What are some hurdles in life you currently face, have faced? What are some of your fears or fears you've had? Drop them in the comments, I want to hear from you. For me, some of my biggest fears were writing, public speaking and stage fright. Can you relate?

As an entertainer and in so many ways, I am a late bloomer. My fear of public speaking and being on stage was one of the hardest fears for me to shake. Stage fright. Today, I am a Human Beatbox adventurer in the music, entertainment, and performing arts industry. And I love it. But what was it like for me to go through my hurdles and journey from being overwhelmed and frozen by fear of being on stage and public speaking to loving it today?

I know I did not love it in the beginning. I feared it. I hated being on stage. I feared speaking in front of an audience. I hated the spotlight. How did that all change? I was determined to break through my fears, anxieties, and to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. To grow in confidence in what was not comfortable for me.

I am a fourth- and third- generation Chinese American. Born, raised, and based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA. My early years were also in East Bay California. My adult years in Beijing, New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu.

My first experience of stage fright was during my academic journey. I failed the first grade at Liholiho Elementary. Who does that, right? Well, I did. That season, I did not know my ABC's, and I did not know how to spell, read or write. I also experienced stage fright and failed the first grade at Sun Yat-sen Chinese School, not once, not twice, but multiple times. I dropped out of Chinese School after multiple failures. My years at Chinese School were my earliest of stage frights speaking Cantonese into a microphone, on a podium, on stage, and in front of the whole school in a gymnasium. Stage fright, anxiety and fear of public speaking took me a long time to shake.

From the 1980s through 1990s, I taped myself doing podcasts of me talking, reading books, and beatboxing on an audio cassette for fun. 

I thought I'd be Stan Lee. During the late 1980s to the early 2000s, my years at Kauluwela Elementary, Kawananakoa Middle, and McKinley High School, I self-published home made comic books. That was the start of my publishing and story telling through illustration and words. I also wrote scripts for my comic books at Kauluwela Elementary for fun. I did this so I could practice my drawing, writing, spelling, and story telling.
 

At Kawananakoa Middle School, I froze in cold sweat when I read from paper or did a speech presentation in front of class.

1999 was the year I got my first computer. It was also my first year experience with the Internet. I got into web publishing and I built my first website. 

Prior to 1999, I typed out my school paper reports with a typewriter. I had met Charlie and Lucy Wedemeyer, and they signed my copy of "Charlie's Victory" with reference to Philippians chapter 4 verse 19. It was that encounter with them that I knew I wanted to be a public speaker and author.
 

I then shattered an Asian American stereotype of not being on an honor roll. In high school, I hustled by doing summer school, correspondence, and sports to keep my grades up.
 

My athletic journey, I was a two-year letterman in soccer and judo at McKinley High School. I was nominated as "Mr. Aloha" at my senior prom, and I was recipient of McKinley Tigers' Soccer "Mr. Hustle" Award. 
 

Post high school, I won gold medals at judo tournaments hosted by San Jose State University, and City College of San Francisco.

My final judo win was a Third Place Trophy at the Salt Lake District Park Judo Tournament. The end of that same month, I collided with an SUV as a pedestrian at a crosswalk near Shobukan Judo Club, Pizza Hut, and Liliha Bakery. Walgreens wasn’t around there then. I was knocked unconscious. Driver rendered help. She called first responders and prayed over me.

By God's grace, no broken bones, but a serious concussion and trauma. God's hand of protection over my life, that driver who rendered help, and my judo kicked in that night. The next morning, a family member took me to see the Passion of the Christ. Following the movie, I noticed I got startled by parked and incoming cars at the movie theatre parking lot. That was the turning point of my life.

I took care of unfinished business. 

I shattered doubt and failure. I went back to college, pursued my beatboxing career, and I judo flipped my college transcript from a 1.0 to a 4.0 grade point average. My first live performance? I experienced stage fright. It was that one fear I could not break.

I overcame my academic hurdles when I completed my Freeman Foundation scholarship program at Beijing Foreign Studies University. At the University of Hawaiʻi at Kapiʻolani Community College, I got inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, was on the student Dean's List, and earned my general degree. Then I took some music business and audio engineering courses through the partnership of Belmont University's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, and Honolulu Community College.
 

Within those years, I confronted my stage fright by hitting up open mics throughout the state of Hawaiʻi, took voice and music classes taught by professor Lina Doo. I took private voice lessons from Cat Wong of Cat Wong Studios.

I pursued my beatboxing career, overcame stage fright, worked as a Supplemental Math Instructor, college peer-mentor in mathematics, math tutor, and math note taker. In recent years, I got back into helping math students while beatboxing throughout the state of Hawaiʻi prior to Covid-19. 

Beatboxing wise, I've done performances in cities of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Hilo of Hawaiʻi Island, China, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Australia. I've also been proposed for appearances in Lānaʻi Island, Kona of Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Israel, India, Philippines, Costa Rica, Peru, Columbia, Canada, Nevada, Texas, Boston, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, and China.

Today, I am fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. For Mandarin, I converse in Pǔtōnghuà, and for fun Běijīnghuà of Guóyǔ. For Cantonese, I converse in Hēunggóng wá and Jūngsāan wá of Gwóngdūng wá. I was fluent in my reading and writing in Chinese characters at one point, but still strong in my writing. Reading is rusty. 

Currently, I am working on the rough draft of my book. I also have goals to get more involved in music, entertainment, performing arts, public speaking, voice over work, productions, commercial work, film, and publishing. 

For my references of influence and inspiration... 
Song and dance in film: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Michael Jackson 

Voice over work: Fred Newman, Bobby McFerrin, Michael Winslow, Rahzel, Jim & Pat Banks, Cindy Trimm, John Eckhart 

Music: MC Jin, Bobby McFerrin, Michael Jackson, Rahzel, John Tussey, Cheryl Salem, Two Steps From Hell, Jake Shimabukuro 

Books from: Stan Lee, Charlie & Lucy Wedemeyer, Jim & Pat Banks, Harry & Cheryl Salem, Art Sepulveda, Wally Matanza, Casey Treat, Tim Storey, Nick Vujicic, Laura Numeroff, Felicia Bond, Dale Keown, Peter David

Public speakers: Charlie & Lucy Wedemeyer, Art & Kuna Sepulveda, Wally & Patti Matanza, Branson & Nicole Silva, Chauncey & Donalee Pang, Terry & Vicky Wong, Malcolm & Deneen Quartero, Shawn & Desaree Kurihara, Devin & Cindy Lau, Marques & Nicole Farmer, Allan Silva, John Bevere, Jentezen Franklin, Tim Storey, Nick Vujicic, Marc Mero 

More sources of inspiration: you, my blog readers, my family and friends, my Word of Life ohana, my former teachers, Asian Hustle Network, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Nicole Lam, Kelly Cooper, Adolph Samuels, Clinton Sunada, Emilio Agustine, Dan Augustine, Gayle Oura, Leigh Dooley, Mark Alexander, Lina Doo, Cat Wong, Elaine Chao, BloomingGales, Joe Marquez, Akiane Kramarik, Paulskeee, Jimmy Pedro, Taylor Tanaka, Duke & Kiki King, Angela Keen, Traci Toguchi, Lyanne Brooks, Kavet the Catalyst, Devon Marlink, Olivia Thai, Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh, Far East Movement, Kari Jobe, Kim Walker-Smith, Big Daddy Weave, Chris Tomlin, Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastain, Kiana Tom, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Todd McFarlane, Tony Hawk, Kutmaster Spaz, East 3, Beak, Tom Thum, Afra, and this ever evolving list.

I want to close with this: what are some hurdles in life you currently face, have faced? What are some of your fears or fears you've had? Drop them in the comments, I want to hear from you.

The International Wave

A collection of in-depth conversations with Asian artists and creatives.
Editor: Woojin Lim

“I felt compelled to play and replicate each of these instruments — Eastern, Western, Hawaiian — with only my voice.”

Jason Tom Art After Dark Photo Credit: Joe Marquez

Jason Tom is an American beatboxer and slam poet who has represented Hawaii at the sixth International Human Beatbox Convention and the first and fifth American Beatbox Championship in Brooklyn. He received the Hawaii Scene Choice Award for Best Solo Human Beatbox Performer, TEDx Presenter Award for his “Vocal Groove” presentation, among other accolades. He co-founded the Human Beatbox Academy, where he leads outreach performances, speaking engagements, and workshops for students of all ages.

In his interview with The International Wave, Jason talks about his childhood inspirations, references exhilarating onomatopoeic beatbox sounds, and kowtows to his Asian cultural heritage as a fourth-generation American of Hawaii Chinese descent. The chat also delves into his most challenging elements of his personal life, including an SUV collision which rendered him unconscious, and on what strung him together to revitalize his strength as an inspirational speaker.

***

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Woojin Lim: Tell me about your journey towards becoming a professional beatboxer. When were you first exposed to the artform, and how did you decide to take this on as part of a longer professional career?

Jason Tom: I began beatboxing at the tender age of four, recording on music cassettes by six, and performing live at 21. How I first got exposed to beatboxing was through music played on vinyl records, music cassettes, radio, television, as well as the beatboxing I heard from the 1980s to early 2000s. I am an analog and pre-YouTube era beatboxer.

In the 1980s, I often heard Bobby McFerrin, the Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Michael Jackson on the radio at my entrepreneurial father’s Chinese restaurant in Honolulu and during our family road trips on the West Coast of the United States. I also tuned in whenever the Police Academy film was televised to catch Michael Winslow’s every scene as Larvell Jones who performed amazing sound effects with his voice and beatboxing. In the 1990s, I was greatly inspired by Michael Jackson’s televised beatboxing of “Who is It” during his interview with Oprah and Rahzel’s MTV Hip Hop Week human beatbox commercial spots. In the early 2000s, Filipino American beatboxer Leejay Abucayan’s Stir TV Austrian Beatbox Battle feature and Chinese American beatboxer Elaine Chao’s show-stopping performance on Showtime at the Apollo blew me away.

All of what I’ve mentioned more than convinced me to pursue my career as a Human Beatbox music artist. For 34 years I’ve been beatboxing altogether.

Let’s talk more about beatboxing as an artform and its distinctive platform. What drew you to beatboxing as a work of art?

Beatboxing and the art of vocal percussion was coined “human beatbox” as the fifth cornerstone of hip hop culture by DJ Barry B for Doug E. Fresh in 1982. The earliest styles of the human beatbox — The Fat Boys with “Human Beat Box” in 1983, Doug E. Fresh with “The Original Human Beat Box” in 1984, and Biz Markie with “Make the Music With Your Mouth” in 1987 — emulated drum machines. In essence, human beatboxers were “human drum machines.”

What drew me to beatboxing is my passion for music and love for creative expression. I felt compelled to sing the kick drum, snares, hi-hats, the boots and the cats, bass, synthesizer, drum machines, turntables, and didgeridoo. I’ve also been fascinated with the human voice being used as an instrument like doo wop, scat singing, acapella, and human beatbox. When I beatbox, I embody and express the characteristics of various musical instruments.

What’s the essence of “good” beatboxing?

The essence of good beatboxing is foundation and the music. Originality, technique, creativity, breath control, stage presence, and presentation — that’s what I carry with me in my era of beatboxing and have passed onto Hawaii beatboxers of the Human Beatbox Academy. That gives me added fuel in my tank to level up and evolve. “Add oil” as we say in Chinese.
 

Jason Tom Vocal Groove at TEDx Talks Photo Credit: Eugene Hopkins

You’ve often been described as “Hawaii’s Human Beatbox” by the press — but beyond that, how would you describe yourself as an artist? Are there any particular rhythms, beats, or sound replications that you consider your specialty?

As a beatbox artist and entertainer, I have an affinity for song and dance because of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Michael Jackson’s body of work. My staples include my boom bap, house, reggaeton, dubstep, inward K snare, heartbeat bass, Motown synth, lovebird bass, Genghis Blues vocal didgeridoo, high laser synthesizer, tom-toms, classic snare, and wood block.

My voice teacher Lina Doo once showed me the Mongolian documentary film “Genghis Blues,” from which I was inspired to fuse Tuvan throat singing and my beatboxing to create my own vocal didgeridoo technique.

Since you performed regularly for Chinese New Year festivals in Honolulu’s Chinatown and studied abroad in China during your college years, how has your Asian heritage inspired your worldview as an artist?

Growing up as a fourth-generation American of Hawaii Chinese descent, I recognize that it’s important to connect with my ancestral lineage and roots: to not forget where I came from to know where I will be going. Hawaii is diverse, so being well traveled and multilingual is a plus. In addition to speaking a number of Chinese dialects, I’ve occasionally picked up a bit of Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Samoan, and Filipino terms as well. I do enjoy interacting with Chinese speaking audiences because I get to change things up.

The variety of Eastern, Western, and Hawaiian musical instruments I’ve tried to play includes my home toy set of Lion dance drums with a pair of drumsticks and cymbals, a vintage Jaymar wooden toy piano, ukulele, ipu, tuba, pahu, and the traditional erhu. I felt compelled to play and replicate each of these instruments with only my voice. My first memory of hearing an erhu was watching Jet Li in the “Once Upon A Time in China” franchise.

Where have you found your place in Hawaii’s beatboxing and hip-hop community?

At the time I began beatboxing and made my live performance debut, there was no Hawaii-specific beatboxing community. Yes, we had our share of Hawaii human beatbox pioneers — Radical Rob, Gizmo, Re-Run, and Joevon Brown — as well as active Hawaii beatboxers and Hawaii live loopers, but not a coherent beatboxing community.

At one point, Hawaii’s schools, after-school programs, and studios contacted me to facilitate human beatbox workshops, and that’s how I started Human Beatbox Academy. Through school tours, one-on-one lessons, community events, showcases, competitions, and workshops, we recruited beatboxers throughout the state of Hawaii and raised local beatbox champions.

Keynote Opener for KS EdTech Disrupt Conference Photo Credit: Kamehameha Schools

You’ve shared a number of life-changing personal challenges that have risen up throughout your career, from an SUV collision which rendered you unconscious, to asthma attacks, and a perpetual stage-fright and stutter. How did you manage to overcome these struggles in your role as a performer and now-public speaker?

For the longest time, my complex trauma came with nightmares, night terrors, and flashbacks. I’ve also been afflicted by severe asthma attacks since my childhood. I learned some years back that a very young beatboxer died of a severe asthma attack. Never met the young man, but I reached out to his family and paid tribute to him via my blog. Then years after, one of my female church friends died of a severe asthma attack. She left behind her husband and kids. She was one of the sweetest, kindest and most encouraging sisters in Christ I knew. I was greatly saddened by the unexpected news. So, I don’t take asthma attacks lightly.

That said, prayer, my faith in God, being connected with my church family, meditating on biblical verses, placing priority in my health over business, exercise, and writing has helped me tremendously in my overall physical and spiritual health, well-being, and wellness.

I deal with my stage fright with work ethic and discipline by practicing a ton. I will on occasion still get or feel “nervous” before hitting the stage, so I work at this regularly. As for overcoming stuttering on stage, what helped me is to write out a general outline of my presentations and to work on my timing before I do any keynote engagements. It took me a while to find my speaker’s voice, but I worked hard on public speaking with personal conviction.

What were some personal highs and lows of your career so far?

I’ve had many memorable and fun moments in conversation with and performing alongside my fellow beatboxers and hip-hop artists. That said, in music business and entertainment, what also comes in the territory are crabs in the bucket that incite division and rifts within a community.

I am grateful to my family, friends, loyal fans and supporters who will at times be my eyes and ears to inform me when there may be folks — a random rapper, deejay, beatboxer, comedian, or a keyboard warrior — who incite attacks and belittle a beatboxer for no reason. That gives me mileage in a very unkind way, and they often do this for clout. There have also been other beatboxers who have carbon copied my sounds and taken bites out of my routines. Some have even claimed that they came up with it, even when they had not.

Best thing is not to lose sleep on it, forgive, move forward, and pray for even those who persecute us. Inappropriate behavior should not be tolerated in the beatboxing community or any community. Offline and online. Real people recognize real people. Real talk.

So, what’s on the horizon? Where do you see yourself next?

Lately I’ve received an entertainment work proposal to be the lead human beatbox artist for a production overseas and the West Coast. Though Covid-19 travel restrictions have prevented us from moving forward, I plan to revisit the proposal.

This season, I will collaborate with Prisma Dance for the Creation Production. Creation features dance, ballet, contemporary, hip hop dance, acrobatics, aerial art, music, poetry, and beatboxing. I also plan to start a video series of my human beatbox music, math, and movement lessons.

In the meantime, I am composing my own funky music that’s guaranteed to make you dance along. I’ve also worked, on my end, to level up with fresh original human beatbox sounds and techniques. On top of that, I’m hoping to expand my field of work on music videos, voice overs, movie films scores, Foley work, song and dance production. Stay tuned to JasonTom.com and join my email newsletter for breaking news, latest updates and my exclusive blog series.

Last but not least, any wise words of advice for aspiring artists?

Your talent will open the door but only your character can keep you there.

Jason Tom NYC Williamsburg Bridge Photo Credit: Matt Marquez

Originally published: https://medium.com/the-international-wave/jason-tom-hawaiis-human-beatbox-bb55c49e551

University of Hawai‘i Alumni Relations Production 
University of Hawai‘i at Kapi‘olani Alumni Profile - Jason Tom

Hawai‘i’s Human Beatbox 

Most people have heard of beatboxing—a form of vocal percussion that uses the mouth and voice to create sounds and rhythms. But for Kapi‘olani Community College alumnus Jason Tom, beatboxing is much more than that.

Tom originally enrolled at Kapi‘olani CC in the fall of 2001 but found himself struggling academically. After being placed on academic probation, he vowed to return only when he was ready.

He spent some time in California pursuing other interests before deciding to come back to Hawai‘i.

“Once I came back, I found myself. I pursued the beatboxing because that’s what I do every day—listen to music, replicate the sounds,” said Tom. [I told myself,] I’m going to pursue that while I pursue my degree.”

Upon returning to Kapi‘olani CC Tom discovered an interest in mathematics and went on to become a supplemental instructor with a concentration in algebra.

Now known as Hawai‘i’s Human Beatbox, he’s using beatboxing to spread a positive message about “staying on the beat” when it comes to achieving your goals.

“For me it’s a bridge to uplift people, to encourage them about perseverance,” said Tom.

For more on Jason Tom, visit jasontom.com.

Originally published: https://uhalumni.org/kapiolani/story/hawaiis-human-beatbox