Douglas Davis (born September 17, 1966), known professionally as Doug E. Fresh, is a Barbadian-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box".
The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines and various special effects using only his mouth, lips, gums, throat, tongue and a microphone.
In the early 1980s he formed the Lover Boy Crew with DJs Chill Will and Barry B and later added rapper Slick Rick.
[3] Fresh became acquainted with rapping from his brother bringing tapes of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and DJ Hollywood into the house.
[4] Word of Fresh's skills spread further at a party in a park in the Lincoln Projects in East Harlem, where he rapped and beatboxed live.
[3] Another event came soon after where Kurtis Blow, who produced for The Fat Boys, lacked turntables and needed instrumentals to perform over so he recruited Fresh to beatbox.
In 1995, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh reunited for a track on an album titled Play, which received positive reviews; Bret Love wrote, "A welcome flashback to the days when guns, drugs, sex, and violence were not the genre's primary lyrical focus.
[9] In 2010, Fresh resurfaced when rap group Cali Swag District brought back some of his trademark dance moves for their song "Teach Me How to Dougie."
Members of Cali Swag District saw Texas college students doing a local dance created in Dallas called the "D-Town Boogie".
On November 8, 2010, Fresh appeared at the Soul Train Awards, where he taught CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer how to Dougie on stage as part of the show.
On October 28, 2011, Fresh performed at the Paradise Theater in a concert to benefit New York City's public hospitals; the show was part of "STAT!
On September 24, 2021, he released his first full-length album since 1995, titled This One's for Chuck Brown: Doug E. Fresh Salutes The Godfather of Go-Go.
[11] He also performed two tracks on the Scientology music album The Joy of Creating (other artists appearing included Isaac Hayes, Chick Corea, Edgar Winter and Carl Anderson).
[12] In April 2007, a storefront for Doug E.'s Chicken and Waffles appeared at the corner of 132nd Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard in Harlem.
[16] In 2008 Fresh dealt with foreclosure with $3.5 million in unpaid mortgages on 3 homes, several thousands in credit card debt, and a tax lien issued from the IRS.