From travelling the world to finding love, Dana McKeon’s passion for beatboxing has changed her life but it was a skill she only learned she possessed through pure chance. 

At the age of 19 and playing for Malta’s junior national basketball team, McKeon hurt her hand, forcing her off the court and into recovery.

As she waited at home in Naxxar for her fingers to heal, she found herself automatically singing along to music in her downtime. Eventually, she began mimicking the beat of the songs with her mouth, copying the music simply with her vocal cords, she said.

Showing off her new-found skill to friends, they told her that she was beatboxing.

Fifteen years on, her unique talent has taken her across the globe to play for various events, most recently hosting the Beatbox Battle World Championship in Berlin earlier this month.

“It is such an incredible feeling, the music just comes from your chest and vocal cords,” McKeon told Times of Malta.

She first realised her talent when she won a singing showcase at the University of Malta, where she was studying physiotherapy.

“That kind of kicked everything off,” she said, as, following her graduation in physiotherapy, McKeon threw caution to the wind and moved to London to focus on her music.

The now 34-year-old has twice placed second in the UK’s national championship, had her work played on Netflix shows such as Too Hot to Handle and has even performed for the royal family.

In 2012, McKeon was asked to lay down some beats for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards where she met Prince Edward and the then Countess of Wessex.

Backstage at the Beatbox Battle World Championship in 2019. Photo: Dana Mckeon/Facebook

“It was all new to them. They found it interesting and they were surprised,” McKeon said.

“I create songs through beatboxing,” McKeon continued, explaining that many of her performances begin with her playing the guitar and singing until she transitions to her vocal beats.

Finding love through music

Beatboxing has also infiltrated McKeon’s personal life, leading to her meeting her husband at a music event.

After moving to England, she started a music night at a club in London that asked people to perform for a weekly crowd.

One evening, a man and his sister joined and, after their first attendance, McKeon noticed that the man came back every week.

“He just kept showing up and I realised he wasn’t coming for the music anymore.”

McKeon currently works as a vocal and life coach, with beatboxing students in Malta following in her hip-hop footsteps.

At the global stage

This year, she hosted the Beatbox Battle World Championship’s main stage.

“As the host, I felt it was my responsibility to bring everyone together,” she said, making it her goal to keep the momentum of the event going while pushing everyone to achieve the next level.

“It’s an honour to host, because these people are the top of the top, people who have dedicated their lives to mastering vocal percussion.”

Dana McKeon holding her Beatbox Battle Pioneer Award, given to her for her efforts in the male-dominated industry. Photo: Chuck Diesal Photography

McKeon is no stranger to the championship. In 2012, she travelled to Berlin for her first visit to the global stage as a competitor.

“I remember shortly before my university finals, I went up to Berlin and placed in the top eight,” she said, only two years after discovering beatboxing.

Following the championship, McKeon said the event’s founder, Bee Low, gifted her the Beatbox Battle Pioneer Award for her efforts in the male-dominated industry.

“It is an honour for me to be seen as a role model for upcoming female beatboxers,” she said.

“It is the only way to make music where you are the instrument. For me, it is one of the optimal ways of expressing myself.”