Ryan Robert Boudreau,[1] better known as Wunknown (sometimes formatted as WunKnown), is an American beatboxer.
History[]
Wunknown is from North Providence, Rhode Island.[2] He started beatboxing at 17 years old after a friend showed him a clip of an interview with Reeps One,[1] and he later got involved in online beatbox communities.[2]
Controversies[]
Sexual assault allegations[]
On June 15, 2020, Wunknown's mother Linda Rossi created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with legal fees for an undisclosed case involving her son, stating that he was "unjustly and falsely accused of something".[3]
In July 2020, accusations made against Wunknown of rape and sexual assault surfaced online.[4] On July 8, a screenshot of text messages from Wunknown seemingly backing up these claims was leaked on Reddit, in which he showed regret for "[making] one of the biggest mistakes since [his] teenage years".[5]
As a result of these allegations, many beatbox organizations and communities quickly removed content related to Wunknown from their websites and social media outlets, including Human Beatbox,[6] Swissbeatbox,[7] and Beatbox International.[8] On July 12, American Beatbox banned Wunknown from attending any of their future events and removed videos exclusively featuring him from their YouTube channel.[9]
On August 30, 2020, Wunknown resurfaced after a month of silence through a now-deleted livestream on his YouTube channel.[10] Since then, he has periodically created livestreams and posted on social media, dispelling popular rumors of him being incarcerated. Limited information about the case is public. In July 2022, Wunknown claimed on Instagram that it has been dismissed.[11]
Achievements[]
2019[]
- 2nd place (Solo) – Vokal Total 2019
2018[]
- Top 8 (Solo) – American Beatbox Championships 2018
- Top 8 (Men Solo) – 5th Beatbox Battle World Championship
- 4th place (Solo) – Smash Sounds
2017[]
- 1st place (Solo) – American Beatbox Championships 2017
- 1st place (Solo) – East Coast Beatbox Battle 2017
2016[]
- Top 16 (Solo) – American Beatbox Championships 2016
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20190107162542/https://www.humanbeatbox.com/beatboxers/wunknown/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "RI man wins national human beatboxing competition, heading to internationals." Accessed December 14, 2020.
- ↑ https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-to-prevail
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/beatbox/comments/hnj6fi/whats_up_with_wunknown/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/beatbox/comments/hnj6fi/whats_up_with_wunknown/fxcroln/
- ↑ "Sexual Misconduct Within the Beatbox Community: We Must Do Better."
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/swissbeatbox/photos/a.373179437414/10157881228762415/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/beatbox/comments/hnj6fi/whats_up_with_wunknown/fxz7t6a
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CCjYce9DsA-/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ZdV5E4RCg Accessed August 30, 2020.
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CgWLGG3j-ZV/ @wunkn0wn. "@jympixia the currect [sic] status is 'dismissed.' Glad you get all your information from a beatbox wiki page." Accessed July 23, 2022.