Tamworth beatbox battle 'on international stage'

Street artists including Void one, Mose, Szhd and Chunxx, painted the nightclub's walls

A beatbox competition held in a Staffordshire town has put the event "firmly on the international stage", said organisers.

Artists from countries including Singapore, Belgium and the United States battled in the eight-hour Nue Beatbox final in Tamworth on Saturday.

Nue said its competition, which begun in 2021, received 60 wildcard entries from 16 countries this year.

Street artists also painted part of the Atik nightclub, where it was held.

"The event was a huge success and by far our best beatboxer competition to date," said Nue founder Vic Brown.

"Both final results have put Nue Beatbox firmly on the international stage and will definitely attract more international artists to the competition next year."

Stan won the solo final at Nue's event

The solo beatboxer final was won by Stan from Belgium who explained he had "mixed feelings" about entering because he did not get through to the battle stage last year.

"So then making up my mind and winning the battles felt so satisfying, it's just hard to describe," he said.

The event, which was also live-streamed, saw showcases from Hobbit and MC Zani from the Beatbox Collective.

Smonal, from France, won the loopstation category, where artists use a device to record sounds and loop them to create longer pieces.

The 16-year-old, who had posted his wildcard entry on his YouTube channel, described his win as "awesome" and unexpected as the competition was at "such a high level".

Edmaster and Frosty were among the competitors

"Seeing the crowd enjoying what is actually months of preparation and hearing kind words from them was just amazingly pleasant," he said.

"Finally, the day itself was class, I was elated to meet all my beatboxer friends that I knew online. Even if I didn't win the event, it would still be an unforgettable memory."

Nue began its latest programme of arts events earlier this year after securing about £30,000 of funding.