Jazze Pha has grown to become a respected O.G. in the music business, and now new details about his early days in the game have revealed exactly why his name stood out among his peers.
On Saturday (February 24), Chris “DJ Superman” McNeil and with Al “Kapone” Bailey discussed the city’s history within the culture on an episode of Memphis Rap History, with the latter recalling a story about its formative years.
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“Before it was a Memphis rap scene, it was a small culture of us,” he began. “It would be these talent shows that would happen or neighborhood talent shows that would happen, and we’d basically kind of battle each other.
“I remember Jazze Pha and his brother — they went by the name Coast To Coast — and they used to win all the little citywide rap battles ’cause Jazze Pha did this move that would win the battle every time: he would stand on his head and beatbox.”
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He added: “It was unheard of, so it was like this move that he did and his brother was rapping — he was sick with his rapping.”
Watch the exchange here.
In other beatbox-related news, legend of the craft Killa Kela recently put a huge smile on a fan’s face after showing up to their house to surprise them with not only his presence, but some gifts too.
Last summer, the UK native stopped by the young supporter’s house alongside sneaker connoisseur and radio host Kish Kash, who wrote on Facebook that the kid was suffering from Williams Syndrome and was the son of a mutual friend.
“Mere words cannot describe the levels of emotion associated with this,” he wrote the social media post. “When my brother Ad reached out and mentioned that Connor, our mutual friend Shiv’s son who has ‘Williams Syndrome’, is a lifelong fanatical beatboxer who absolutely adores Killa Kela and if I can ask him for a personal message from him to Connor, I said nah mate I can do even better and I’ll surprise Connor by bringing Kela to visit him at home.”
“To see that innocent look of wonder, amazement, elation from Connor when he unsuspectingly opened his door and then saw his all time hero standing in front of him is absolutely unbelievable and the positive vibrations are beyond maximum levels!!!”
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He continued: “Crazy large blessings to Kela for taking time out to make a good dude’s dreams come true and to Ad for the selfless consideration…if we all go tomorrow let’s take heart for helping to bring even more joy into Connor’s world.”
In a video of the exchange, Connor could be seen in a state of disbelief when Kela walked into his house and proceeded to sit in his backyard before gifting him some personalized drawings and exclusive merch. He then impressed the West Sussex MC with his own beatboxing skills.
