Crowned as the Vice Indian Tag Team Champion at the Indian Beatboxing Championship in 2018 along with my partner BeatRAW and got featured on the Gully Boy Soundtrack in 2019 where along with my partner BeatRAW did two tracks ‘Asli Hip Hop’ featuring Ranveer Singh and Nitin Mishra and ‘Jingostan Beatbox’ alongside Dub Sharma
My name is Gaurav Gambhir aka D-cypher. I have been beatboxing since the past 8 years and I am also a part of a Mumbai based hip hop collective called ‘Bombay Lokal’.I started my career as a beatbox artist in the year 2012 after watching a beatboxer called ‘Vineeth Kumar’ from Bangalore perform live at an event called the ‘Freak N Stylz 4th Anniversary’ which happened in July 2011.
I got hooked to the hip-hop culture back in 2009 after watching a dance movie called ‘Step up 2: The Streets’ and decided to learn B-boying in the year 2011. A couple of months into it, I decided to attend the FNS (Freak N Stylz) anniversary event as a spectator and saw someone beatbox live for the first time and was completely blown away by it.
After getting busy with my studies as I was in my final year of graduation I couldn’t find the time to practice B-boying and started pursuing beatboxing as a hobby which eventually led to me entering college competitions as a participant and then moving on to judge some of these events a couple of years later on.
I entered the first ever Indian beatboxing championship which took place in Nagaland in 2016 as a part of Hornbill festival and qualified amongst the top 16 participants.
I was crowned as the Vice Indian Tag Team Champion at the Indian Beatboxing Championship in 2018 along with my partner BeatRAW and got featured on the Gully Boy Soundtrack in 2019 where me and my partner BeatRAW did two tracks ‘Asli Hip Hop’ featuring Ranveer Singh and Nitin Mishra and ‘Jingostan Beatbox’ alongside Dub Sharma
2. How did you get into beatboxing? What made you start and who/what are some of your biggest influences?
I got into Beatboxing after watching Vineet Kumar an emcee/beatboxer from Bangalore perform live at a Bboying championship in Mumbai. Some of my major beatbox influences are Ball Zee,Reeps One,Alem,Kenny Urban and Gene Shinozaki
3. Which is your favourite genre of music?
Tough to pick one specific genre but since the time I’ve got into beatboxing and because I’ve been a fan of rap music since childhood I would say ’Hip-Hop’ is my favourite genre
4. What were the hurdles in the journey of becoming a Beatboxer before you became a professional?
Initially it started off as a hobby and I had no plans of doing it professionally and was just having fun with it. By 2015 I realized I was progressing quickly and was doing pretty well in the battle scene as well and knew that this was the thing that I loved the most but back then the beatbox scene in India was pretty underground.
2. How did you get into beatboxing? What made you start and who/what are some of your biggest influences?
I got into Beatboxing after watching Vineet Kumar an emcee/beatboxer from Bangalore perform live at a Bboying championship in Mumbai. Some of my major beatbox influences are Ball Zee,Reeps One,Alem,Kenny Urban and Gene Shinozaki
3. Which is your favourite genre of music?
Tough to pick one specific genre but since the time I’ve got into beatboxing and because I’ve been a fan of rap music since childhood I would say ’Hip-Hop’ is my favourite genre
4. What were the hurdles in the journey of becoming a Beatboxer before you became a professional?
Initially it started off as a hobby and I had no plans of doing it professionally and was just having fun with it. By 2015 I realized I was progressing quickly and was doing pretty well in the battle scene as well and knew that this was the thing that I loved the most but back then the beatbox scene in India was pretty underground.
It still is but it’s slightly better than how it was 4-5 years ago and with no outlet/path to do it as a full time profession I took up a job in a digital marketing agency and worked there for 3 years to support my music career. It wasn’t a hurdle per say but yeah I knew that beatboxing back then was picking up and took the decision to pursue it as a full time career in 2019
5. Can you tell us a bit about the current and upcoming projects?
There are two Ep’s that me and my partner BeatRAW are yet to start work on and one single that’s ready and will be out along with a video. The Pandemic has ensured that we could meet only thrice in the past 5 months and now that things are slightly at ease we’ll be working on our EP at the earliest
6. How can one have a career in beatboxing?
By taking part in Battles, Making Original Music and by performing at gigs. The hustle of having a career in beatboxing is no different than having a career as a singer/songwriter/musician. The basics remain the same.
7. Your advice to young musicians
5. Can you tell us a bit about the current and upcoming projects?
There are two Ep’s that me and my partner BeatRAW are yet to start work on and one single that’s ready and will be out along with a video. The Pandemic has ensured that we could meet only thrice in the past 5 months and now that things are slightly at ease we’ll be working on our EP at the earliest
6. How can one have a career in beatboxing?
By taking part in Battles, Making Original Music and by performing at gigs. The hustle of having a career in beatboxing is no different than having a career as a singer/songwriter/musician. The basics remain the same.
7. Your advice to young musicians
Keep doing your own thing and enjoy what you do. Don’t be in a hurry to learn things quickly or to garner quick views/followers
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