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  Hobbit Interview
interview 0557 added 12.03.08 words:
Lady Jay UK
technical:
Spoon
20 years old, and already he has sponsorship deals with Mic(ism), microphone manufacturer Audix USA and Ableton. That’s no stroke of luck. Son of a concert pianist and blues musician, Hobbit has been rocking crowds over the last few years, as well as releasing a dvd entitled: ’Do The Beatbox’. He talks to me about going to New York, the importance of practice, and watching jaws drop to the floor…
How are you creating your career through beatboxing?
 I started beatboxing when I was about 13 and have been creating vocally spat beats since then. I first performed at a beatbox night down in Bristol in 2004, courtesy of UK beatbox legend TyTe. I got up and did my thing in front of over 50 other beatboxers, which was scary as fuck, but certainly helped with my confidence. I then did a few shows and open mics before hitting up a big festival in Cheltenham in 2005, which was dope. Back then I was doing a lot of self promotion, getting shows all around the UK and finally getting picked up by an agency. For the past few years I’ve basically been hitting up all sorts of venues; from clubs and pubs to arenas and festivals, plus the odd battle. Just promoting myself, getting my name out there and making people aware of who I am and what I do.
After doing that for a bit I released my first DVD, Do the Beatbox, which helped get my name out even more. Since then I’ve mainly been working on making my live show something truly worth coming to see.
I recently copped myself a management deal and big things are really starting to happen now!
You’ve recently gained sponsorship from Microphone manufacturer Audix USA. How did that come about and what does it mean for you?
That was through my manager. I started using the Audix Fireball V a while back and from the beginning I thought, man this mic is dope! Especially for beatboxers, the sound and feel are perfect! My manager hit up Audix, got into talks with them and they offered a sponsorship deal with custom mics and all! It’s great being a spokesperson for a brand like Audix. It’s cool letting people know what they’re all about.
How long did it take to perfect your skills
As I said I’ve been beatboxing since I was about 13, so that’s 5 years on the tab so far. I just basically practice, practice, practice. I can’t stress it anymore than that. If you wanna be good – practice. Just like if a guitarist wants to be good, they’ve got to sit down and practice. It’s exactly the same with beatboxing. Then getting the experience and confidence to hit up live shows by doing local open mics and talent shows to get that confidence boosted!
Which aspects do you find most challenging?
Getting promotion and exposure was hard in the beginning. Self promoting myself wasn’t easy, but you find that when you play venues you always get a few people asking after your details to book you for shows, so sometimes it can work out very well.
 Confidence to get up on stage can be an issue for some people, but personally I love it. It’s a great feeling to know that people in the audience are there to see you and have their eyes on you. Plus I enjoy watching their jaws drop to the floor!
What do you gain inspiration from?
Big question! I have a lot of inspiration for what I do, mainly from my father who was a huge inspiration to me. He was a blues musician and singer himself, so that’s where I get my musical taste and talent from. Also from my mother who is a classically trained pianist.
In the beatboxing world I have gained a lot of inspiration from the legends like Buffy, Doug E Fresh, Biz Markie and also pros like Rahzel, Kenny Muhammad, Killa Kela and the likes. They’ve had a big inspiration on what and why I do what I do, 100%.
What’s a beatbox jam like?
Amazing. To be able to stand together with other people who do what you do and just cypher together, having the same love for the art form is sick. You can have jams with 2 people or 200! It really doesn’t matter. They are always great fun as well as something to learn from because of the different people you meet.
And who would be your perfect ‘Jam team’?
Ah, good question! Definitely Rahzel & Kenny Muhammad, as their sounds are unbelievable. I’ll actually be performing with Kenny in NYC in March, which is very cool.
For sound effects and the craziness, my perfect jam team would have to also include TyTe. I couldn’t do without his Dalek impression. Also, Eklips from Paris is dope right now. His sounds and style would fit right into a jam. Can’t hurt to have a bit of Doug E Fresh too! Finally, for some vocal scratches, it would be none other than Scratch from The Roots. His vocals are incredible and he’d just need to be there.
What’s a loop station?
It is basically an audio device where you can layer your own voice/sound effects and beats to make full live tracks with one pedal. It is dope and was mainly initiated into the beatbox scene by a beatboxer called Kid Beyond, but is now used by many of us. I’m using one, but with a twist. Come check out a live show to see what I mean.
 What’s been the highlight of your career so far?
There have been so many! I’ve had a crazy few years! Definitely playing at Birmingham NEC alongside the Zulu Nation breakdancers in front of 10,000 was dope. Also, being on TV on Big Brother’s Little Brother was pretty mad, one of those experiences which I’ll never forget. Just hitting shows these past years has been crazy. Meeting so many people and getting the chance to play with and support so many different acts.
What have you released, and where can we pick it up?
I have a DVD which is out and you can find that on the web at www.micism-store.com. I have plans for other releases too, so watch out for them!
And plans for the future…
I have a big year planned ahead of me! With just sealing management, I’m now in talks for bigger and better things, which will be dope! I’m off to New York City on 14th March to rock some shows with the American beatbox scene, which is gunna be sick. The festival tour is also shaping up well, so I’ll likely be performing at one near you! If you’re interested in coming to a show, just check out one of the links below
Check out some online footage from youtube
here,
here,
here,
here and from the
Leeds Heat UK Beatbox Champs 2008: here
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Lady Jay UK
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