Sound on!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DbYQ9YDIcKu/
This beatbox video came into my IG feed a day or two ago. Not quite sure why. I don’t follow any musicians, to my knowledge. I’m not overly interested in music, per se.
But there it was. I watched it. I watched again. And again.
I love it. The quality of their work/art, the way the camera jams along with their movement, the song they’re recreating.
Today, another version of the song popped into my feed. The original. And I recognized the singer’s name: Ultra Naté.
A bazillion years ago, in the mid- and late-’90s, I hosted an annual Frozen Rum Drinks and Burritos party. It was a thing. An annual thing. A beloved thing by many regulars who attended year after year. People waited patiently for the often-mailed and sometimes emailed invitations.
One year, Ultra Naté attended. Not for me, or from my invitation, but because she was very good friends with a woman with whom I was very good friends.
As Naté (her given name) was touring a lot and not often in town (Baltimore, near where I lived/live), the party gave the two women an opportunity to connect up.
I remember her being lovely. Nice energy, humble, great smile.
She has continued on and on in her career, spanning several decades. (No small feat.) In 2025, her song “Free” was ranked by Billboard among “The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time” and “The 50 Best House Songs of All Time.”
