeve.
'Cause everyone else was
going all out to impress,
but he just listened in, with
maybe a "pfft" now and then...
But the others...
- Yeah.
Then we realized we were
way cooler than the others,
so we swapped numbers and
decided to get together.
We'd heard there was a
championship for teams...
So they exchanged
numbers and met,
and Mando told me that
he'd met the horse guy.
I said, "Oh, the horse guy.
" I called him Jolly Jumper.
That's Lucky Luke's horse.
Show him why they call you that.
- Yeah!
Well, it's because...
It's 'cause of a sound I really like
and was the first to perform on stage.
Then there was the
Hip-Hop World Challenge...
We were the only team representing
Germany, which was great.
The jury awarded us second place,
that is, we were vice world champions,
but unfortunately that's not official.
- No official title is bestowed.
The jury just mentioned it in passing.
- That was a shame.
They loved it and told
us it was really close.
But in the end Australia won both
the solo and team competition,
something we hope
to do this year.
There's something going on in
Berlin pretty much every week.
In 2005 we gave
Meaning we were drunk
at least 83 times.
Where does Beatbox
fit in with Hip-Hop?
It's said to be "the
fifth element"...
I disagree: I
consider it the first.
The technique is
difficult to learn
It requires a lot
tongue and finger skills,
plus a good sense of
rhythm and musical talent...
Beatbox isn't just Hip-Hop. You
can apply it to any musical genre:
Drum 'n' Bass, Techno,
Reggae, Ragga, Dance Hall...
Besides that,
Beatbox can be used
to achieve all kinds of
special effects, of course.
You can imitate horses,
explosions, helicopters...
The Foley artist's craft, which
came in with silent films...
...is now called Beatboxing.
With 4XSample, we always prepare
sets of about four to six minutes.
For the simple reason that that's the
time limit you have in most battles.
Usually we rehearse at
my house or Mando's...
We listen to songs we want to
cover or use for bastard pop,
where you mix the beat from one
track with lyrics from another.
So we'll work out a set, and in
between maybe do some freestyle.
We'll just jam till we
come up with something cool
or an interesting pattern.
Pattern are specific sequences of
measures that can vary in length
and are repeated in loops.
And that's how sets are born.
But we've started using ten-minute
sets. It just gives you more time.
Four minutes, that
can be exhausting.
We did one set in the 2005
championships that contained 14 songs.
Just imagine, 14 songs in four
minutes, plus scratches and solo parts!
It gets too much for people to take
in. Of course we hear every single beat,
but for the audience,
it's just a blur.
By the time they recognize a song
and start clapping, it's long gone.
So we're cooling it down...
Doing longer sets...
and writing them down.
I'll kick the beat, you rap?
- Like always.
Yup.
- Yup.
What tempo?
- I don't know, around 95 or 98 bpm.
Okay...
No, seriously...
Sittin' here in the
park Makin' our mark
Enjoyin' the weather
Chillin' together
Berlinutz says turn it up, I agree
Berlin's cool, the place to be
And we're lovin' it, livin'
it, Beatboxin' and rappin' it.
That's me, I'm not no hectic MC
I do it nice and cool and easy
Keeping things real in my head So
many MCs in this town are stupid
So come on down And
see the best in town:
Wetlipz, Berlinutz, Zirkus Mandolini
And all the girls in bikinis
Girls dancing, baring it all And
I'll beat that weenie MC at pinball
I'm all charged with energy
Just like that dolphin on TV
So come and see us anytime We're
in our prime, we have the rhymes
Moving our lips a mile a minute
Keeps us sharp, keeps us fit
Oops, lost my thread But
that's okay, time for bed
Tomorrow it's off to work in
Neuklln Early bird gets the worm
When I do Beatboxing,
I'm the kind of guy who...
...was born to make other people laugh.
It may sound weird, but it's true.
It makes me happy when
I can get people to laugh
and say, "That guy's
cool. I dig him. "
That goes for when I
perform on stage, too.
You joke around with the
audience, keep the banter coming...
If a guy heckles, I might josh
him, "Just a minute, Sugar!"
Once they're laughing and
eating out of your hand...
Then you put on your best
show and they lap it up...
That's like pure gold.
That's just the best.
And I just go with
the flow and enjoy it.
When I get home from my drum
lessons, I always practice
the new patterns with my mouth.
- Cool. What does that sound like?
Like this...
Wow.
Great... job... I'll say!
Now let's have some
yummy cocoa, okay?
I'm Bee Low from Berlin and
I founded Beatbox Battle.
I busted my ass over
the last few years
to provide the German
Beatbox community
with a forum for
fair competition.
I started out
hosting DJ battles.
I would time the
DJs with a stopwatch,
each one would get 90 seconds.
And when there was
a technical glitch,
the sound guys had to
replug cables or whatever...
In situations like that, as
the host I'd take the mike...
...and keep the audience
entertained with some beats
till the next act went on.
That's when I realized
how well Beatbox went over.
People liked it in its own
right, apart from the battles.
So I thought, 'Why not
have our own event? '
And the idea for the Beatbox
Championship was born.
The plans gradually
took on shape in 2001.
Maxim, may he rest in peace, who's
sadly no longer on this planet...
He and I thought everything through
and planned it all out together.
And on September
the first German Championships at
the Icon in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg.
Zeero won the first title in
we did some publicity work,
sent out press releases...
We spread the word to people,
and the feedback was incredible.
Right away, we were invited
to the Austrian championship...
Zeero and I traveled
to Switzerland,
and it continued with Poland, the
Czech Republic, Finland, the UK...
Beatbox Battle was everywhere.
I was at all the events.
Usually I was on the jury,
as I couldn't very well host
in Finnish or whatever...
Two champions, and the
man who made them: Me.
Hey!
- Hi! You have ten minutes?
Sure.
- Great.
Hi, there. How are you doing?
Here are the contracts.
Pretty standard.
A copy for each of us.
But don't let them see.
That's strictly confidential.
- Okay.
Shit, I'm in business
but I haven't seen a cent.
It pisses me off, honestly.
As I was saying, for
the past few years
I've been hosting
events throughout Europe.
That includes DJ Championships
held by the ITF and DMC,
Breakdance championships,
and various Rap battles.
I've seen the dissing at Rap
battles. "I'll fuck your mama... "
"Your daddy this or that... "
And then a big fight breaks out,
bottles fly, the cops come...
And in the end the lights
go on and the party's ruined.
That's not my scene. To me,
it's about the element...
It's about demonstrating our
skills on stage in a fair way,
showing what we can do,
something not everyone can do.
And, without wanting to boast,
battling in a fair competition.
That's why I always
try to convey to people:
Being there is what counts, not
winning. Get to know each other...
It's not about "that guy's
my enemy" and all that.
Sure, when they're on
stage, face to face,
they'll eyeball each other
and try look intimidating,
you know, mock
shooting and stabbing...
But there's no real
violence of any kind.
And when the show is over
and they go backstage,
it's friendly handshakes
and slaps on the back,
and they swap numbers
and e-mail addresses.
The best example is the
They met at a Beatbox Battle,
they really hit it off,
and decided to found a crew.
Now they do
professional recordings.
I'm Zeero, two-time
German Beatbox Champion.
I won twice, but the bigger deal
to me is that I was the first.
That's something no one
can ever take from me.
We were 13 or 14.
I don't know if
I should say this,
but weed was actually
what brought us together.
I had this computer game he
liked and he had the connections.
So we got together one evening,
hung out, gamed, and got high.
He asked if I wanted
to listen to some music.
I figured he meant on his ghetto
blaster and said "sure" and kept playing.
When he started making these
sounds, I just stared and thought,
'Wow, what's that? ' I had
never heard anything like it.
And he knew some ace
tricks, for those days.
First I just watched five or ten
minutes as he did this Breakdance beat.
And then he went on to do a whole
show with all sorts of beats,
and I went on playing
Mortal Kombat on the side.
That was my first
encounter with Beatbox.
There was this
telephone chat...
People would meet in
chat rooms and talk,
kind of like on the Internet
today, but on the phone.
I recognized a friend's voice,
but he didn't recognize me.
So I start saying his
name in a robot voice
and imitating Rahzel beats.
He thought it was the CD
and is like, "Cool, Rahzel!"
He got the CD 'cause of me,
actually. So when I said his name,
he was bowled over.
"Hey, who is this?"
When he realized
it was me, he said,
"Hey, I want to see you do that
myself. I bet you used a computer!"
When I did a demonstration, he said,
"That's great, you should keep it up. "
Soon after that
I met Bee Low...
He got me to go on stage with him,
and it kind of went from there.
Soon people knew about
me, a few, at least.
Okay, that's enough!
- Out, out!
Bee Low, he's some
guy! Maximum respect!
Just thinking of him
makes me grin, you know?
The way I see it, Bee Low
is the godfather of Beatbox.
The seminal battler,
in Germany, especially.
He's amazing. I just love him.
He MCs at all the Beatbox battles.
He pretty much invented the scene.
It was a struggle at first, but
now it's a Europe-wide thing.
Worldwide, even.
Bee Low knows
people everywhere.
And practically every Beatboxer
in the world knows who he is.
So, really, all I can say is:
Maximum respect to Bee Low!
Oralic Sound Machines,
Machines, Machines...
For me, it all started when...
Around '83 or '84.
It was a bit different
with me than most others.
I didn't get into it by
hearing stuff from the States.
In my case it all started with me
trying to imitate different sounds.
I actually wanted to do
stand-up comedy originally.
I experimented a lot.
I'd do animal noises James
Brown loops, and stuff like that.
I'd do live performances,
with just a mike.
And it really went
over well, too.
I traveled all over the place.
And then, sometime
in '84 or '85,
someone told me Beatboxing
had its roots in Hip-Hop.
And that someone was Maxim.
I had my posse in Wedding,
the part of Berlin where
I was born and raised.
Maxim's scene was
Kreuzberg and Schneberg.
We each did our thing on our own turf,
but then we got to know each other.
But due to the tensions
between Wedding and Kreuzberg
we'd actually meet
secretly to practice.
Before the Wall fell, we used to
meet at Friedrichstrasse station
'cause it was neutral territory
and the cops couldn't bother us.
We became good friends with the
guys from the BVG transit authority.
They'd turn the key,
a huge wrench, and say,
"Stand clear of
the closing doors. "
And there would be a microphone
and speakers on the left side,
and the same thing
on the right side.
So, we got hold of one of the keys
and presto: Beatbox in the subway.
Back when I
started coming here
and started hanging out and I
first heard them doing Beatbox,
I thought, 'What's that? '
I was kind of intrigued by it,
but I at first I was too shy
to get up in front of the
guys all alone, as a girl.
But Mesia kept saying, "Come
on, why don't you give it a try?"
I was still scared, but finally
I got up my nerve and did.
It kind of went from there.
I kept at it... and here I am.
Mesia and those guys
were my teachers.
They showed me lots of stuff.
I'm Neves, and my Beatbox group
is called Oralic Sound Machines.
It's been about five years. At
first I wasn't into it at all.
I thought it was really weird,
like: 'What the hell is that? '
But then one day I went
to see Killa Kela perform.
He's from the U.K. And
he's really well known.
I ended up talking to him, and
after the show I was so psyched
that I just had to learn that
and get so good that people
would really get off on it.
Just percussion, melodies...
You know, stuff
that grabs people.
And things just kind of fell into
place. I practiced a lot on my own...
Then a year or two later, I met Mesia,
who was still with Maxim back then.
I attended a few Beatbox
workshops, and it went from there.
I'm sorry to say Maxim
passed away a few years ago.
A situation got out of hand
and there was a big blow up.
But Mesia is the one
to ask about that.
He knows more
about it than I do.
The only people who
know what really happened
are the ones who were there.
But according to...
...the official story, at least,
the official version of events,
his wife was out shopping...
She had the baby
along in a stroller.
She didn't get a shopping cart
'cause she couldn't push both,
so she loaded the
groceries onto the stroller.
The problem was, this older
man took offense to that,
or however you
want to call it.
He went running to the cashier
and accused her of shoplifting
'cause she wasn't
using a cart, whatever.
Which was true, she
was using the stroller.
Anyway, the man sent the cashier
over, but when he saw her,
he said, "Oh, she's a regular customer!
She never uses a cart, it's no problem. "
Well, the old
geezer got upset...
He felt he wasn't being taken seriously,
whatever, and made a huge scene.
Anyway, it was Maxim's birthday.
That's why she'd gone shopping at all.
So she gets home and tells him about
it, not to egg him on, but just...
"Unbelievable, this old geezer
just accused me of stealing!"
"He's still down there, making a scene
and ranting on about calling the cops. "
So Maxim goes down to
set things straight.
"We're good customers
here and we don't steal. "
"So please stop
harassing my wife. "
Well, before he could
even finish his sentence,
the guy pulled a knife and
stabbed him in the chest.
And as luck would have
it, or bad luck, rather...
...he got him
right in the heart.
It wasn't even a long knife,
either. Just an itty-bitty thing.
I guess as a young man he must've
had special military training.
Either in the West or East German army.
Whatever, one stab and he killed him.
Thank you all for coming...
...and being here
to support his mom.
We only just found out she comes
here every year to honor Maxim,
at the site where he died.
And as we already said,
he not only died on that
day, it was his birthday, too.
I mean, on the same
day, that's just...
How could something
like that happen?
We still can't grasp it, the wound
still sits deep in his brothers' hearts.
We can't forget
him, because Maxim...
Let me just say a few
words about Maxim...
Maxim was the one who
launched Hip-Hop in Berlin.
He was the one who
introduced it to people here.
No one had even heard
of Hip-Hop in '82.
He was the one who first brought
all the American stuff over here.
He passed it on to the
kids and got them interested
so they wouldn't devote their energy
to criminal pursuits or whatever,
but to dancing instead.
'Cause Hip-Hop is an entire culture,
a culture Maxim tried to foster
and worked to preserve.
And...
As I said, it's hard for
me to find the right words,
'cause this is the
place where he died.
Where he was killed in
cold blood, if you ask me.
But the authorities
didn't see it that way,
and we just can't
understand that.
We still can't
quite believe it.
And don't forget the
ideals Maxim upheld:
No violence and no intolerance...
toward people of other races.
Maxim didn't care if you were
German, Turkish, Arab or whatever.
He invited groups from
the West to come to Berlin.
When bitter turf battles
were being waged here
over tags or streets
or names or whatever...
Maxim made people see
that wasn't the way to go,
that wasn't the message
of Hip-Hop culture.
Maxim tried to unite
us, make us one.
Maxim lives on in all
of us, in our hearts.
Thank you, everybody.
So there I was, on my own.
At first, I was ready to quit.
I mean, you work hard and
practice for ten or twelve years,
only to be told
you can forget it,
it's all over 'cause
your partner died...
You wouldn't believe the
stuff I had to listen to.
Anyway, I tried to...
I wouldn't say escape,
but get my mind on other
things, by working like a fiend.
Mostly with young people,
holding workshops and so on,
to carry on what we'd started.
If we couldn't
work as a group,
at least I could pass the legacy
on to the kids we'd been coaching.
And somehow, the
spark really ignited...
Eventually, we had a
group of about ten students
who were totally keen to learn
and work together as a group.
So one of them said, "Maxim's gone.
You two were Oralic Sound Machines. "
"You taught us. Now we'll
be Oralic Sound Machines. "
I thought that
was a great idea.
The cool thing about Maxim,
what fascinates me, is...
Yeah, initially it was with
Mesia, but also on his own...
He'd go to the kids on the
streets and encourage them
to do something: Breakdance,
scratching, DJ-ing, whatever.
He inspired them,
showed them they could do more than
just dis each other and get in fights.
He made them see that's not cool.
Beatboxing, Breakdancing, turntabling...
Winning people over with
skill... that's cool.
I really respect him for that.
There are a lot of kids out
there with nowhere to go.
Their parents have their own
problems and they're on the streets,
harassing cigarette vendors
for fun. That's just the pits.
That's where Maxim tried
to make a difference,
and I wish a lot more people
would follow his example.
That's what we're trying to do,
anyway: Love, peace and Beatbox.
I saw how Maxim and the
Old School legend Sugar Box
incorporated Beatbox in their
shows and the audiences loved it.
That really inspired
me when I was a kid.
And I hung out
with Maxim a lot.
He was like a
big brother to me.
He introduced me to graffiti
and Beatbox and all that.
Most important, he was a good
friend. That went beyond Hip-Hop.
And sadly, with
his tragic death,
when he was murdered
on his 33rd birthday,
our dream died along with him.
Maxim had the potential
to go really far
and make a true
difference in this world.
But we're going to keep nurturing
the roots we put down with him
and build on them
along with DJ Mesia.
And we'll hold them in respect
and make sure others do, too.
We know Maxim is watching from up there
and trusts us to do the right thing:
Not to sell out the Beatbox
community but to be there for them.
Women in the Beatbox scene...
There aren't very many.
I think partly it's
because a lot of them think
they could never
learn to do that.
It is often pretty heavy
on the bass, after all.
But besides that,
I think maybe...
I guess a lot of them,
how should I say...
...are kind of inhibited.
They're scared to try it...
...and to venture
into that world.
And you do have to prove
yourself, after all.
The cool thing about Beatboxing
is you don't need any equipment.
Just yourself, and stamina.
You can realize
your ideas right away
and turn them into music.
You can do it
anywhere, anytime.
You can have fun
and entertain others.
Time to take off winter attire
The down jacket's got to go
Get rid of that spare tire Now
it's fun in the sun, let's go
Let's play hooky and have a
lark Let's go party in the park
A few 'shrooms and some weed
What fun, that's all we need
Now it's light till ten p. m.
We can hang in the park and jam
We can barbecue and party all
night Hey, it's 90 degrees outside
Time for block parties, open-air
Feel that tropical flair, oh yeah
Girls strut their stuff, lookin'
pretty It's summer in the city
Head for the park or a pool that's
near Hey, this is our time of year
Berlin seems far away And
who needs money, anyway?
The love, the heat, what you
feel That's it, the real deal
Just get out, go for it, man!
Yeah, Hip-Hop...
Hip-Hop is cool,
definitely. And...
I think the whole Hip-Hop
lifestyle is pretty cool.
But it can be kind of
tiring and infantile, too.
Some things really get on my nerves,
like those MCs on "Rap City Berlin. "
They're not all like that, but a lot.
- Pretty much everyone but me.
Hip-Hop is just a word.
They needed a name they could use
to introduce it to the wider public.
I only heard the
term Hip-Hop later.
In '83 I was into Breakdance,
as a dance form and as music.
Which was basically
breakbeats...
...that the MC
would rap along to.
It wasn't like today's Rap,
where guys like 50 Cent
combine R&B with rap passages.
Back then the DJ was the main
element. The DJ was the king on stage.
The MC was the sidekick who
presented him: "This is my DJ!"
"Yo, you wanna hear what my DJ
can do? Then listen up, folks!"
I was being crap on purpose
just now, to make a point.
Back then MCs
didn't really do Rap.
Sure, Grandmaster Flash on The Message,
the Furious Five... they rapped.
It was a stylistic element. And
a style in its own right, sure...
But we never referred to it as Hip-Hop.
To me it was Rap music and Breakdance.
And to our mind, breakbeats
were the defining feature.
What it's really about is a
certain attitude, a lifestyle.
It's meaningful 'cause
you're part of a community,
if you're not into the MC
scatology thing, that is.
And it's a culture
understood around the world.
Like Heavy Metal is...
I mean, what is hard rock?
It's big hair, tattoos, riding
a Harley, I don't know...
It's a way of life.
And the same is true of
Hip-Hop: It's a way of life.
There's a certain worldwide consensus
about what constitutes Hip-Hop.
You move within those parameters
and try to get the most out of them.
In brief: It's a culture
and a way of life.
In the beginning, Hip-Hop
was about hanging in the hood,
"us against the world," but
it's not like that anymore.
Every Hip-Hopper says he's the greatest,
the coolest, has the biggest balls...
And everyone else is gay... or a "ho. "
- But then...
But if everyone sucks except for
you, who's going to buy your stuff?
Djibutie has a great line:
The one people respect is king.
Not the guy who
crowns himself.
There are a lot of posers
in Rap who say they're king.
"I'm the greatest, the baddest,
for this and that reason... "
They don't get what Rap is about.
It's about being a community,
not about being the greatest.
If people say you're the greatest,
fine, but not 'cause you tell them to,
but 'cause they liked your
track and say so on their own.
That's what Rap's about:
Not bigger balls or obscenity,
but skill and smarts.
I want to welcome
you all tonight
to Kalkscheune for the Fifth
German Beatbox Championship!
But before we start...
You guys were great last week!
- Thanks.
But you left so fast...
- Yeah, I was pretty beat.
It's hard physical labor, about
as tiring as construction work.
You're going on alone today?
- Yeah.
Another guy from my band
is also competing alone.
The short one?
- No, the tall skinny guy.
The guy from Zirkus Mandolini?
- Oh, okay.
Right... Wetlipz, or Kyrill.
So you may have to go up against him?
- Yeah.
It's happened twice.
It sucks, but...
Depending on how things go, we might
face each other early on or later.
In Munich it wasn't till
the final. That was great.
I ended up winning,
but we had so much fun
'cause we knew that either
way, we'd made the finals.
Tonight we're really
going to rock the house!
We're back to celebrate
our fifth birthday,
the Fifth German Beatbox
Championship, here in Berlin!
We just toured Germany and
held five preliminary rounds,
with the four best from each
one qualifying for the final.
Tonight...
...the best young talents
in Human Beatboxing
from all over Germany will
be performing on this stage.
They're going to get those
mikes rocking for you...
And you know what else?
They're going to party and
have a great time with you guys!
'Cause we're not
like all those haters
always dissing each other
"Your mom this, bla bla... "
We're a community and we're going to
represent tonight with all of you guys!
Beatbox, battle style!
Get ready for Wetlipz!
The two-minute elimination
round... starts now: Go!
Let's hear it for... Wetlipz!
That was... Wetlipz!
With the whinnying
horse on the mike!
We'll carry on with the battle
here in about ten minutes.
So you four Beatboxers get ready,
'cause this is the real thing!
Man-do!
Dark-manz!
And the first battle we're going
to see is Mando versus Darkmanz!
Uh, yeah, it was
good... just not for me.
But even if I wasn't
successful, I had fun.
The jury decides...
Butjurors are only human, too.
So, I didn't make it past the
first round, but whatever...
My band 4XSample won the
German Championship, so...
Maybe I'm better
as part of a band.
Maybe Mando will get to the
final. We'll see in a minute.
In any case, he already made it
past some pretty tough competitors.
I definitely think he
ought to be in the final.
But we'll see. The jury
decides, and jurors are human.
There can only be two
people in the final.
I see a lot of you are waving flags...
Let me see, who has the most fans?
Yeah, Mando's in the
final. He's done it again!
Mando will battle Robeat for the
title of Fifth German Beatbox Champion.
Okay, Berlin...
It's been an exciting night,
and now here's the moment
we've all been waiting for...
Robeat: Get ready, get set...
And go!
You play the trumpet? Me, too.
You play the guitar? Me, too.
You want to drive? I'd take
the subway if I were you.
Okay, get a load of this...
My new shoes do
some mean squeaks...
And now backwards.
I would say that was
pretty amazing, guys!
That was the final with
Robeat versus Mando!
Zeero, come on
up here, please!
Zeero will present
the golden microphone.
As you know, Zeero has
two golden mikes himself,
as a two-time German
Beatbox Champion.
And today he'll present the
golden mike to the new champion.
Mando is here, he's ready...
Okay, both finalists are
up here on the stage...
We'll keep it short and sweet:
Robeat, congratulations
on winning second place!
The German Vice-Champion!
Congratulations!
Second place... congratulations,
man! All the best!
Robeat, your show's the best,
so take it to Stuttgart...
You didn't win this time...
But Stuttgart won in soccer, maybe
the team can give you something
to go with this
certificate from us.
But, and I only wish Berlin's
soccer team were so lucky...
The old and new
Beatbox Champion is...
The title stays in Berlin...
Our maximum respect to...
...Mando, from
the 4XSample crew!
First of all, I want
to thank my family,
who supported me always!
When I made funny noises in the
shower, they didn't say I was crazy.
They said, "Hmm, interesting.
If you enjoy it, keep at it. "
I've been at it for eight
years, and it's my life.
And my girlfriend and all
my friends are here tonight,
and I want to thank
you all for being here!
My roommate... My band...
Thanks to everyone,
this is awesome!
And of course... Robeat!
I want you to know he's the
biggest talent around today,
and one of the youngest, too.
He is just amazing, so
give a big hand to Robeat!
Enough bla bla, now for an
encore before I get wasted!
I hope you'll join me
for a little session.
I want to play, too.
- Okay, everybody join in.
You have to break
in the gold mike.
Christen it with spit.
- Okay, here goes...
Volker! Thank you, thank you!
It was awesome.
It was... a hard-won victory.
I'm dead tired, and all
I want is to get wasted
and celebrate with the
band and all my friends.
I have to pee really bad,
but I always have time
for you guys: How are you?
A lot has been happening for me
lately: Gigs, projects, and so on,
that have helped me
grow as an artist.
That's one reason I was fortunate
enough to win the title again.
It's important to me
to keep developing.
You have keep pushing yourself
and keep fit if you want
to play in the big league.
And I try to do that: I
quit smoking, I go jogging...
I go swimming and
work out regularly.
Beatboxing is very demanding
physically, and if you smoke
and don't keep fit
through exercise,
you're going to be
exhausted after one round.
You can't keep your arms up.
You need great stomach muscles,
which I don't have, but...
But you need physical stamina.
And I try to keep as
physically fit as possible
so I can get through all
the rounds on a day like this
and still be able to
stand and talk to you guys.
Well, I have a big
piece of paper...
...or several, actually,
with my entire repertoire.
What you see here...
is everything I can do.
That's my entire
Beatbox art right there.
I should point out that the
greatest crime in a battle
is to repeat yourself.
If you do one beat three times,
the jury will subtract points.
The other guy might not be as good,
but he'll win if you repeat yourself.
He'll be rewarded for having
the guts to try new things.
That's why I wrote
down everything I do:
The old stuff, the new stuff,
the moves, the tricks...
Then I cross out what I've done
after each battle and use what's left.
In the end there were five
or six I hadn't done yet
that I was able to use, with
success. It worked out great.
And my opponent played
along beautifully.
He left the goal
wide open for me.
All I had to do was
kick the ball in.
Though I have to say that Robeat,
who was second and won for Best Show,
really is a huge young talent.
I'm sure that in years to come we'll
be seeing some wild stuff from him
and he'll be a major force
in the German Beatbox scene.
As for my future, I think
I'll try to win a third title.
If I succeed... yippee.
If I don't... boo-hoo.
Either way, I'll
participate one more time
and try to go for a triple.
If I pull it off,
I'd be the first
to be German Champion
three times in a row.
Then I'd retire, from
the Championships, anyway.
Of course I still have my band.
We're going to tour, go to New York...
Beatboxing will
always be in my life.
But most people in the
battling scene are really young,
and I don't think I'll want
to do that after next year.
I'll go for it one more time.
I'll work even harder,
come with new sounds and
an even longer list...
Then maybe I can pull it
off. If not, at least I tried.
But I did it twice,
like Zeero before me.
Major respect to him for that.
I just experienced for myself
how hard it is to defend a title.
Boy, I thought it would...
No, I didn't think it would be
easier, but I hoped it would.
Way cool!
- Thank you all!
First there was Bee Low Then
came Mesia and all them bro's
Then 4XSample came on the
scene And stole the show
Sorry, just kidding, you see
Mesia, Bee Low and me go back a ways
It was tough for all of
us Back in the early days
Beatbox wasn't for cash, just kicks
Berlin was all workshops and basics
Now Beatbox has unfurled
Its banner around the world
Now Bee Low tours the globe, he rules
And Mesia produces hits, way cool
Maxim, you'd be proud So
have fun up on your cloud
Life's a breeze, you know If you
take it easy, go with the flow
Do your thing, let your ideas
blossom Like 4XSample, man, awesome
And Pirat from Berlinutz
His rhymes kick butt, he rocks
Now he's tryin' out Beatbox
Most Beatbox ain't worth a mention
Him and my band are the only exception
But whatever, we're just going to jam
Here in some park whose name I forgot
But this shit is hot So
peace, Bee Low, peace Mesia
So peace to Maxim and peace to me
And peace to 4XSample, definitely
Here it comes: The Big Bang!
There's a basic step in
Breakdance: The six-step.
And there are three
basic elements in Beatbox.
Here's the first: The kick.
Make it sharper. Press
your lips together hard.
One more time?
That's better.
The next is the hi-hat. You
make a "ts" sound, like this.
Or just "ttt-ttt"...
Like this, you know?
I'll do it, then you try.
You can do better than that.
That's more like it.
One more time. Okay.
Next you make a "k"
sound, like this...
And then put them
all together...
I have a pointer for you, as
someone just starting out in Beatbox.
It helps to say "bad cat!"
in German: "Bse Katze!"
Training module
one: "Bse Katze!"