Bengaluru beatboxer wins silver at Indian Beatbox Championship

Kevin Noel Sequeira was bestowed with the title of Vice Indian Beatbox Champion in the Loopistan category

Falah Faisal | NT

Bengaluru: Known as a one -man band, Kevin Noel Sequeira has been beatboxing since 2017 when he first encountered cyphers in his 2nd year of PUC at St Joseph’s.

“Back when I was 10 years old, running around the streets of Bengaluru, I always dreamt of learning to play the drums. Although at that time I couldn't afford it. Fast-forward to 2017 when I encountered hip-hop for the first time, and have been living it ever since. From writing short verses of anything in this world that rhymed together to making weird sounds and creating my own drum fills and patterns with kicks, snares and hi-hats using just my voice, my journey as a mouth-music artiste kicked off! I realised I didn't need drums to be a drummer,” says Kevin, who was recently crow ned Vice Indian Beatbox Champion at the Indian Beatbox Championship in Mumbai.

Beatboxing has been a side hustle so far, with Kevin working as the Youth Engagement Officer at Durga India where they work towards creating safe spaces for young people and helping them achieve gender justice.

On the weekends, he attends competitions and makes it a point to do at least two shows a month but feels that the newfound recognition from the competition will lead to more shows in the future. The competition drew close to 250 participants from across the country.

He was drawn into the wild card category in Loopstation, where you create a 3-minute track and come up with a song on the spot. “Back when I started, we saw beatboxing only at college fests, but it has since grown in popularity.

There is still a long way to go, but some people are able to do this full time. Beatboxing has appeared in films like ‘Gully Boy’ and ‘Babli Bouncer’, and has drawn a new audience to it,” says Sequeira who hopes to release his first single by February and perform at more festivals in the coming year.