Brave new world for beatboxing

Beatboxing has come a long way since the early 1980s when rappers such as Doug E Fresh and Biz Markie ruled the block.

In the 1990s, The Roots's Rahzel evolved beatboxing from cool party piece/gimmick into the realm of recognised art form.

Sunday's third Human Beatbox Convention aims to build on beatboxing artistic reputation by establishing a community and support network for British beatboxers.

It features a series of workshops and seminars, and a screening of Joey Garfield's beatboxing documentary Breath Control, followed by a concert in the evening.

The convention comes to the South Bank courtesy of beatboxer Shlomo, currently the venue's artist in residence and part of hip hop crew Foreign Beggars.

He first realised beatboxing's possibilities when he got in the studio with Bjork for her 2004 Medulla LP (2004).

Now Shlomo's personal crusade is getting beatboxing acknowledged both as a credible form of creative expression and as a musical instrument.

On Sunday evening he performs with three other beatboxers with a strong background in music (Bellatrix, MC Zani and Spitf'ya) and esteemed a cappella choir The Swingle Sisters to create groundbreaking vocal music built around jazz, swing, classical, intricate rhythms, high hats and booming basslines - without a single instrument.

The performance might be the end of six weeks of rehearsals but it's sure to mark the beginnings of a brave new world for beatboxing.

Sun, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 2pm to 6pm, free; Purcell Room, 8pm, £13 (returns only), South Bank SE1. Tel: 0870 380 0400. www.sbc.org.uk Tube: Waterloo/Embankment