Bohol's TJ "Madibeats" Gallentes is Top Eight Finalist in 5th Beatbox Battle World Championship

 Philippine representative

BOHOL PRIDE Latest Bohol pride Tiffany Joy”Madibeats” Gallentes, daughter of Garcia- Hernandez Mayor Tita Gallentes, made history in the Philippine beatboxing scene when she became the first ever Filipina to represent the Philippines in the solo female category of the triennial Beatbox Battle World Championship. (BBBWC).

Your Roving Eye was one of thousands of Filipinos who stayed late to watch the live streaming of the preliminaries that would select the finalists. We let out a collective cheer when the name of Ms. Gallentes was announced as one of the eight ladies who survived the tough elimination round. 

Although it was almost 12 midnight, Philippine time, we couldn’t sleep as we excitedly waited to see her perform on the stage.  Considering the pressure to deliver, to impress the judges and perform in a foreign country all by yourself during the live performance, Madibeats really did well and made  Boholanos beam with pride.   

  at the welcome cocktails in Germany

ONLY ASIAN IN THE TOP EIGHT During the recently- concluded 5th BeatBox Battle World Championship held in Berlin, Germany from August 3-5,  TJ “Madibeats” Gallentes made it  to the Top Eight Quarterfinals along with seven others who hurdled the first round preliminaries where they had two minutes to impress an international panel of elite judges and previous world champions from the beatboxing world.

 During the Round of Eight battle  

During the final rounds that were contested in single knockout battle mode, Madibeats, the only Asian in the round of eight battled it out with Flashbox of France, the 2012 BBBWC 2^nd Placer for a spot in the round of four. Ultimately, the more experienced & former top three world champion got the judges’ nod for semifinal round.  

  knockout round with entry from France 

 judges sat at the right wing of the stage

  Madibeats & Flashbox await judges' decision

RP’S UNDISPUTED BEATBOX QUEEN Making it as one of the Top Eight Female Beatbox Finalists from among the lady qualifiers from around the world during the international beatbox championships is already a huge accomplishment and has further cemented the status of Madibeats as the undisputed Beatbox Queen and Number One Female Beatboxer in the country. The international stint and exposure has surely been a big boost for her confidence & has honed her artistry & musicality.

So what’s next for the talented beatbox artist from Bohol? To share her talent of course and to surpass her impressive debut performance on the international stage. 

 Madibeats during Philippine performance

WHAT IS BEATBOXING? Beatboxing is a musical style and technique based on the vocal imitation of percussion sounds. It is a form of hip-hop music in which the voice is used to simulate percussion instruments. Today, beatboxing is connected with the hip-hop culture, often referred to as "the fifth element" of hip-hop” , although it is not limited to hip-hop music. It highlights the creativity of performers known as beatboxers who make sounds or beats with their mouths.

Beatbox is the attempt made by one to vocally replicate the sounds that would normally emanate from a drum set, drum machine or drum loop through a series of noises or popping sounds made with the mouth.  Judging a beatbox contest is based on entry’s musicality, originality, pattern and show quality on the stage.

BEATBOX BATTLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP The Beatbox Battle World Championship (BBBWC) is hosted triennially (every three years) by Beatbox Battle TV in a week-long festival held in Berlin, Germany. Face-to-face beatbox battles take place in five different categories:- Individual Male, Individual Female, Tag-Team, Crew Battle and Loop Station.

In 2015, more than 150 national or major event champions of beatboxing gathered from 50 or so countries, after qualifying to participate in the world event. More than 150 artists from 6 continents and 50 countries qualified for the event, including musicians from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines,Singapore, Venezuela, Vietnam, South Africa, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and more than 20 European countries were invited to perform in front of around 1,500 spectators.

The 2018 Beatbox Battle World Championship held at the Astra Kulturhaus in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin, from August 3-5 gathered around 180 artists who had qualified for the world finals after winning their national beatbox championships.