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The Beatbox Cellist

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A young music prodigy fuses cello and beat-boxing to create a new art form. We’ll talk with the amazing Kevin Olusola.

Kevin Olusola (YouTube)
Kevin Olusola (YouTube)

Put a cello in the hands of young Kevin Olusola and something happens that you haven’t seen from, let’s say, Yo Yo Ma.  At least not yet.  The cello sings and Olusola sings – or more accurately, he beatboxes.

He leans into cello bow and strings and let’s loose the street percussion of hip-hop, all at the same time.  Nigerian father.  Grenadan mother.  Classical music.  All-new music.  And an all-American fusion story.  He’s on a roll.

This hour, On Point: Kevin Olusola, beatbox cellist.
-Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Kevin Olusola, a musician known as the 'Beatbox Cellist.' You can find numerous videos of Olusola on his YouTube channel here.

Highlights

During his sophomore year in college, while studying abroad in China, Kevin Olusola, began to merge “beatboxing” and classical cello. “It was literally a random thought,” he said. “I’ve been trying to develop it slowly and it has got me to where I am today.”

Today, he’s a Youtube sensation, known as the Beatbox Cellist. His biggest hit was a rendition of Julie-O. “I thought it was a piece that always had groove and spunk,” said Olusola, who as a younger classically trained cellist was reluctant to tackle the piece. Until one day, complete with a beatbox accompaniment “I just went for it,” he said.

He says his father couldn’t stand the beatboxing-cello combination when he first began. After several performances, he says, his dad came around. “Now I get it!” his father told him.

It wasn’t just being in China that was influential to the young musician. Learning the Chinese language made him appreciate the language of music as well. “I want to be able to express myself in a certain way that’s accessible to everybody,” he said.

He says the music for him is the pursuit of the perfect melodies that he hears in his head. “It’s the pursuit that I love, the journey that I love,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working on it.” Olusola said that he has several original composition and various collaborations with other musicians in the works.

From Tom's Reading List

The Today Show "This morning we profiled an extraordinary young musician named Kevin Olusola. He’s incredibly talented. And sweet. But I want to bop him in the nose. "

Video: Smooth Criminal

Check out this video of Olusola riffing on the King of Pop's hit Smooth Criminal.

Video: Ridin' Solo

Video: Julie-O

Video: The Pentatonix

Video: Beatboxing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

Playlist

Variation on “Dona Nobis Pacem” by Kevin Olusola
BEAT BOX SOLO by Kevin Olusola (LIVE)
“Somebody That I Used To Know” by Pentatonix
“Dog Days Are Over” by Pentatonix
“Shoulda Known” by Jake Breune, Kevin Olusola, Frank Sacramone
JULIE-O by Kevin Olusola (LIVE)
China Song by Kevin et al.
“Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Kevin Olusola, Clara C, Jake Bruene, & Kurt Schneider
Maurice Whitney’s “Rhumba” by Kevin Olusola + Christopher O'Riley
Beatboxing Beethoven’s Fifth by Kevin Olusola
Jason Derulo's “Ridin’ Solo” by Kevin Olusola
Void of a Legend by Antoniette Costa + Kevin Olusola

This program aired on February 15, 2012.

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