Ep 34: Beatboxing all the way to Broadway with World Champion Kaila Mullady

When a World Champion Beatboxer comes into the diner you turn the jukebox off and buckle up. That’s exactly what happened when Kaila Mullady slid into the booth with me. Since we are both Long Islanders we first reminisced about the beauty of diners and we ranted about bagels. Kaila then told me about her goal of conquering 30 fears before she is 30, and she decided she is starting with snakes. In asking about her childhood, she told a horrific story about a nightmare audition that changed everything for her. It wound up leading Kaila to meet her mentor and starting to beatboxing. She talked about performing for money on the streets of NYC alone in high school. Then as she got deeper into the beatboxing community she had to deal with bullying and sexism being the only girl beatboxer…and being great on top of that. She also casually won a World Championship, or two, or three and performed in Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway with Lin Manuel Miranda. It was powerful to hear about how Kaila used the arts as a way to both hide and overcome depression. Taking her love and applying it to helping others is Kaila’s most recent endeavor. She has worked with NYU and other elite institutions to help kids with speech impediments using beatboxing. Her school, The Academy of Noise, is helping many build their confidence and have a ton of fun along the way.