Human beat-boxer and hip hop heavyweight Rahzel
Human beat-boxer and hip hop heavyweight Rahzel – sometimes known as Rahzel M. Brown – has been around the block. Formally a member of eclectic American hip hop group The Roots, Rahzel’s resume is pretty impressive. He’s performed and toured with the likes of The Who, Jay Z, George Clinton, BB King and more.
Rahzel is a beat-boxer for life. A few years ago, the deemed ‘godfather of noise’ told Beatbox Battle TV that beat-boxing helped mould the direction of his life and he says it’s still true today. “Of course,” he says without a hint of doubt down the line from New York, “That’s who I am, I don’t shy away for it.” Beat-boxing isn’t a profession one would simply fall into and for Rahzel, it was something that had always been a part of him – an outlet of sorts.
There’s always a beginning though and for Rahzel, his initial dabblings in beat-boxing were influenced by some of Brooklyn’s greats. “There were tons of people that influenced me but as far as beat-boxing is concerned The Fat Boys – back then they were called the Disco 3 – that was the beginning of me honing in on that craft,” he says. Honing in on his craft is a creative process Rahzel finds tricky to describe, saying that ideas stem from “basically my imagination – how I feel, what I think about different things and how I look at it.”
The fierceness attached to a beat-box battle makes for a big adrenaline rush and Rahzel says he gets butterflies. “There are a lot of people, no one knows what to expect, so that’s the beauty of it – you don’t know what’s going to happen, who’s going to do what,” he says. If one were to compare the nerves to the rewards obtained from such a competition, the latter makes taking part all worth it.
Rahzel goes on to say that his love for music is a necessity that was born out of passion. “As a kid, friends that I hung around with were also into music and that’s how we kind of related to each other. To me, it was all about having fun with friends and making beats on the table,” he says. Nothing has changed, really. With a budding solo career and a heavy involvement with The Roots, Rahzel has come a long way since first beat-boxing the popular 1979 tune Good Times by Afro-American disco and R&B band, Chic. Working alongside MC Supernatural and DJ JS-1 as a trio called The Magnificents; this weekend will see the group perform together for the first time in Australia.
Rahzel can’t let on about any surprises for the upcoming tour because he doesn’t know what’s in store himself. “We don’t even know; that’s how spontaneous it is,” he says.
One thing’s for sure though, the boys can’t wait to show Australia what they’ve got. “We are excited to be coming out and should be an exciting show. We’re excited for people to see it.” Rahzel also isn’t rejecting any possible spontaneous involvement of fans dancing on stage during the gig. “Yeah, that could go down too,” he concludes, chuckling.
RAHZEL, as part of THE MAGNIFICENTS, plays the Esplanade Hotel tomorrow, Thursday April 7. See espy.com.au for details.
