By LIZZY GORDON
At first glance, one would not assume that Sean Forbes is deaf. The 28-year-old fits right in with the hip-hop world.
In the music video for his song “Def Deaf Girls” Forbes is wearing a gold chain and wife-beater, the only difference between him and Eminem is his hearing aid. And certainly one could not differentiate Forbes’s voice from a rapper who isn’t deaf.
Forbes has been deaf since birth, but he doesn’t let his disability get in the way of his music. Forbes is a talented artist who cannot only rap, but can also play the drums and piano.
Forbes signed a record label with The Bass Brothers, the producing company that discovered Eminem.
Forbes released his debut album Perfect Imperfections in September of 2012. The CD comes with 13 songs and 12 American Sign Language music videos. Eminem was the first person to see Forbes’s first ASL music video for the song “I’m Deaf.” The convergence of modern day rap and sign language is exciting to watch. As the chorus repeats, the viewer begins to recognize certain gestures, this way they are learning ASL.
The album is impressive; even though he is deaf, Forbes is able to process music through the vibrations that reverberate from beats. Because he has mastered this skill, Forbes thrills listeners through her rhyming and rhythmic abilities; Forbes is a skillful and humorous rapper. In his song “I’m Deaf” Forbes expresses an ironic, yet comedic, phrase when he says, “I’ve got deaf tones but I’m not tone deaf.”
Aside from music, Forbes is a talented public speaker. He has spoken to 150,000 people throughout 40 cities.
To learn more about Forbes and his music, click here.
For a free single download, click here.
Title: Perfect Imperfections
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Stars: 5-5
Cost: $15.99