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RFH 2010, Arts

Yo, Darwin!

Tue, Nov 23, 2010

Yo, Darwin!

A rapper with the unusual name of Baba Brinkman throws down rhymes at Colgate Dec. 1 on an equally unlikely topic: the Evolution of the Species.

The Canadian former tree-planter -- he planted more than a million of them -- will present his unusual style of music at 7 p.m. in Love Auditorium of Olin Hall.

Drawin's work on evolution is not the first academic work to inspire Brinkman. While a student at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, he wrote his undergraduate thesis comparing freestyle rap battles to the the storytelling competition in Chaucer's Canturbury Tales. Working on his master's degree, Brinkman continue to incorporate Chaucer's work into his own; his The Rap Canterbury Tales tells the stories of the Pardoner, the Miller, and the Wife of Bath through the medium of rap and physical theatre.

Brinkman's work laid the foundation for a sub-genre of hip-hop called Lit-Hop, which draws "... parallels between rap and the history of literature, and the awareness that rap is the newest branch in the evolution of literary history," according to Brinkman's website.   

In the Fall of 2008, Brinkman was asked by Dr. Mark Pallen, a microbiologist at the University of Birmingham in the UK, if he would "do for Darwin what he did for Chaucer".

Brinkman's website explains:

"Accepting the challenge, Baba undertook extensive research into evolutionary theory and over the winter wrote "The Rap Guide to Evolution", a humorous and hard-hitting exploration of the intersections between Darwin's theories of natural and sexual selection and hip-hop culture. Baba performed "The Rap Guide to Evolution" at venues around the UK for the week of Darwin Day in February 2009, and recorded an album version of the show in June and July, produced by London's Infinite Potential. Baba's award-winning run at the Edinburgh Fringe in August was a critical smash, and show is continuing to tour extensively."

Brinkman was born in British Columbia's West Kootenays.

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