Review: Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for Kids

Alvie, 14 months, reacts to a fun history of hip hop and beatboxings

feature (edinburgh) | Read in About 2 minutes
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Shlomo
Photo by Nathan Gallagher
Published 06 Aug 2022

What happens in the show?

Beatboxer Shlomo [they/him] runs through a fun history of hip hop and beatboxing, with plenty of excellent demos and easy to follow instructions for kids to copy their technique. Shlomo describes how he started beatboxing aged eight after the neighbours complained about his drumming. He gets in some Fresh Prince of Bel Air references for the adults and slips in nice woke messaging about non-binary identities, being an anti-racist ally, ADHD and mental health too. 

Who was your favourite character and why?

It’s a one-person show and besides being an excellent beatboxer, Shlomo tells a good, candid story and gels well with the kid volunteers that come onstage for a beatbox battle. 

Were there any characters you didn’t like?

It didn’t really have characters, it’s more of a true story and a music lesson. 

What did you like most about the show?

Alvie was hooked for the first five minutes, chair dancing and watching Shlomo bouncing around under colourful lights. Then he fell into a spontaneous deep nap, because that’s what babies do. His eight-year-old cousin thought it was amazing though and was still practicing his new skills the next day. 

What didn’t you like about the show?

It’s one energetic person with two mics onstage. Sometimes no mic (which was impressive). Maybe some props or visuals or snippets of well known songs would have held the attention of the smaller kids more and mixed up the show a bit.

What did your grown-up think about the show?

I enjoyed the 80s and 90s Bronx flashbacks and hearing Shlomo’s story – plus the unexpected mentions of non-binary pronouns probably prompted a few good chats with kids after the show. 

Would you tell your friends to come to the show?

Yes! Especially ones with kids maybe five and up.