By Erika Huber
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Musician and beat boxer Shodekeh Talifero has no interest in a mundane life, which is why he has chosen to live by and through musical expression.
The Washington, D.C., native is celebrating his 10th year as a resident accompanist in the Towson University Department of Dance and has worked on a long list of visual and musical projects over the course of his career.
Talifero’s love and knack for sound sprouted from giving his toys and games sound effects as a child. His talent for emulating sound would later fuse with a variety of musical influences, giving him the ability to carry an internal instrument with him wherever he goes.
And he certainly uses that instrument at any whim. He immediately picks out sounds around him and breaks out into accompaniment with his own beat box or table beat. Any sound, he says, can be made into music.
He draws from all branches of music from GoGo to Jazz to African. Having grown up with the influences of American pop culture, a Sierra Leonean mother, African-American father and a Dutch-American stepfather, Talifero learned to embrace his surroundings and heritage when it came to his music.
“A lot of the rhythms I play at Towson Dance are definitely not native to American soil,” Talifero said before breaking out into a West African-style beat box. “That’s not an American rhythm and I got to say that genetic memory is a very real and tangible thing.”
While Talifero is also a drummer, his musical beginnings are rooted in beat boxing. Beat boxing changed his perspective and acted as a vehicle for something larger, Talifero said.
He decided to pursue music full time in 2006, three years after meeting one of his musical heroes who was a second-generation beat box pioneer in New York City. While Talifero will not name his hero, out of respect, meeting him was a pivotal moment in his life.
“He was one of the greatest of all time and he was working a regular job and I’m just thinking to myself, ‘You should be touring the planet changing lives, you changed my life,’” Talifero said. “So I thought, I’m not gonna take that path, I’m gonna do this full time one way or another. I still look up to him but it’s a different reality for different people. For me this is all I want to do; this is all I’m passionate about.”
The musician’s long list of projects include a remixing of the Star-Spangled Banner for the anthem’s 200 year anniversary in collaboration with the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, performances with The Tuvan National Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, spotlights in a number of documentaries, and more.
“Where we are as a species right now in the 21st century, everything has an anchored foundation in a cultural context,” Talifero said. “And so with me being able to adapt to any cultural environment, no wonder I’m doing Irish music or West African drumming or beat boxing for ballet. I’ve already been trained and taught to be invested no matter the context and I’m given me a huge leg up.”
When Talifero performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, one of the many highlights of his career, he approached the performance in a way true to his personality. He wanted to dress up as an usher, take tickets and then go on stage and perform – but he not allowed to it.
“They said, ‘Yeah, that’s not happening, you’re the soloist, you’re gonna be the soloist,’” Talifero said with a laugh.
One of his proudest achievements is being the founding director of “Embody, A Music Series of the Vocal Arts,” which unites people through the worlds of opera, throat singing, beat boxing and other forms of music, giving anyone with an interest in sound a platform to express themselves in workshops and on stage.
“I get to sink my teeth into something that’s much bigger than me and that everyone can potentially feel they have access to,” Talifero said. “It’s kind of indescribable actually; it’s becoming very important to me and to be in a position where I get to have a vision that stems from how I live my life and to see other people take steps in similar directions is really beautiful to watch.”
While many artists look back on their careers and dwell on aspects they wish they could change, Talifero has no regrets at all. When asked if he would change anything, he can only think of small things to perfect.
“Nope, I wouldn’t change anything,” Talifero said. “It’s been a crazy journey and I continue to learn to use all those moments to my advantage and to the evolution of who I am.”