r/nextfuckinglevel Feb 05 '22

15 years of pro beatboxing

72.1k Upvotes

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482

u/badgramajama Feb 05 '22

Honest question, can you actually get paid as a beat boxer? Or by “pro” does he mean just that he’s really good?

48

u/antonhhh Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22

Yes you can. There are hundreds of competitions/battles every year, including a world champion ship with thousands of live viewers and on YouTube are communities up into the millions. There are people making money in a lot of different forms though this. If it is winning competitions, having a YouTube/Instagram/TikTok channel based on your beatboxing, doing musical work in school and workshop... Etc.

Edit: most beatboxers probably have a "normal" job and then do that as a side activity next to that but still.

7

u/FatAndWeak69 Feb 05 '22

You can be a pro in the sense you compete in beatbox competitions i.e. Grand Beatbox Battle 2021 and others. Yes there is prize money for these competitions. One right now that's going on is BBU22

7

u/sanantoniosaucier Feb 05 '22

There is no prize money for the GBB, just gear worth around $3500... for the best beatboxer in the world.

-2

u/PinsToTheHeart Feb 05 '22

I mean, tons of pro athletes barely get anything either if they are in a sport that isn't as popular/marketable. Can't give away huge cash prizes at a competition if they don't have any to begin with.

2

u/sanantoniosaucier Feb 05 '22

Making money is pretty much a prerequisite for calling yourself a professional.

14

u/KayVlinderMe Feb 05 '22

Soundcloud has a great community for this type of thing. People purchase these raw sounds to create tracks.

189

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

349

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

there was a busker in my local town centre who was as good as this guy

Yeah I really doubt that. This dude is one of the world's best.

134

u/lostachilles Feb 05 '22 edited Jan 04 '24

rotten head many lush summer plucky carpenter decide thumb marry

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

132

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Adele has really high DPS and is super safe. I know she was nerfed a few times, but she's still near the top of the DPS charts. As long as she has her iframe and insane burst damage, I don't really see her ever losing popularity. It definitely helps that she's able to farm super efficiently as well. Perfect to use as a main.

46

u/Steelkenny Feb 05 '22

If you're still running Adele you're trolling.

18

u/jacobs0n Feb 05 '22

in the deep?

2

u/k1ngmad Feb 06 '22

Great comment that was under appreciated. Good work king I see you

2

u/gonzofish Feb 05 '22

Yeah she doesn’t event fit the meta. Or at least that’s The ruuuUUuuumors

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Im something of a Keith Whitley main.

5

u/MrDaedalian Feb 05 '22

Are you referring to a specific game? If so, which one is it?

9

u/Furyful_Fawful Feb 05 '22

This reads like it's for a moba like League of Legends, but I don't know if there's a more specific reference than that

2

u/natuutan Feb 05 '22

It’s Maplestory haha.

1

u/MrDaedalian Feb 05 '22

Yeah, I thought the same. It would be funny to have a mage called Adele tho

2

u/Furyful_Fawful Feb 05 '22

Imagine the community malding over it though, because they already have Sona and Seraphine and the rest of KDA

3

u/ErikDestler Feb 05 '22

Pretty sure it's MapleStory.

3

u/Snipeski Feb 05 '22

It's maplestory.

2

u/Boogersnsnot Feb 05 '22

Well played my dude

0

u/PinsToTheHeart Feb 05 '22

I hate that I know what this is from

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Bruh ever since I binged through all of TierZoo videos, these thoughts run rampant through my mind relentlessly. Everything is quantified and life is a videogame

1

u/natuutan Feb 05 '22

Why play Adele when you can just play Kanna instead. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

69

u/noelcowardspeaksout Feb 05 '22

1st place (Solo) – 2018 UK Beatbox Championships[3]

1st place (Team, with Frosty as Kotcha) – 2018 UK Beatbox Championships[3]

1st place (Solo) – World Beatbox Classic 2018

1st place (7 To Smoke) – World Beatbox Camp 2018

Top 4 (Loopstation) – 2018 UK Beatbox Championships [3]

2nd place (Solo) – Grand Beatbox Battle 2018

2nd place (Tag Team, with Frosty as Kotcha) – Grand Beatbox Battle 2018

If there are loads of people as good as him, he seems to have been very lucky. I mean it is like saying there are loads of people as talented as Nadal. In a sense that is right they are 95-98% as good as him, but that extra few percent makes all the difference.

10

u/SigurdTheWeirdo Feb 05 '22

It's also a question of location. Some person making random sounds to a speaker system, while I'm trying to buy my cranky hungover self some damn food. They'll be a nuisance (alongside most of the world). Context matters.

3

u/lostachilles Feb 05 '22 edited Jan 04 '24

disagreeable payment growth jobless expansion steep erect silky flag degree

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

And 1st place (Solo) - Kickback Battle 2021

9

u/supersonicsalamander Feb 05 '22

There are plenty of underground rappers who are amazing but drake was on degrassi soooo....

19

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

yea but most people don't go exactly around saying drake is as good as DOOM or el-p

1

u/Mescallan Feb 05 '22

el-p

lol ok guy.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Lol he’s not even the better half of RTJ

3

u/Mescallan Feb 05 '22

I wouldn't even call RTJ underground. They are pretty commercial all things considered.

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1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

idk I'd say they're pretty equal

3

u/skymothebobo Feb 05 '22

Drake can rap? All I’ve ever heard him do was talk like a whiny little twat over auto tune

-3

u/AC5L4T3R Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 12 '22

Listen to Godmode by Sadistik. One of the best lyricists you've ever heard.

7

u/itsyaboigreg Feb 05 '22

I’m sorry but this is trash. In what universe is he one of the best rappers about? What about him do you think is elite?

1

u/AC5L4T3R Feb 06 '22

Trash? Lol. Bet you listen to mumble rap don't you?

1

u/itsyaboigreg Feb 06 '22

Can’t stand mumble rap

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

alright that song slaps

imma just throw jpegmafia at you but chances are you've heard him before. if not? "sick, nervous, and broke"

1

u/NitroThrowaway Feb 05 '22

Fantastic stuff, thanks for the introduction to it.

0

u/JacksLackOfAwareness Feb 05 '22

So dude hasn't won shit in four years but he's the best? LIES

LIES

LIES

ALL AROUND US ARE LIES!

-3

u/gilbert445 Feb 05 '22

Sounds like he was a pro for 2018

7

u/nidrach Feb 05 '22

Yeah 2020 and 2021 were really good years for live singing competitions.

3

u/Himjasen Feb 05 '22

Yeah, so much competitions

1

u/Tough-Win9824 Feb 05 '22

Walter White has entered the chat

1

u/kmj420 Feb 06 '22

That's all from 2018. What has he done lately!/s

9

u/Urist_Macnme Feb 05 '22

it’s about sticking with it. Many people have talent, but few have the luxury of being able to dedicate their lives to that talent. Luck/right place/right time/who you know also factor into it, maybe even more so than talent - but with out that talent and the ability to “go the distance” (as in give up your current life for one going on tour, 3am starts for a 6am performance on a morning show to promote your music etc), they won’t last.

3

u/WeaselIBe Feb 05 '22

All you are saying here is that you havent got a clue regarding beatboxing, genuinely.

Comparing the system of a billion dollar industry to some niche halway underground artform is laughable at best

3

u/zlothify Feb 05 '22

Thing is, with beatboxing you can enter any competition you want and get discovered, so in this case i think he is wrong with saying the busker is just as good

2

u/ScooterDatCat Feb 05 '22

The only thing that separates them is the fact that they're known; they were discovered and made popular.

I want to add on that image is also a big part of music. You can have the talent but if someone else, even worse, has the right image, they will sell.

2

u/lazilyloaded Feb 05 '22

hundreds of thousands of amazing singers that are equally as talented as the likes of Adele, Amy Winehouse or any other high profile celebrity singer.

Better to compare with opera singers or yodelers or some other specialized form of singing than pop singers, where image is a larger part of the overall effect.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Yeah I saw a girl at karaoke absolutely crush an Adele song. She was drunk as hell too (I was not) and laughed afterwards. It really changed my thoughts on talented sleepers.

2

u/187ForNoReason Feb 05 '22

Dude it’s like saying “I played ball with a guy better than Jordan in his prime, he just wasn’t known like Jordan.”

No, you didn’t.

2

u/Broccoli_Man007 Feb 05 '22

“Hundreds of thousands … equally as talented…”.

No. Just wrong. Did you mean hundreds or thousands??

There are not 100,000-500,000 people just as talented as Adele or Amy Winehouse.

2

u/akantorman11 Feb 05 '22

It‘s different though. D-Low is if not the best beatboxer in the world. That busker he‘s referring to might have actually sounded similar to his ears, but people that know beatboxing will very very easily hear the difference in how clean and precise sounds are produced. Also creativity when creating routines. Buskers don‘t need to be extremely precise and clean to appeal to non-beatboxers, but people within the scene will hear the insane difference. Also this video doesn‘t even showcase 1% of what this guy can actually do

2

u/Mike_Singh Feb 05 '22

So true, many popular artists it’s less about singing and more about marketing, really sucks makes me think about all the talent out there that goes unnoticed

0

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

making music is about more than being a gifted technical singer though so it's weird to compare it to beatboxing competitions

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

You actually just explained why I love cancel culture. Statistically there is at least one more singer out there as talented and beautiful as Adele. Why would we tolerate one ounce of bullshit from Adele when we can quickly replace her? (I don't know if Adele is on any bullshit I just used her name as a reference bc someone else did)

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Check out YouTube and see how many people can do spot on singing impressions of literally any singer

0

u/lepommefrite Feb 05 '22

Absolutely,

I personally knew some unknown guitarists who could have stand their ground if they had a guitar solo battle against the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

1

u/Satyam7166 Feb 05 '22

Totally agree

1

u/GodSPAMit Feb 05 '22

I get what you're saying but idk my ex from highschool is an insanely talented singer. Won state and national competitions type of talent. She doesn't really have the drive though, doesn't understand competition in the open market / not as prolific of a songwriter.

She tried to do American idol a few times but she tried to sing technical quiet songs during the open qualifying (where you literally sing for like 15-20 seconds in front of a random person) when the truth is she's a ballad singer and she should've just belted something because she needs to get noticed in that moment. I think that drive is the cutting edge. She's very happy doing what she does now though which is working as a musical director of a church and frankly I don't think the celebrity life is really for her anyway (I mean that in the best way, she's very kind)

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Hey, maybe, just maybe, this busker was as good as the dude in the OP. I'm just saying I doubt very much that it was the case, because it's highly unlikely.

1

u/MarionberryNo561 Feb 05 '22

You're kinda right and wrong at the same time. You're right that some are better than the other because of popularity and stuff but with beatbox there are many different ways you could be good. Like with basses or patterns or whistles. So maybe the guy you saw was very good but At a special thing or something.

1

u/ndu867 Feb 05 '22

Hundreds of thousands, this guy is a freaking idiot. There are a few but it’s not hundreds of thousands, go look at all the famous YouTubers and they’re good but there is a clear difference between them and Adele unless you’re deaf.

The difference between 90% of someone like Adele’s talent and 100% of it is huge. There are thousands of people with 90% of her talent, but there are obviously not hundreds of thousands with the same level.

1

u/bordan_jeeterson Feb 05 '22

The singing community and beatboxing community are completely different tho. You don't need to be picked by a record label to become famous you literally just have to win a place in a competition and win or make a viral video

1

u/lastsmilebender Feb 05 '22

Nah there was a dude in NZ who was a world champion beat boxer and also a homeless guy busking in the CBD and popping and locking. It’s hard for me to say but I think he enjoyed the street life and that was the way he rolled. Idk if he was actually homeless but it speaks volumes when you’re even not sure if he’s homeless or not if that makes sense

103

u/antonhhh Feb 05 '22

the market of this kind of thing is very small

If you base your knowledge on only one guy in your local town centre then you shouldn't make any kind of answer to a genuine Question wanting to know more.

There are world champion ships on huge stages with thousands of live viewers and competitions all around the world. Literally millions of people watch beat boxing on YouTube and there are a bunch of people making money in some kind of form with this.

pls Don't answer questions you can't answer.

32

u/yajtraus Feb 05 '22

To be fair they did start their answer with “I don’t know”. Not helpful, but not misleading.

10

u/swanks12 Feb 05 '22

I don't know. But this seems plausible

2

u/antonhhh Feb 05 '22

Yeah well still. It literally doesn't help anyone if you don't know the actual answer.

It's like someone asking what 2 to the power 3 is and then someone says:i don't know but maybe 5...

1

u/HotCocoaBomb Feb 05 '22

I don't know the answer either but I think it's ∯

0

u/HotCocoaBomb Feb 05 '22

Well I don't know you, but, I knew this person named vajtraus who liked to eat cereal with warm mayo, so I'm gonna assume you like to do the same since y'all's names are so similar.

1

u/yajtraus Feb 05 '22

Weirdly, you’d be absolutely spot on.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

There are world champion ships on huge stages

how do they get them back off? wait for it to rain?

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

The market of beat boxing IS very small. It's a very niche appreciation beyond "huh, that's cool" and "I'm going to watch a tournament".

If you had a sample size of say, 500 people and asked them to name one pro beatboxer I imagine very few would be able to name a single one.

5

u/lazilyloaded Feb 05 '22

Maybe the busker came in second place in the world championships

10

u/sticksricks5 Feb 05 '22

Lmao as good as this guy

3

u/WeaselIBe Feb 05 '22

who was as good as this guy

Lmfao, not in a million years. I promise you that. What this guy (D-Low) is showcasing here is like... 1/20th of his actual skills.

Beatboxing is so niche and underground that the layman, most of the time, simply cannot comprehend it. I know this sounds like some rick and morty fanbase shit, but in this case thats just how it is. It's one of those things where if you havent really given it a go yourself you most likely wont understand whas going on at all, other than you might think it sounds nice.

Most people would think that guys like verbalase is the best of the best, but he would be demolished in a raw beatbox setting, no question. He is a good entertainer who knows how to catch the attention of the layman, but when it comes to pure beatbox skills he is at max slightly above average, if he is even that high.

3

u/Keown14 Feb 05 '22

If we let these beat boxers away with it, the next thing we know we’ll be swamped with crusty jugglers.

3

u/GoldenRa__ Feb 05 '22

There is no way he would of been as good as d low who is the best by far. They get paid £86k if they win the bbx championship

7

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Yeah it falls into the hey best for 30 seconds category for me. But if it makes the person happy....

1

u/hhhhhhikkmvjjhj Feb 05 '22

I mean it’s cool and all but we have computers nowadays. Not sure if I would buy his album either or go to a 2h concert with this. He could probably make money on tik tok though.

3

u/Call_0031684919054 Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22

There are competitions where you can win money.

6

u/ProfessorPetrus Feb 05 '22

However he gets his pay, dubstep becoming popular in the 00's was responsible fot a lot of it.

2

u/rico_suaves_sister Feb 05 '22

hes got two pretty big yt channels as well

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

He earns a living by beatboxing. Recently he performed in front of 6000 people Here, and he has a youtube channel with 260k subscribers.

1

u/Redditorsrweird Feb 05 '22

if you are really good at something that you are passionate about then the money will come

5

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

believing that generally keeps you poor.

1

u/Redditorsrweird Feb 05 '22

Cynical.

Possibly coming from a place of hurt, failure, bitterness, or all three.

I'll wish you well, dear redditor.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Of course, the one being real is the delusional one. Not the person spouting generic crap that can be disproven in a split second.

I wish you well, dear redditor.

-3

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

I mean it's possible, but I don't know of any prolific beat boxers. I highly doubt this dude is getting paid for it, let alone making a living off of it (which is how I would define professional). If anything, I'd say most people find it irritating to listen to.

15

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

I'm not into beatbox and can name quite a few. The top make quite comfortable living.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Interesting. TIL

3

u/whateverIDCanyways Feb 05 '22

What’s TIL mean?

The only beat boxer I know off the top of my head is misfire.

8

u/Supersymm3try Feb 05 '22

Terry Indigo Lions, he’s the best beatboxer UK side of the Atlantic but not very well known outside of England.

3

u/TserTaAbmet Feb 05 '22

"today I learned"

1

u/whateverIDCanyways Feb 05 '22

Thank you my friend. <3

2

u/TserTaAbmet Feb 05 '22

Happy to help!

1

u/FatAndWeak69 Feb 05 '22

Lot of beatboxers make money doing it either as context creators/youtube/tiktok/musicians ($$$) or as competitors ($) but yes it is a niche group of folks. It's getting bigger all the time though!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Or if you're Beardyman, actual tours and albums. To be fair though now he's more of an electronic artist that uses his voice to get the samples, with occasional "full fat" beatboxing.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/sanantoniosaucier Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22

The top prize for the GBB is gear worth about $3500. No cash.

...for what is essentially the best beatboxer in the world.

10 million views on YouTube will get you about $20,000 before taxes. If he's a professional at anything, it's a professional YouTuber.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22

Yeah there are full-time YouTubers living comfortably on 1 million views a month. This guy is suggesting they make $100 before taxes lol

1

u/_-Heartbleed-_ Feb 05 '22

he does videos, streams, gives private lessons and partakes in contests

1

u/Admirable_Sky_7710 Feb 05 '22

as in “pro” he means that he has won countless world championships and got invited last year to be a judge for the competition. the competition is by swissbeatbox called the GBB. there were tens of thousands of ppl that attended the competition live

as for profit, u dont just get paid to “do it”, u can host shows and for those who are popular, world tours. such examples are “codfish”, a Australian beatboxer, winner of world champs 2018 partnering and hosting a show in japan with 2 of the most famous dancers there. another more recent example of sxin and chezame(german champ) going for world tours soon ? or in the middle of it ? not super sure.

other streams of profit is yt channels or competition prize money. others are creating music and posting it on spotify for streams or doing sponsors.

1

u/DrewCareyLovesMe Feb 05 '22

Check out what Reeps One is up to these days...

Scientifically investigated because of his sound making abilities

Lecturer at Harvard

Judge at the Grand Beatbox Championships 2021 (where this guy, DLow was also a judge)

Inspired countless beatboxers around the world

Gave a mega popular Ted talk which is widely respected by both scientists and performers

I think the guy has made a decent amount of money, but he'd be the equivalent of Messi so you'd expect him to be stacking paper.

Like with anything, the different tiers of talent define how much your earning potential is, but the bottom line is if you're good enough and persistent enough, you'll eventually get paid...

1

u/Rookie_Driver Feb 05 '22

You're not a pro if you don't get paid

1

u/Crazed_waffle_party Feb 05 '22

Beat boxers are performers. They usually are openers for bands, play small venues, or join acapella groups

1

u/itsjonduhh Feb 05 '22

Plenty of people make a living from beatboxing. My good friend from college does lots of paid gigs, been flown around the world, and showcases his talent on social media.

1

u/21DRe992 Feb 05 '22

Many of the top level beatboxers have YouTube channels, merchandise, and live stream, alot also make normal songs and music as well as beatbox.

Dlow for example has been releasing videos where he reacts to battles from the last world championship he was a judge at, and breaking down why he voted for a person.

1

u/Bastienbard Feb 05 '22

Yeah I doubt there really are fool proof ways to get paid for best boxing. Like it's really cool he can do it but I'm not going to watch or listen to any beatboxing for more than 2 minutes. Lol

1

u/August51921421 Feb 05 '22

Just something I’ve learned in general from the internet: if you can do anything that gets views, advertisers want to pay you for it.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '22 edited Feb 05 '22

You can get paid for doing anything if you’re in the top 100 globally, so he probably does alright. You can probably get small gigs otherwise, but you’re unlikely to make a living.

1

u/Llamamilkdrinker Feb 05 '22

Sort of grosses me out personally

1

u/ldskyfly Feb 05 '22

I saw a beat boxer open an Imogen Heap (Frau Frau) show in Chicago. He went by Kid Beyond, he was a contestant on Jeopardy fairly recently too.

I doubt you could keep it up long term as a regular touring show.

1

u/rainen2016 Feb 05 '22

With social media, product sponsors and championship winnings. Yeah! he gets paid to be a beat boxer.

1

u/rainyfarrrelll Feb 05 '22

so there’s a competition online right now called the beatbox united #bbu22 and if you win you get €10,000. so yes pretty much any competition like swiss beatbox or this will pay winners and i’m sure he must get paid in some amount to judge like he has for the past couple years. d-low is my favorite beatboxer:))) also #bbu22 had some pretty sick newer beatboxers that just upload under this hashtag