Local band Belizbeha brings rap, hip-hop to New England
The University of Vermont and hip-hop music do not conjure up synonymous images in most people's minds. So those expecting only tired-sounding Phish cover bands out of northern Vermont will be pleasantly surprised by Belizbeha, an eight piece hip-hop/jazz ensemble from UVM. While rap and the wilds of New England may at first seem like strange bedfellows, Belizbeha proves that the combination can work. Their first full-length album "Charlie's Dream," released late last year, shows innovative musicianship. By any standards, the band is on its way to the top. Belizbeha has played at established venues such as the Club Metronome in Burlington, Vt., The Bayou in Washington, D.C., the Wetlands in New York and Club Soda in Montreal. They have had no problem performing with ease at schools such as Middlebury College, Hamilton College, Emory University and at their alma mater UVM's Oktoberfest. The band described in their release that their audience demographics consists of people aged from 10-40 years, a male/female ratio of 40/60, and racially mixed groups with college students forming the core constituency. Russ Weis, the manager of Club Metronome, wrote, "To find a new, young band with talent is rare; to find one with the energy to take a town by storm and create a unique vibe is rarer still ..." "All these traits and more have been undeniably present in the brief yet inspiring career of Belizbeha, the Burlington, Vt.-based band that, as suggested by its name, mixes a range of musical styles from A to Z." The band, according to a press release, has embarked on an aggressive marketing strategy by setting up a home page on the World Wide Web, releasing a weekly newsletter and arranging an active touring schedule. Their Web page, located at http://www.together.com/~belizbeh/, offers fans the opportunity to catch up on the band's latest information, such as performance dates. The group's rapping style is refreshing not because it is radically new, but because it recalls the good old days when rap was not reserved solely for self-congratulatory paeans to violent urban ghetto life. People searching for an aggressive, fast-paced rapping style in the Onyx vein may be surprised by the relaxing, mellifluous rhymes of Belizbeha.