Interview with SK Shlomo, world record breaking beatboxer

Beatboxer, DJ, theatre-maker and World Looping Champion SK Shlomo talks about his love/hate relationship with Edinburgh Fringe, the shows he's bringing up this year and how he got started in the industry. 

Interview with SK Shlomo, world record breaking beatboxer

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

Hello! My stage name is SK Shlomo, my real name is Shlomo and most people call me Shlo. I am many things including being a world record breaking beatboxer, DJ, World Looping Champion and theatre-maker.

How would you describe your show?

So I have two shows this year, 12.05pm is my "Beatbox Adventure For Kids" empowering the next generation of superstar beatboxers (and their grownups) to stop caring what other people think and just be their true shiny noisy selves 

Then 7pm is my offie-nominated solo-show "BREATHE: The Play That Becomes A Rave" which tells my story of becoming isolated and suicidal, and how a bunch of strangers saved my life by throwing the greatest rave of all time… in my village living room!

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

This will be my 9th Fringe - I think! I have a love/hate thing going on with Edinburgh - it’s simultaneously the most amazing, inspiring and magical place in the world, and also the most overwhelming and exhausting… but I cannot wait to get back up there and feel part of the biggest show on Earth.

What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?

In my rave play, I actually tell the story of how I accidentally became part of the industry... I went to my first rave as a teenager and at like 6am I wasn't ready to go home so ended up outside the club, beatboxing full on drum ’n’ bass as loud as I could.  Somehow this crowd formed around me, and then all of the drum and bass DJs and MCs from the rave, my heroes, came out of the venue. One of them heard my beatboxing and offered me the opportunity to join them on tour. Things just spiralled from there, before I knew it I was appearing on BBC2 on Jools Holland, playing at Glastonbury and working with folk like Björk, Ed Sheeran and Gorillaz.

How has your background, upbringing and education had an impact on your artistic career? 

Both of my shows revolve around identity, and I just love finding empowering and fun ways to tackle issues like mental health, being disabled, coping with racism, and being non-binary, all of which I would have loved to have role models for when I was younger.

I grew up as an immigrant here in the UK without realising I had a disability – I have severe ADHD, which wasn't diagnosed until a year ago, and went to a very white elitist school for boys. In the nineties it was literally illegal for teachers to discuss anything to do with LGBT+, so growing up in a toxic male environment like this wasn't exactly a great place to celebrate your differences.

But music was always my sanctuary. When I started playing drums, and when I discovered beatboxing, I found I had this way to express myself, or to be safe, or to feel like I could understand the world. 

The music started out as a pure and self-loving, almost subconscious form of joy. But quite quickly once I started becoming successful and performing on bigger and bigger stages it became this toxic addictive chase where I never felt enough, even after performing on the Pyramid stage, I just felt empty. Like now I had to find yet another way to outdo myself and prove my worth.

So both these shows I've made are about understanding that we are enough just as we are, queer or straight, foreign or depressed or in any state at all, our so-called success or achievements can be separated from our worth as a human.  

What is your earliest childhood art memory?

Aged 3 years old playing Arabic drums with my Iraqi grandfather and belly dancing at my grandmother’s party. That’s another scene I recreate in the rave-play!

Do you subscribe to the idea that art should be exempt from ‘cancel culture’? 

Cancel culture is a complex minefield, and separating the art from the artist is so so hard. 

When humans in the public eye deliberately hurt people, and don’t own up to it, they are a danger to others and need to be removed from their position of power so that vulnerable people are not at further risk. But equally, being in the public eye can be a vulnerable place where false allegations can cause huge damage. I’ve had someone threaten to make accusations about me in the past in an attempt to manipulate me and it is terrifying.

We all make mistakes, we’ve all hurt people and acted in ways that we are not proud of and my favourite approach is when those in the public eye own it and say sorry, like when Stormzy posted to apologise for making homophobic comments when he was younger and didn’t understand how damaging it was. Getting something wrong and saying sorry is an empowering thing to do and something I believe we all need role models for.

I’ve certainly hurt others when I was younger and less secure, especially in my queer identity. Homophobia, misogyny, transphobia – I have participated in all of those. I have bullied others in attempts to fit in, to protect myself from bigger bullies, to deflect pain onto others when I was too scared to look at my own identity. I have hurt people that I love by acting out, and I've caused suffering to others. That is not ok. But I have tried to learn and grow, and to apologise openly without shame, and I hope that others can do the same.

If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?

Stevie Wonder - my absolute hero.

When and where can people see your show?

12.05pm - Beatbox For Kids at Pleasance Courtyard

7pm - BREATHE: The Play That Becomes A Rave at Pleasance Dome

And where can people find, follow and like you online?

instagram.com/skshlomo  

skshlomo.com 

beatboxadventures.com 


SK Shlomo is performing two shows at Edinburgh Fringe this August. BREATHE: The Play That Becomes A Rave is performing at Pleasance Dome at 7pm, and Shlomo's Beatbox Adventure for Kids is performing at Pleasance Courtyard at 12:05pm. For tickets and more information visit edfringe.com.

Header Image Credit: Tom Arthur

Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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