Music talent can come from the most unexpected places – including, for this school, their substitute physics teacher. At first, the teacher appeared awkward, bumping into a chair on his way in as he introduced his class on “the basics of sound.” The students looked utterly bored as they listened to his class. However, not all was as it seemed. If there’s anything we love here at The Music Man, it’s an unexpected performance, and that is exactly what Shawn Lee provided for this physics class.
Seeing his students’ bored faces, the teacher decided to give a practical demonstration. Standing in front of the class, he made the noise of each drum in a traditional drum kit. As he made the impressively accurate sounds, the class started to pay attention, sitting up straighter in their seats. When he asked who would like to see more, the class nodded eagerly. Then, he launched into an impressive beatbox performance. The class looked on amazed, cheering for the teacher’s surprising talent.
In fact, what the students didn’t know was that their physics teacher wasn’t a teacher at all. Shawn Lee is, in fact, a world-renowned professional beatboxer. In 2012, he came fourth in the Beatbox Battle World Championship and has also had a number of popular beatboxing videos on his own YouTube channel. Many of these showcase him performing beatbox covers of popular songs, such as ‘Tik Tok’ by Kesha and the hit comedy song ‘PPAP’ by Japanese artist Pikotaro.
One of his most popular covers is his beatbox version of 2012’s enormous K-Pop hit, Gangnam Style, by Psy. In his cover, Shawn Lee showcased his versatile beatbox abilities in a performance that is sure to wow all Music Man readers who watch the video, as he simultaneously performed the beat, basslines, melody, and even lyrics of the song. The video reached over 2M views from fans, who were amazed by his abilities and commented, “How does he do all those sounds at the same time?”
Here at The Music Man, we not only love an artist with a unique and specialized talent but also a performer who has a sense of humor. Shawn Lee is clearly that, with his prank on the physics class showcasing both of these attributes. Ultimately, seeing the grins grow over the faces of all the students who were shocked by his beatboxing is just another reminder of the joy that music and talent can bring to those who encounter it – especially when it provides a temporary reprieve from having to study physics for your next exam.
If you would like to hear more from this talented beatboxer you can subscribe to their YouTube Channel for more incredible music. Follow Shawn Lee on Instagram to stay updated on his latest performances.