WAWAD // Interview

It is with joy that Wawad, one of the leaders of the Beatbox group BERYWAM – created in 2015 and originally composed by Beatness, Rythmind, Wawad and MB14 before being joined by Beasty hence the name Be-Ry-Wa-M – agreed to tell us about his career and his projects. Indeed, the faithful sidekick of the most famous brothers of France BigFlo & Oli is above all a full-fledged artist and it is thanks to Hip-Hop that he met the two rappers of Toulouse almost 10 years ago. Wawad has indulged himself in his debut in music, this new dream life that is offered to him, not forgetting the things that are dear to him such as his family and friends. It is with great sincerity and humour that the young artist of 28 years has agreed to answer our questions.

Many of your fans have met you through BigFlo & Oli, can you tell me how you got to know them? It was about ten years ago in a small village near Toulouse, near where all three are from. A rap contest was organized, I was there to Beatbox and I simply met them on this occasion.

I saw that you learned Beatbox in a self-taught way... it must be super difficult! Since I was a child, I always enjoyed trying to reproduce the sounds I heard around me, whether it was a ringtone or an instrument. And it quickly became a passion. At first, I did not know that this practice had a name and that it was Beatbox, I thought I was the only one who did that. (laughs). And then one day, I saw people doing it on TV, I was 13 years old... Biggest slap I've taken in my life! Since then, I haven’t stopped doing it.

How did you "get into Beatbox" because I imagine that there is no course and that at the time you did not watch YouTube tutorials? Haha and no, I learned alone. (laughs). I do not really know how to explain, but when I started to Beatbox, I was trying to learn techniques in order to try to reproduce the sound I heard. Over time, I have gotten to know my mouth, my nose and my throat perfectly so that I can reproduce the sounds I want to do, exactly the same as I hear them.

I feel like I live a dream. I still can't believe it's happening.

When you started in Hip-Hop, I know you gave yourself a year to succeed... At the very beginning, I was only doing concerts in my town and around locally, and my name started to turn heads. I thought I should try the adventure and try to do something with that skill that I had: to do Beatboxing.

And what did you do with this Gap Year? I tried to develop my skills and I integrated into an art school in Toulouse called DSH. It's a six-month training program that helps young people develop a Hip-Hop project. It has helped me immensely to find solutions to be able to live my passion for Beatbox.

Tell me about your band BERYWAM, which you are in for the first part of the Zenith at the concerts of BigFlo & Oli. How would you describe what you're doing? We are a group of Beatbox A Capella and I think that is what differentiates us from the other groups: we have integrated the song into our compositions. We do everything with our mouths without ever using any instruments. We are also very eclectic - we touch all the styles of reggae to electro, always remaining in the universe of Hip-Hop.

Can you tell me about the Beatbox championships? How's it going? We pass with a free creation. It means we have the choice to show them what we want. Then, we are evaluated on different criteria such as the originality of the sounds that are reproduced, the cleanliness of the sounds, the rhythm, the gestures and performance on stage... We are in a battle against other candidates and it is just the one who gets the best grades that is selected for the final.

From thread to needle, after the creation of your group you pass on the Italian TV for the show 'Tu Si Che Vales'? In fact, just over a year ago – September 2017 – we received an email from the show that said they wanted to see us join the casting. At the time we did not really believe it, and in the end we decided to do research on the Internet and it was discovered that this program actually existed and that it highlighted quality numbers with artists from all over the world. We thought that it was a good experience to have and that it would also promote BERYWAM in Italy, so we embarked on the adventure.

You are also on M6 – one of the leading channels of French television – in the show 'France's Got Talent'. You want to tell me more? Once again, it was the show that contacted us. It has been three years that they have asked us to get involved with the casting, and at the beginning we did not feel ready. And this year was the perfect time. MB14 had left the band and Beasty had just joined us. We saw the perfect opportunity to present our 'new' group to the public and thus be able to talk about our upcoming tour in support of our album coming soon.

Tell me about this album planned for 2019 precisely... It's an album made up only of our own compositions, no more covers and remixes as we used to do, but only new titles! We've been working on this project for a long time, and it’s finally going to see the current day in 2019.

Wow! It looks like a massive project's coming... It's unprecedented to release a Beatbox album with only personal compositions. Our goal is to democratize our art and to make our discipline known to a larger audience while keeping our authenticity. We would like people to be able to listen to our music without suspecting that it is actually Beatbox. It would be a victory for us.

You still seem to be in always on the move Wawad... Often on the side of BigFlo and Oli whether on stage or in their video, but you also have your own group to manage. Is there a time when you want to slow down and say "I need a break"? Honestly? No, never. (laughs). My whole life revolves around Beatboxing - I'm really passionate and since I started, I feel like I live a dream. It is, above all, a human adventure that we live with friends too. The biggest highlight of our group with BERYWAM is that we pull up each other whenever on of us is feeling low. We're always there to support each other and that makes all the difference.

When we started, we did it out of passion but also to have fun. BigFlo and Oli rapped and I was beatboxing. It hasn't really changed.

This human warmth fits perfectly with this mentality of the southwest of France - where you come from - often described as a very hospitable region... Exactly, we are "good living". We're not really taking the lead. When we started, we did it out of passion but also to have fun. BigFlo and Oli rapped and I was beatboxing. It hasn't really changed.

Do you have solo projects? I often have to travel the world for the Beatbox Championships and I’ve become a juror in London – I also love to go on stage there. I also went to China, Japan, Portugal, etc. I'm really committed to meeting the Beatbox community around the world.

Thinking of continuing your international tour? That's our goal! (laughs). We started to be called around the world to get on stage and I think it's our most beautiful and proudest moment: being able to travel through our music. We have the chance to go to Vietnam, Thailand, China... Everything in life is amazing!

Words © Fanny Hill Scott

Photography 1 © Baudouin Straetmans Photography 2 © Odieux Boby Photography 3 © Koria