PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Sony to celebrate their latest project with Macy Baez, a damn-decent hip-hop dancer who was born profoundly deaf. Sony’s new Extra Bass XB3 wireless speaker delivers deep, punchy bass with clear vocals and rich detailed sound – allowing Macy to literally feel the music. Head to Sony’s website HERE to learn more about the speaker after you’ve, of course, found out how this talented young lady’s told adversity to piss right off.
“Dance is a language for me. I feel the beat speaks to me and I speak back through dance,” says Macy Baez – a 15 year old hip-hop dancer from Illawarra, New South Wales.
Seeing as her crew, the Illagroovers, took out their third Australian Hip-Hop Championship title just a few weeks ago, you wouldn’t assume Macy was born profoundly deaf – nor would you assume so after meeting her.
It’s been a long process to improve her hearing to what it is today. She received her first cochlear implant in her left ear during the course of 2003. A cochlear device is a mechanism that stimulates the hearing nerve through an external speech processor fitted behind the ear, which sends a signal through the skin to a receiver inserted surgically. After the procedure in 2003, Macy underwent hours of speech therapy, allowing her to interpret whether something was the sound of language, or the sound of a beat. Her ability to hear was further bolstered by a second implant in her right ear, which she received in 2012.
Cochlear implants, however, don’t fully restore hearing. A person with full hearing might describe the sensation like ‘hearing under water’. Although not experienced in full, Macy’s still thankful.
“I’m really grateful I can actually hear the world now instead of hearing nothing,” she says.
If Macy wanted a drink as a child, you’d know – she self-taught herself to sign for basic things. She even mastered lip reading to communicate with her parents, something that’s now made her feel comfortable in loud situations when she’s having issues understanding what’s being said.
Macy’s a fiercely independent trooper because she’s faced her physical challenges head-on, as well as brushing off societal stigmas thrown her way.
“I overcame fear. I thought [dancing] was going to be really tough, and I thought I was going to give up, but I went, ‘no, I can’t give up – I need to continue because this is what I love’.”
“Sometimes, people give me the looks but I just go, ‘yeah, whatever’… I’m not going to entertain you, I’m just going to do my own thing.”
When you combine this perseverance with her admiration for the OGs (the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Eazy-E and Ice Cube), the result is a hard-working, passionate and an I-ain’t-taking-no-crap-from-no-one attitude that’s reflected in her dancing.
Sony recognised Macy’s talent and approached her to be the face of their new campaign to mark the launch of their new Extra Bass XB3 wireless speaker, and boy-oh-boy, can the girl move. Check her out in the video below:
Because her hearing is impaired, Sony wanted to create an experience for Macy where she could literally feel music. To do so, they enlisted the help of Josh Fountain from Level Two Music in New Zealand to compose a bonafide banger. It’s a bass-heavy track that allows Macy to feel vibrations, heightening her connection to the music.
“I wanted to make a track that would kick you in the stomach and make you want to move, I wanted to strip layers away and concentrate on the bass frequencies that you physically feel,” says Josh Fountain.
The result is the above 90-second dance which Macy choreographed with her instructor Brooke. It took the duo a fortnight to create the dance and two days to film it – a very intense period for the 15 year old.
One of the biggest hurdles of the process was properly tapping into the emotions Macy was feeling.
“The different types of layers were difficult because you have to hear certain beats – there’s high level moments and low moments.”
“I put different emotions into my dance – that’s how I listen to music, that’s how I feel. I express myself and tell a story with my dance by listening to the music.”
You can tell Macy will be kicking down doors in the future. Her crew is off to Las Vegas in August to once again compete in the World Hip-Hop Championships, going head-to-head with nations like Japan and America. Odds are she’ll be involved in these sorts of comps for several more years – she wants to pursue a full-time career in dancing.
“I’m very proud of what I’m doing and where I am today.”
“I’ve always said to my mum, ‘I want dancing to be my career’. That’s going to take a long time.”
Pretty remarkable stuff for a young woman who once never had the ability to hear the music she now dances to.
To celebrate the new Extra Bass XB3 wireless speaker, Sony are giving away a pack filled with errythang you’d need to have your own ~pop up festival~ (including the speakers themselves, sunnies, two cans of Red Bull and a flower headband).
All you gots to do is tell us in 25 words or less, ‘in true Easy-A/Breakfast Club style, what song would you play from your Extra Bass XB3 wireless speaker while serenading your bae outside their window?’ in the competition below.
For more information on Sony’s new Extra Bass XB3 wireless speaker, head to their website HERE.
Photos: Sony / Supplied.
