Origins Creatives 2024: Kimmy Beatbox

Can you tell us a bit about how you entered the world of beatboxing?

I got into beatboxing after hearing my brother do some, he wasn't doing anything too extravagant but the well-known boots and cats we've all probably given a go at some point in our life. He used to beat me at everything, so I wanted to beat him at something and that's what originally inspired me to get into beatboxing and I ended up falling in love with creating beats and rhythms. Then I started busking in Manchester and Liverpool and realised I can make a living out of this, so I moved to London to do it full time and haven't stopped since! Genuinely feel like the luckiest person alive.

What are some challenges you've faced as a beatboxer in the creative industry, and how have you overcome them?

I have to say I feel very privileged with my life as a beatboxer especially with it being such a male dominated industry, there's hardly any other non-binary or female beatboxers so I get a lot of gigs off the back of that - although I would LOVE more nonbinary and female beatboxers to come through. I think one of the biggest challenges is that it's still a fairly underground thing to the majority of society and people only think of it as "boots and cats", whereas it's such an unbelievable art form that has developed so much over the years and it really is a jaw dropping experience if you've not heard it live before. I've found that a lot of people I speak to are shocked that you can make a living from beatboxing but once I name a few examples of gigs I've done and fee's I've earnt that quickly changes their perspective.

What are your future aspirations in beatboxing and beyond? Are there any new projects you’re excited about?

I would love to see more nonbinary and female representation. I don't have an answer as to why it's so male dominated because it makes no difference how you identify - if you have a mouth, you can beatbox and you don't need to buy any equipment to get started or rent studio space because you've got your instrument on you already and can do it anywhere (highly recommend beatboxing in the shower for those acoustics). 

I've finally downloaded Ableton this year and started working on creating tracks made entirely from my mouth which I'm really excited about. I'm also working on a new project using my loop station for a show at The Box in Soho which I'll be debuting in July so that's currently my main focus in between all the fun and gigs.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in beatboxing and a career in the creative industries?

Go for it!! I think as a society we're often afraid to show ourselves/our art being anything but the polished version or how we'd like to be seen and that completely eradicates celebrating the learning process/journey. We don't just become the world's best artist overnight and as humans we appreciate and find comfort when we see authenticity, so I think just daily reminders on what your values are and what sets your soul on fire – whether you have that written somewhere you can see it each day or say it out loud at the start of your day so that you don't take your eyes off staying true to you. It's so easy to compare ourselves to what we see online but there's only one you, even if we all beatboxed and learnt the same sounds, we're all unique and will sound different because we have different mouths and we express and feel things differently. I think that's so beautiful. I didn't have any inspirations that I related to when I started out on my beatbox journey, I just did what made me feel good and what I enjoyed, which has given me the most amazing life and I didn't even realise the unique path I was creating for myself at the time but now I look back and I'm so grateful for where it's brought me. Also - go busking! This is what has shaped me as a person as well as opened all the doors to my career. Whether you paint, you're a musician, spoken word artist, play the spoons - I cannot plug busking enough.

What are you most excited to see at Origins this year?

I can't wait to be surrounded by all that creativity and to see and learn about things I've never dabbled in before. I always love connecting with people and especially a room full of creatives - I already know I'm going to be smiling so big and walk away feeling very inspired. Also, I might have to get the crowd involved with some beatboxing at some point which is always a fun one but overall, I'm excited for the whole Origins experience!

Submissions for Origins Creatives 2024 are open until Friday 21 June! We look forward to receiving your submissions and can't wait to see what your students are working on.