A Canadian rap artist, credited with making Chaucer relevant in the 21st century by translating The Canterbury Tales into the hip hop language, claims to have done the same for Darwin.
Baba Brinkman created “The Rap Guide to Evolution” after being challenged last year by Mark Pallen, professor of microbial genomics at Birmingham University and author of The Rough Guide to Evolution. The rap made its debut at the Cambridge Darwin Festival in July, where it was performed in front of prominent figures in science, including Sir David Attenborough and David Sloan Wilson. Professor Pallen vetted the script for accuracy.
Baba Brinkman will be performing “The Rap Guide to Evolution” at this year’s Edinburgh Festival until August 31. Original music from the show can be found at www.babasword.com, but here’s a sneak preview: “Okay, it’s time to reveal my identityI’m the manifestation of tens of millions of centuriesOf sexual selection, best believeI’m the best of the best of the best of the bestOf generations of competitive pressure geneticallyBut don’t get upset, `cause we’ve got the same pedigreeYou and I will find a common ancestor eventually .”