B Meet the Rahzel of Albany Local beat box artist follows his dream Robert BeaudoinAbout 30 years ago, a rap revolution began. Along with it came the invention of beat boxing. Still innovative, beat boxing is a blend of noises from the throat and mouth that mimic drum beats and patterns without instruments. Brinan Daniel Weeks, known as SounDwAve, is an up coming local beat boxing artist. Weeks grew up in East Nassau, and attended school in the New Lebanon district. Growing up, Brinan had always been into music. As a child, he was not allowed to listen to the radio, but would sneak it away from his parents to listen to Michael Jackson and MC Hammer. His father ran a student program that helped him get in touch with African tribal beats and compiling his own rhythms. Brinan showed talent immediately in performing with African drums, and started performing all over the capital region. “Brinan got the gist of percussion from that,†Jack Weeks, Brinan’s 15 year-old brother, said. Around 8th grade, Brinan got his hands on an album put out by the beat boxer Rahzel. “If Your Mother Only Knew†was the stepping stone for Brinan to put his musical prowess to work. “With the ADHD and the impulsivity, he was making these noises anyhow,†Brinan’s mother, Sara Weeks, said. Growing up with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, commonly referred to as ADHD, it was a challenge for him to stay ahead with his school work according to his mother. It was also hard on his parents as well as his siblings Jack, Demery and Eva. Brinan’s parents tried alternative methods of treatment before using medication. He received therapy, and went to special classes in Delmar, NY to try to help keep him focused. “I was adamant against pharmaceuticals,†Brinan’s mother, said. “It was almost traumatic for him to go to school though, because he couldn’t focus.†He was put on Ritalin, and his family and teachers noticed an immediate improvement. He performed his first show at the New Lebanon Jr...Sr. High School. His mother, looking along with butterflies, was worried that people wouldn’t realize his beat boxing was a talent. Mrs. Weeks watched as her son explained the origins of beat boxing, and then took his first shot at performing for a crowd. “I was just as amazed as anybody,†she said.Brinan gauged the crowd response as positive and it pushed him to take his talentfurther. Weeks traveled to California and recorded a demo in Compton. While he wasthere, he performed at any local venue he could find. “Any time there was a mic on stage, I would kick people off of it,†Weeks said about his experience in California. Since Brinan has been in college, he has added a lot of new tricks to his repertoire. He feels that since he performs so often, that he has to keep coming up with new beats, as well as learning songs that are made popular by the radio to be a crowd pleaser. “People are impressed with Brinan’s shows, because it is something that most of them have never seen before,†Brinan’s life-time best friend Chaodry Waqar Ahmad Arain said. After performing a show at Sneaky Pete’s night club, Weeks was approached by a representative from Jigado Entertainment, a record label based out of The College of St. Rose. He got signed to the record label recently and believes that it will take him places. While Brinan has love for his music, it isn’t the only thing he has going for him. He hopes to become a history teacher, preferably a global studies teacher. “History is the easiest thing to understand for me,†he said. “You read a story, it’s all there, and it already happened in time, it’s sequential.†Brinan also loves to travel and is taking the fall semester abroad in Senegal, Africa. He hopes that he will get international recognition for his dedication to his craft. His mother hopes that while in Africa he will develop a new understanding of his culture. She hopes that his music will be affected by the tribal beats commonly used throughout Africa. She is happy to know that he will be in a place that has limited technology, so he will have no choice but to get engrossed in culture. “No matter how his day is, or the weather, he’s still waking up in Africa,†she said. Brinan said that he has gotten a lot of support from his family and that’s one of the most important things to him as a musician. “I think that people that have everything can only envy us,†Brinan’s mother said. “You can’t buy what we have.†Coming up for Brinan is a performance at Park Fest in Albany. He can also be seen frequently performing at Sneaky Pete’s and is being released on Siena College’s compilation CD, a mix of all of Siena’s finest musicians. Brinan encourages people to learn about beat boxing. “Every body can make the beats, it’s not that hard,†he said, followed by a short beat boxing interlude. “It’s about putting them in order.†© 2008 Robert Beaudoin
