Fifth Annual American Human Beatbox Festival

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kid Lucky combines beatboxing, spoken word, scatting and electric vocals and has worked with beatboxers and spoken word artists such as Doug E Fresh, Ready Rock C, Kenny Muhammad, Taylor Mcferrin, Jase Mason, Eminon, D-Cross, MC Squared, Baba Israel, Wes Carrol, Stack, and Akim Funk Buddha. Kid Lucky founded Beatboxer Entertainment the first production company to promote human beatboxing in 2002. Other vocalists he has worked with include Miles Griffith, Marya Lawrence, David Pleasant, Tonni Smith, M. Stephanie Mckay, Imani Uzuri, Marshell Jones, Piper Anderson to name a few. Spoken word artists he has collaborated with include The Last Poets, Stream of Conscious, Everton Sylvester, Mike Ladd, MC Beans, Jane Lecroy, Galinsky, Bob Holman, Paul Skiff, Tomosia, Mahogany Jones, and others. Kid Lucky also teaches the art of beatboxing and has given seminars and workshops at The Collegiate School and The Browning School in NYC and at NYU.

Kaila Mullady

D-Cross, “the living instrument,” is a visual and vocal Hip-Hop artist. Cross is a native New Yorker residing in Brooklyn, NY. He combines the arts of Spoken Word poetry, beatboxing, and emceeing into his own brand of “vocal acrobatics”, making music to the ears of listeners everywhere. D-Cross has been featured on Nickelodeon’s TV Land, BET’s 106, and Park. He was also selected for HBO’s Def Poetry Jam in March 2003 as well as being featured at Def Poetry performances. He has released his own limited edition CDs “D-Cross Live at Serengeti” and “Cross-sections”. He has shared the stage with Mos Def, SuperNatural, Rahzel, Biz Markie, Kurtis Blow, KRS One, & Doug E.Fresh.

Baba Israel is a New Yorker with a Brooklyn Pops and an Australian Mum. His father is the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and his mother a Tai-Chi practicing mystic. He was raised in the Living Theatre, a world traveled political and avant garde group. He came of age in the New York of the eighties. A raw New York filled with Graffiti nights, dangerous turns, and creative possibility. As an artist he began his career at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe, invited by Reg E. Gaines. Since then Baba has been exploring the connections of Hip Hop, Jazz, Theatre, politics, and the raw and celebratory energy that got him started. He is a hip hop emcee, poet, and beatboxer who has toured across the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and the South Pacific performing with artists such as Outkast, The Roots, Rahzel, Ron Carter, Afrika Bambaataa, Vernon Reid, and Bill Cosby. Baba has been featured on MTV, BET, and VH1, and in the films Breath Control, The Freshest Kids, Freestyle, and Hip Hop for Hope. In 2008, he was selected as part of Lincoln Center’s Rhythm Road, touring Asia and the South Pacific with the Dana Leong Project.

Akim Funk Buddha is a multi-faceted performance artist with talents ranging from high-energy Classic Hip Hop rhymes, beat-boxing and Mongolian throat-singing, to body-balancing, martial arts, tap dance and circus arts. Akim creates borderless performance art fusing sounds and movements. Akim has made appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Sesame Street, and can be seen as an M.C. in the award winning documentary “FreeStyle, the art of rhyme”. Akim has collaborated with Tony award winning Director Bill T and Jones. He toured the world with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, performing as throat singer/vocalist, multi-percussionist, and dancer, and performed at Carnegie Hall with Bobby McFerrin.

Africano is a native of Charlotte (NC). He is a renowned dancer, spoken word poet, vocal percussionist, and visionary. Africano has opened for artists such as Big Boi, Cornell West, Nikki Giovanni, Rakim, and the Cold Crush Brothers. He also performed with Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theater Company, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater in Chicago, the Universal Zulu Nation’s 41st Anniversary and the Legendary Apollo Theater. He recently became a member of the Universal Zulu Nation; An organization started by Afrika Bambaataa, whose focus is using hip-hop as a means of positive social change. “The Beatbox Chronicles”, Africano’s debut album, is a rich blend of vocal percussion, spoken word, and improvised sounds spreading to over 500 listeners worldwide.

Marya Lawrence was born into a talented family of musicians. Her father, saxophone legend Arnie Lawrence, guided her into a musical life rich with a love for all kinds of music. Marya’s singing and music draws from jazz, blues, hip-hop, reggae, funk, soul and world music – everything from scat to sexy. Marya has a highly infectious sound of her own and is an enchanting and unique performer who never fails to captivate her audience.

Jane Lecroy is a New York based poet, singer and performance artist, home-birthing mother of 3, teacher, atheist, vegetarian, televisionless, hedonist, exemplifies the alphabet at its best. She fronts the avant-pop band TRANSMITTING, featuring multi-instrumentalist Tom Abbs and David Rogers-Berry. Jane LeCroy has collaborated, performed and toured with: the SF based all women’s poetry troupe, Sister Spit; the 1990’s emo-core band, Vitapup;  the electronica project Somnaut with David Last, Kid Lucky’s a cappella hip-hop, beatboxing, orchestra, Nu Voices; Brant Lyon’s, Hydrogen Jukebox and critically acclaimed musicians, such as: Madigan Shive, Animal Prufrock, David Last, Bradford Reed, Chad Taylor, Carol Lipnik, Kid Lucky, Taylor McFerrin, Napoleon Maddox, Erik Lawrence and Reggie Workman. Jane has been featured reading at Walt Whitman’s birthplace, St. Mark’s Poetry Project, RADAR at the SanFrancisco Public Library, Mike Geffner’s Inspired Word, William Electric Blacks’s Poetry Electric, Liberty Science Center, and David the Werdsman’s Art of Conversation, The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Jane has published her poetry, stories, songs, and articles in Fast Folk Magazine, Hanging Loose, Maintenant, Frank 151, Vector, Mudfish, Hootenanny, Tragic Book, Live-Mag, Princess, CLASSIFIEDS by Equinox Publishing, Great Weather for Media anothoogies and Teachers & Writers magazine.

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