Remix turns up the volume on the opposition

At just 17 years of age, Jethro Snyman claimed the title of the 2020 African Roar Beatboxing Championship.
Jethro, better known in the beatboxing community by his stage name Remix, won the championship in December when he competed against performers from across Africa.

The championship, like so many international competitions held in recent months, was held virtually because of the pandemic.

Although Jethro grew up surrounded by music and musical instruments, he never took to playing any of them.

“My parents would encourage me to play but I was never really interested, but when my dad would recreate the beat of the music and musical sounds with his mouth it always grabbed my attention.

“When I imitated those sounds for my friends at school they were usually impressed.”
Jethro said beatboxing was always a hobby which he felt passionately about and one he continued to pursue.

He said his family was supportive of him following his dreams and pursuing his goals.
Jethro described his style as very bass and trap heavy even though he doesn’t listen to those music genres often.

“I might listen to some house music for inspiration but I generally listen to music with good lyrics, such as The Weekend, Lowfi or Jeremy Loops.”
Speaking on his inspiration, Jethro said the performer he most looks up to in the beatboxing scene is an American beatboxer known as Vocodah.

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“Vocodah is a talented person and just good at creating rhythms, beats and music that fans can enjoy.”
Before lockdown, Jethro said he wasn’t that well known and was making a name for himself.
He said the time at home gave him the time he needed to persevere as a performer and artist and improve himself overall.

In 2019 Jethro competed in the SA Beatboxing Championships where he placed second overall.
In the time between the SA and the African championships, Jethro put in extra hours to master his technique and the music side of it.

“At the SA championships I wasn’t focused on the music-making and was focused more on how many sounds I could put together and try and blow people away with. I wanted to show people the sounds I could make and no one could vibe to it.”

After seeing where he could improve, Jethro put in the hard work and reaped the rewards.
Leading up to his African championship victory, Jethro faced off against a Tunisian competitor in the first round of the top eight battles, a Moroccan in the semi-finals and Egyptian beatboxer Ziad Swidan in the finals.

“Ziad is out of this world good. He was incredible. You listen to him and you ask yourself how is he doing this?
“Winning the African championships and being able to call myself the champion of a whole continent is surreal.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s insane,” said Jethro.
Jethro thanked his family and friends for all the support they gave him while he was performing and preparing for the competitions.

Offering advice to those wanting to follow their dreams, Jethro said:
• Start at the beginning, learning small simple skills.
• Learn as much as you can.
• Be yourself.
• Find what makes you unique and stand out from the crowd.

Watch Remix and Ziad Swidan face off in the finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYojZ8IgUWk

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