The Beat Box Mixes Up Burlington's Scene

Burlington's new store adds an element of urban flair that was once lacking

Staff Report

Issue date: 1/23/07 Section: B Side

Media Credit: Adam Briere

The Beat Box sells clothing, magazines and artwork along with mixtapes.

Media Credit: Adam Briere

Next time your friend asks you where they can buy the latest issue of F.E.D.S. magazine around the city of Burlington you should tell them about The Beat Box.

The Beat Box has cornered the local market of hip-hop and street ephemera. The store specializes in custom sneakers, bright printed hoodies and anything else that one might need to satiate their inner Young [insert name here].

They also stock any mixtape you might find being sold simultaneously on a blanket on
183rd street in the Bronx. L, the owner of Beat Box, relies mostly on his former
Bronx neighborhood connections to offer various DJs' and emcees' mixtapes when they
first drop.

For those of you stuck in Vermont's homogenous bubble, mixtapes are made up of material sent to DJs, sometimes by major labels, featuring unofficially released tracks that will never endure the watering down processes carried out by A&R (Artist and Repertoire) execs.

For record companies, mixtapes gauge the reactions of their most scrutinizing demographic - the street.

Though most of his mixtapes come from the tri-state area, L also makes sure to offer
a selection of local talent.

"None of this stuff you're gonna find in Best Buy," L explained, "that's why you're
coming here."

For Burlington, The Beat Box is a one-stop place to find virtually any urban accoutrement. One customer who previously relied on trips to New York in order to procure the types of products offered at The Beat Box, was buying some clothes as well as Tru- Life's latest, unofficially-released album.

"They don't got these shits at the mall, they don't got these shits at Hot Topic, they don't got these shits at Urban Styles," he said.

Get your "shits" at The Beat Box, located at 294 North Winooski Avenue. They specialize in street wear, video magazines (mini-documentaries on rappers), graffiti supplies and mixtapes.

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