Dear beatboxers: sing in your native language!

Though the beatboxing world has recently had its eyes on GBB, German Beatbox, Great North and Florida Beatbox Battle wildcards, I and a few thousand others have been also keeping tabs on the Japanese Loopstation Community’s (JLC) uploads from their 2023 Loopstation Championship last December. 

The looping talent in Japan is off the charts of late — you might remember I’ve been on this train since last year — and it seems Mahiro, the latest Japanese Looping Champion is ready to build on his domestic success on the international stage. No less auspicious a fan than Syjo hopped in the comments of the video for Mahiro’s semifinal victory over SiMA to sing the champion’s praises.  

“Jesus Christ Mahiro needs to make a producer Wildcard! He is a beast 🔥,” said the reigning GBB producer champion.

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While I loved Mahiro’s run to the title — whatever technique he used to trigger his first round in the semifinal is so satisfying — I find myself coming back to his semifinal opponent, SiMA again and again. 

I’ll be the first to admit that even though I have been keeping up with the Japanese loop scene, I had never heard of SiMA before JLC uploaded his quarterfinal against Hanako. I found in SiMA, a wonderfully raw looping talent, but an obviously accomplished musician. 

SiMa’s four rounds at the JLC champs were woefully mixed, but in each song, there was structure, great singing, and deep deep emotion. He smiled at the crowd, leaned into melody, and brought them in with driving pop-punk singing. He connected with the crowd in a way most loopers struggle to, without ever stepping out from behind the looping table. 

This approach, to focus on the things you do well, and set aside (for now) the parts of looping that you aren’t interested in or good at, has supporters at the highest end of the looping game. Both Robin and Bizkit have expressed disdain for sound design and a “clean mix,” focusing instead on their musical ideas and connecting with the audience. They have both, to varying extents, placed greater emphasis on mix over the years, but they will always be ideas-first loopers.

SiMA is not yet Robin or Bizkit. His JLC run ended in the semifinals against Mahiro, who taunted him during the battle, saying “it’s not a singing competition,” before dropping a tightly mixed and well executed drop. Right he was. Mahiro deserved his win, but he might consider why I, someone who had listened to his music before, and agree that he should have beaten SiMA, continue to listen to SiMA’s music and not his.

The answer for me is clear. I appreciate Mahiro’s execution, his power, the technical accomplishments, but that happens in my brain. My appreciation for SiMA’s music happens in my heart. I’ve already explained a number of reasons for this, but one sneaky way that SiMA is able to impart so much emotion is that he sings in Japanese.

This might be counterintuitive, but hear me out. A couple years ago, I interviewed the frontman of La Femme, a band from France. 

“You, a French band,” I asked, “open Teatro Lucido—an album sung entirely in Spanish—with ‘Fugue Italienne.’ There’s a lot going on there!”

He told me that when La Femme were coming up, every French band was singing in English, so they sang in French. When more French bands sang in their native tongue, they continued to subvert expectations, and tried Spanish. 

In the beatbox world, things are currently similar to the state of France in La Femme’s early days. So many beatboxers who are not native English speakers sing and rap in English, and it detracts from their work. Mahiro himself sang in English twice in his run to the title, and I didn’t understand a single word he said. 

I’m not picking on the champion alone though. At JLC, Impedance also sang in English, and the emotions in his love track suffered as the lyrics didn’t quite mean what he clearly thought they did. Many beatboxers, from Wawad to FootboxG to any number of lesser known beatboxers have sung or rapped in English to ill effect. 

“Do you think you can win me??” - - Wawad

“Rise and rise, again and again, until those lambs become big lions!” - - FootboxG

SiMA, along with French loopers Mirsa and Ayoub, offer a strong counterexample to the  many beatboxers who insist on performance in an alien language, and I think more should follow their lead.

Think of the moment in music in which we live. We near a decade of K-Pop’s global revolution. Bad Bunny has won so much international acclaim singing in Spanish it is simply assumed that he won’t even show up at the Grammys this year. Music fans don’t care what language you sing in as long as it’s good. 

In a time in the looping world where the meta is cyberpunk, riddim and DnB, evocative vocals are a perfect zag. Look at how many shortcomings SiMA’s emotive Japanese singing was able to cover up. Again, that’s a compliment, not a slight. Loopers are always going to be faced with technicians who know the device better than them. The best shortcut is artistry. Lean into what you know, and what is true to you. Bizkit, Robin, and, yes, SiMA are all fighting the good fight for music for music’s sake, and one way beatboxers can hop on this train is by singing in their native tongue.

Upcoming Calendar: Events

• UK Beatbox Championships: London, United Kingdom. February 2-3, 2024.
• Remix and Shmee at Klitsgrass Drumming Circle: Tierpoort, South Africa. February 10, 2024.
• Hawaii Beatbox Island Royale: Online (Discord). February 18, 2024.
• Beatbox Royalty Talk Event: Hamilton, New Zealand. February 24, 2024.
• Dutch Beatbox Champions League: Almere, The Netherlands. February 24, 2024.
• Etude Op.1 Battle: Seoul, South Korea. February 28, 2024.
• Beatbox of the Month: Berlin, Germany. March 3, 2024.
• Italian Beatbox Championship: Venice, Italy. March 9-10, 2024.
• Saarland Beatbox Championship: Saarbrücken, Germany. March 16, 2024.
• CUBE UNITE: Tokyo, Japan. March 31, 2024.
• Florida Beatbox Battle: Agen, France. April 5-6, 2024.
• German Beatbox Championship: Berlin, Germany. May 10, 2024.
• World Wide Beatbox Festival 2024: Maggie Valley, North Carolina (USA). May 16-19.
• Yamori at Hakuba Yahooo! Festival 2024: Nagano, Japan. May 26, 2024.
• Great North Battle: Toronto, Canada. June 1-2, 2024.
• FlowCase 10: Cardiff, Wales. June 22, 2024.
• Haten World Championship: Yokohama, Japan. July 25-28, 2024.
• Circlejam Beatbox Festival: Ferlach, Austria. July 26-27, 2024
• Solar Storm Festival: Location TBD, August 29, 2024.
• Beatbox Battle of the Year: Ghent, Belgium September 21, 2024.
• Grand Beatbox Battle: Toyosu PIT, Japan. November 1-3, 2024.

Upcoming Calendar: Wild Cards

• Great North Battle: Open until January 31, 2024.

• Saarland Beatbox Championship: Open until February 15, 2024.

• Etude Op.1 Battle: Open February 1-28, 2024.

• Haten World Championship (Solo, Tag-Team & Loopstation): February 2nd - April 30th, 2024,

• Grand Beatbox Battle:

  • Solo and Loopstation: Open until March 9, 2024.

  • Tag Team, Crew, Producer: Open until March 23, 2024

• World Wide Beatbox Festival: dates coming soon.

If I missed any upcoming events or Wild Cards, hit me up on Instagram, I’m @HateItOrLevitt or @SpeshFX.