Spotlight Iowa City: Blending rhythm and shorin-ryu
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Onstage, Forrest Heusinkveld raps like a professional MC while keeping the beat for Iowa City band the Uniphonics. In his spare time, the UI percussion- and jazz-studies major devotes his attention to karate, in which he recently received a black belt.
“As far as my concentration goes, it really helps the drumming and the rapping thing a lot,” he said. “The meditative aspect of it is similar to the type that you need to excel in any one of the martial arts. It really helps with coordination and agility, and that crosses over into drumming also.”
He has been practicing the Japanese martial art of shorin-ryu for four and a half years. The style focuses on a variety of punching and kicking techniques that are practical for real-life self-defense.
The percussionist trains two or three times a week, when he is not busy playing with the Uniphonics.
Heusinkveld is a senior at the UI and is taking an extra semester to graduate after transferring from Kirkwood Community College on a scholarship.
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He is now certified to teach shorin-ryu, which he practices at the Field House. If he does end up teaching the style, it will be out of passion rather than for profit.
“I won’t do it for money, because the organization it’s through is the American Karate Federation,” he said. “It’s not a business like tae kwon do and some of the other styles are.”
Ashton Kacena — a longtime friend of Heusinkveld and fellow martial artist — got him interested in shorin-ryu.
“Forrest knew I was into it and thought it was cool,” Kacena said. “He went to practice and just never stopped after that. It’s a pretty demanding style of karate, and even after being injured, Forrest didn’t quit.”
As dedicated as Heusinkveld is to karate, he is even more dedicated to perfecting his percussion and vocal technique in the Uniphonics.
He lays down the drum lines for the group, which has a sound that combines elements of hip-hop, jazz, and funk. He frequently takes over the microphone and has a unique style of rapping that is soulful and sometimes even aggressive.
“Really what I wanted to do at first was rap like Blackthought from the Roots while playing the drums like Questlove from the Roots,” he said. “That was where it started off, like trying to do them both simultaneously. I realized that if I wanted to be an innovator, I would have to do something I hadn’t seen done before.”
Ben Pierce, who plays saxophone in the Uniphonics and was a roommate of Heusinkveld for around a year, said he enjoys working with him and performing live.
“Forrest is always on top of his instrument and knows how to play his gear,” Pierce said. “He always brings good ideas to the table. Especially with the kind of business side of running a band, he always has good ideas, and he’s always looking at the bigger picture as far as the band goes.”
The Uniphonics plans on doing a tour in the South and then hitting the East and West Coasts to spread the gospel of funk over the course of the year. Even if Heusinkveld doesn’t gain fame or fortune, it is likely he will keep playing music and practicing martial arts as long as possible.
“Right now, I am just focusing on studying whatever I can get my hands on really,” he said. “I just want to learn as much about music as possible, and the martial arts help me stay focused.”
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