Small Boy With Big Sounds
contributor: shawn lee
occupation: student, malaysia school of audio engineering (s.a.e)
base: kl
I.M....a small boy with big sounds




At 18, Shawn Lee has already made it to an international A-list of beatboxers (Top 16) and has travelled to Europe, Singapore, Taiwan, and most recently, Brunei to perform. After his return from a gig in Brunei, I.M. managed to sit the beatboxer down for a short session over a cuppa coffee. He shares with us his journey of going from an unknown ‘small fry’ to an international sensation, and of course,
the trials and tribulations of being such a small kid in that big booming world of his.

Firstly guys, thanks for featuring me on your mag! Before I begin, Imma give you peeps a brief intro about myself. Those who have watched my performances would know that I introduce myself as ‘the small boy with big sounds’. Yup, that’s exactly who I am. Also, I’m a very hyperactive person who absolutely cannot stay home doing nothing. You may also call me nocturnal as I sleep only at 6AM!

I adore reptiles and exotic pets like snakes, lizards and scorpions. When I ain’t beatboxing, I will be shopping! (I’m a crazy shopaholic.) As for my childhood years… hey, I’m STILL a child! Okay, let’s be serious. When I was way younger, I used to make a hell lot of noise in school. The playground was my forte and basketball was one of the reasons I looked forward to school! At home, I enjoy watching that pineapple who lives under the sea – Spongebob Squarepants!


I learned to beatbox watching YouTube!
Okay, that’s about enough to describe me! It’s time for the beatboxing part of
my life now and how I got round to doing that. In fact, anyone can beatbox! All
you gotta have is a pair of lungs and a voicebox to get the party started. Pump
yourself up with a little more determination and Youtube tutorials – they might come in handy too.

Beatboxing is actually all about making music out of noise manipulations of the music you hear on the radio or anywhere at all, using your vocals as instruments.
I first began making those noises (which I call music!) when I was in primary school. I would attempt beatboxing simple beats in the car, only to be told by my dad that I was irritating.Bummer! But it was only 3 years ago that I started to take beatboxing seriously. I give two thumbs up to my Beatboxing idol, Joel Turner,
of Australian Idol fame! Youtube was my main source of tutorials and I began tackling the familiar beats such as the kickdrum, snare, hi-hats and more. All
those months of practice brought me to my first performance in a church event called ‘Friends Night’.




Versatile entertainment
The awesome thing I enjoy about beatboxing is how it happens to magically whip the crowd into rapture all the time! Also, I can have the freedom of beatboxing wherever I please; you don’t need radios or MP3 players for entertainment in the car whilst driving, because all I need is me, myself and my boom of a voicebox. It is extremely versatile. Believe it or not, the best place for me to rehearse is the bathroom! I love the reverberation on the bathroom walls so I practice when I’m having a shower or taking a dump!

Most of my acts are done freestyle – I hardly ever choreograph except to plan out a brief skeleton of how the transition is going to be like and which songs to pick out. The best part about beatboxing is that people tend to stop and watch in awe, and it opens their eyes to see that what they might regard as impossible (eg. Humans making drum-like/mechanical-sounding noises) is possible.





A heritage of creative talent
In retrospect, I’m very grateful that I have a family who are very supportive of my interest in beatboxing!

Coincidentally, the folks closest to me all happen to be in the creative industry too. Mom’s a fashion designer, dad’s a popular cartoonist (I’m not telling who! But there are only 2 distinctive cartoonists in Malaysia and *cough* my dad’s one of them
so go figure!) and my elder sister is a producer. With their moral support and a little financial help, RM10K was enough to jet-set me to Europe for 9 days during the World Championships in Berlin. I also have very encouraging friends who woke up at 7AM just to hear me broadcasted on Hitz.FM and especially my classmate Samuel Yong who is ever willing to let me hitch a ride to my gigs.



"With fellow beatboxer rudi rok at the world beatbox championships."


"Performing at the Xpax Xberry party at republic."

Rolling with the big boys
All these copious amounts of practice and motivation added up and soon I found myself at the Beatbox Battle World Championship in Berlin, Germany! Funny thing is, when people ask me what exactly inspired me to join it, I don’t really have an answer! In all honesty, I just had this goal to enter that prestigious international competition and was invited to join by a beatbox senior who found me on YouTube.

I can still remember my horror when I first stepped foot in Europe! I was only a 17-year old kid in a big city far away from home.  I even got stopped by the cops when I was in Frankfurt because they must’ve thought I looked like a suspicious illegal immigrant! But bad memories aside, it was an amazing experience. It was certainly worth travelling this far to make it to the top 16 out of the 45 initial contestants! There were only 3 Asian countries which made it to Berlin – Malaysia, Korea and Singapore – and I’m glad I made it for my home country. Also, I was psyched that I was finally face to face and actually competing with the very people I look up to – all those YouTube beatbox legends!





Being one of the youngest, I actually expected to go there and come back defeated. I was nobody and a small fry, and no one paid any attention when I
got up the stage; but once I got down, they came to me with respect and compliments.  That really boosted my confidence and made my day! One of the most memorable moments during the whole stint was staying in a dorm with so many international beatboxers! As there were six of us in one room, everyday
was nothing but noise and a great deal of mess. There was one who snored like
a cow and woke everyone up!

Start small to overcome big obstacles
The toughest obstacles I’ve endured there was of course, being demotivated at times. Every day, you face people who are so much better and more skilful than you are – which makes you feel very intimidated. But being a quitter should be
the last thing on my mind! As clichéd as it might sound, my sole principle is never to give up! Have a goal and run towards it. Never do things for money or fame. When you’re at it, your passion will eventually overrule the fact that you’re actually working. Start small and keep going even if you see little returns initially!

Bringing the Malaysian beatbox scene to the world
I have a vision for myself in the future, which is to be able to record an album and to collaborate with some of the big names in the industry. So far, I’ve made rough plans with a fellow beatboxer from Germany... so let’s just see what we’ll be cooking up for ya’ll!

I reckon The Malaysian Beatbox scene is kinda small and not really “out there”, so I organized an inaugural Malaysian Beatbox Gathering in 2008. It was successful as I saw lots of beatboxers in Malaysia starting to get noticed after that. We all gotta start somewhere, right?





WANNA BEATBOX?
My only advice is to work hard for what you strive for. It’s all sheer effort and only just a little luck! When I first started, I performed in a small cafe for free – anything to get my talents noticed! Life is just like that – you’re nobody when you’re just a beginner. So do it for free, do it for exposure and entertainment. But once you’ve made it, don’t be a big-headed diva nor place yourself above the rest as a celebrity. Lastly, be original and have something distinctive about yourself that makes you truly you. Till then, beatbox till the beat drops!