The skyrocketing popularity of hip-hop in India has given the four basic elements of the culture — DJing, MCing, B-boying and graffiti — a corresponding fillip. A case in point is the fact that the World B-boying Championship was held in Mumbai last year, for the very first time. Rappers like Divine have also become household names now. Gully Boy, of course, gave the music a mainstream identity. But there is one aspect of hip-hop that hasn't been given its fair share of spotlight in the country. Beat-boxing is still a stream that many Indians are unfamiliar with, says Gaurav Gambhir, an exponent of the art form, adding that a beat-boxing competition he will be judging this weekend aims to alter that equation.

Called The Battle of the Beatboxers, the event at a Lower Parel venue involves 96 artistes from across the country fighting it out for the top two positions. Rawduct, an events management company, is hosting it as an extension of a hip-hop event they organised at Worli recently. "The main aim of the competition is to give the veterans in the scene a chance to win a bigger prize than usual, and also to encourage newcomers to take up the art form," Gambhir says, adding that the winning contestant will get '10,000 and gifts from the event's sponsors.