A 13-YEAR-OLD professional beatboxer from Poole who has more than 400 performances under his belt is writing a book about his early rise to stardom. Zaq Dixon has collaborated with Lyrix Organix, a charitable hip hop movement spearheaded by artists including Ed Sheeran, freestyle MC Abandoman and acclaimed beatboxer Shlomo.

The talented musician was playing the drums and starting to beatbox before he could walk, according to his mum, Allie Kay. Zaq said: “My mum used to tell me to stop making silly noises and now I make a living from it, we laugh about it now. People have asked me whether I swallowed a drum-kit as a child.

“It’s so strange that I’m doing stuff at my age that 20 year-olds normally do, like performing in pubs and clubs. I now realise that I have a gift which is taking me round the world doing something I absolutely love.”

The student at St Edwards in Poole is in talks to release a single with one of the UK’s top hip hop artists and was invited to play at Glastonbury.

Zaq counts his performances at Mambos in Mallorca at his biggest break, as this allowed him to collaborate with DJ Samo, Sugar Dread, The Trixters and twice UK Beatbox Champion Ballzee. He is currently writing a book about his experiences.

Zaq said: “The book is about the difficult times I’ve gone through as a kid and the major issues I’ve faced at school and with my family. “I’m hoping that my book might be able to help out other people who are going through the same problems as I have also faced.”