Having formed around May 2016, comprising of seasoned multi-disciplinary artist Checkmate Mido and guitarist Kevin Munyi and monster beatbox Bobby Dash, the band has continued to thrill and excite audiences around Nairobi most recently opening for Akua Naru’s Nairobi Leg of her African Tour as well as releasing the well-received Box of Beats EP which was featured on BBC Focus On Africa celebrating it’s release.

Their music fuses different genres such as African, Funk, Hiphop, Jazz and Classical to create an exciting musical experience.

Checkmate Mido (the dancing poet) is a performing artist (Poet/Actor/Beatboxer) and certified trainer of the performance arts. He is widely known for his unique gift of merging art forms together to create an interesting, interactive and engaging performance.

Considering himself ‘a carrier of stories’, his work borrows from life, life experiences (his and others’ as
well) which he weaves together creatively through collaboration.

He co-facilitated a poetry performance workshop with Bassey Ikpi (Def Jam Poetry Star) in 2015 and
opened up for global poet/hiphop artist Akua Naru during her African Tour.

His poems and songs have been featured on BBC [Focus On Africa and Arts Hour], Badilisha Poetry and
SPOKEN WOR:L:DS (https://spokenworlds.bandcamp.com/album/spoken-wor-l-ds-nairobi-berlin).

He is the founder and one third of the band ‘boxofbeatske’ with which he recorded and released the well received ‘Box of Beats EP’

Discography

2020- FREQUENCY LP
2020- Alive… (live album with boxofbeatske)
2016- Box Of Beats EP
2016- Dreams (Single) in collaboration with Akua Naru
2014- SPOKEN WOR:L:DS (Compilation Album)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p049vgh0

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DembedeMidoCheckmateMIDO

Box Of Beats is following