Bed-Stuy Beat Boxers Win $25K For Their A Cappella Skills

BEDFORD STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — A Bed-Stuy beat boxing team walked away from Carnegie Hall last weekend $25,000 richer after they won the grand prize for their a cappella skills.

Gene Shinozaki and Chris Celiz, of the duo Spiderhorse, won first prize at the A Capella Open Finals on Oct. 5 relying on their ability to harmonize and mimic a set of drums.

"It's the best experience in the entire world," said Celiz of performing in Carnegie Hall. "Sound hugs people in that room ... it's the best sounding room we've ever been in."

Celiz and Shinozaki have been sweeping up awards for their novel take on vocal percussion since they first joined up to create Spiderhorse in 2015, Celiz said, adding the name is "a joke that got taken way too far."

"We're really bad at coming up with names," Celiz said. "If it were up to me we'd just be Gene and Chris. "

What makes Spiderhorse unique, according to Celiz, is the emphasis the duo places on singing to create the illusion of a fully produced track.

"We approach it like a band," Celiz said. "There's a bass part, harmony part, and melody split between the singing and the drums so it sounds like a full musical production."

This also moves the duo away from the battle culture, which has earned the pair some criticism from the beat box aficionados Celiz describes as predominately teenaged boys.

"A lot of the kids are like, 'Man this is stupid,'" Celiz said. "They're very much driven by competition [but] we take a holistic approach to creating music."

Spiderhorse's holistic approach won them a place at Varsity Vocal's Carnegie Hall open competition for a battle Celiz described as "the movie 'Pitch Perfect' turned into real life."

Celiz and Shinozaki performed a 12-minute set drawing from their original compositions and covers of other artists, such as Chance The Rapper, and walked away with a trophy and a very large check.

Celiz said he began to cry when, in front of his girlfriend, family and friends, the panel of judges announced Spiderhorse had won.

"That was a moment in time that I'm going to be forever grateful for," Celiz said. "It's super dope."

Brooklyn residents who would like to see Spiderhorse perform live can head to Bushwick Public House on Oct. 18 at 10 p.m.

Brooklyn News 12 was first to report on Spiderhorse's victory.