by Kevin Lockett

Created on: June 17, 2009   Last Updated: June 18, 2009

Trying to tell a person how to beatbox is like telling someone how to drive.

The only way to learn is by doing it.

Beatboxing is more than a person making sounds with their mouth.

Beatboxing is an art; a skill that many have tried, but very few has perfected.

Below is a list of the greatest beatboxers of all time. Some are alive, while others are deceased, but each gave a piece of themselves to push the genre along.

Buffy (The Fat Boys) - When the Disco Three (later known as the Fat Boys) made their debut in the mid 80s, urban kids from New York to Ohio to California began to emulate the sounds of human beat boxer aka Buffy. Big, but far from buff, Buffy was the group's DJ, but instead of two turntables and a microphone, Buffy used his mouth to create beats. A major part of the Fat Boys success was due to Buffy's never seen before talent. Unfortunately, Buffy died from a heart attack in 1995, but his beatboxing skills live on in songs like Jail House Rap, All You Can Eat and The Fat Boys Are Back and countless other classics.

Doug E. Fresh - Not soon after the appearance of Buffy, Doug E. Fresh beatboxed his onto radio with Slick Rick on The Show and La-Di-Da-Di. Doug's brand of beatboxing was drastically different from Buffy's. Where the Fat Boy's beatboxing dealt more with heavy breathing and simplistic beats, Doug mixed the thumping streets of New York with the lilting staccato rhythms of Jamaica . As the self proclaimed "World's Greatest Entertainer, Doug E. Fresh created beats that seemingly came everywhere, (at one moment Doug would create a beat out with his mouth, then out of nowhere, a beat would seemingly come out of his throat). Doug E. Fresh proved to be a crowd pleaser as well, by moving and grooving on stage like a Hip Hop version James Brown. Although Doug E. Fresh never reached the same kind of success as his Fat Boy counterpart, his beatboxing skills continues to influence Hip Hop fans worldwide.

Rahzel (aka The Godfather of Noyze) - Before Rahzel, beatboxing was at a stand still. Biz Markie did some beatboxing in the late 80s, but rapping and djng would eventually be his Hip Hop calling. However, when The Roots introduced Rahzel in the 1990s, beatboxing changed forever. Taking the Human Beatbox mantle from Doug E Fresh, Rahzel sounded like an actually turntable...with a band. More than just using his mouth for beats, Rahzel expertly recreated a DJ mixing and scratching songs, which sounded so real that most audiences didn't know if it was really him or a real DJ. The world has never seen a beatboxer like Rahzel before or since as the Godfather of Noyze has seeming disappeared from the face of the earth.

Ever since Rahzel's pulled a Dave Chappelle, beatboxing has lost a lot of its luster.

Justin Timberlake showcased some of his so-so beatboxing skills early on in his solo career, but only thing he did was encourage suburban teens to think that they can be beatboxers too.

The ramifications of Timberlake's influence led to Blake Lewis almost winning American Idol in 2007 (where he basically copied Rahzel's style) and college kids embarrassing themselves on television shows like Ellen, where they say that they are beatboxers, but all they are doing is spitting on expensive HD cameras.

Hopefully the next great beatboxer will emerge soon. Until that day comes, beatboxing fans can always go to YouTube and watch classic footage of Buffy, Doug E. Fresh and Rahzel to see what actually it means to be a great beatboxer.

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