Professional beatboxer and vocal performer SungBeats performed for the students of Eastern Washington University on Jan. 30.
SungBeats, a New York City-native musician, has been working on perfecting his craft for decades. “Twenty years ago, I made my first beat,” Sungbeats said. “I was on EbaumsWorld as a kid and saw this kind of music for the first time through the internet. I started out copying other people who were doing it.”
Due to many years of practice and refining his craft, Sungbeats is proud of the success he’s earned in his career. “I booked an M&M commercial, and a billboard from that,” Sungbeats said. “I also won first place at a competition at the Apollo ten years ago.”
Sungbeats also stays busy by performing at colleges and universities. “I’ve performed at about 300 colleges. They are pretty good paying gigs, but I really love performing in front of young people,” SungBeats said.
At his performance in the second floor of EWU’s Pence Union Building, Sungbeats interacted with the student base. At one point, he had four students contribute vocal samples that he mashed up into a beat, and had others rapping and learning to beatbox on stage with him.
“He’s one of the best performers I’ve ever seen,” Mario Reyes, the lead of Eagle Entertainment and event organizer said. “He really likes to engage with the students.”
Reyes met SungBeats at the National Association for Campus Activities in 2019, and has maintained a good relationship with the artist ever since.
“I saw him perform at NACA West and got to meet him,” Reyes said. “Because of the relationship I have with him and his agency, he performed at Spokane Falls Community College when I went there in 2018.”
Since then, Sungbeats has revisited the campus. “I’ve performed at Spokane Falls Community College three times now in 2018, 2021, and 2022.”
SungBeats has also performed for Eastern Washington University in the past, but did not get to visit the campus.
“When I started at Eastern in 2020, because of all the restrictions we hired him virtually,” Reyes said.
Sungbeats was glad to finally perform for EWU students in person. “It’s nice not staring at a screen,” Sungbeats said. “I try to keep things interesting and improvisational, and it’s much easier in person.”
Eagle Entertainment has hosted a multitude of events on campus, and Reyes has had a hand in all of them for years.
“I started in 2020 as an event coordinator, and now I’m the lead of Eagle Entertainment,” Reyes said. “In the past, we have hosted concerts, comedy, game nights, a drag show, and pumpkin decorating events.”
In addition to the SungBeats performance, there are a few upcoming events Reyes says students of the college should look out for. “We have another drag show coming up that should be fun,” Reyes said. “There will be some spring concerts and at the end of May we will have a Hispanic event with cultural music.”
For more information about SungBeats and his music, visit his website.
