If you’re interested in learning about the workings of the universe but can’t quite get your way through Charles Darwin’s On Natural Selection, perhaps you should consider getting your scientific education in the form of a rap. Equal parts theatre, gig and TED talk, Baba Brinkman’s A Rap Guide to the Evolution will improve your understanding of evolution and change the way you see hip-hop music.
The Canadian rapper’s peer-reviewed rap show interprets the work of Darwin for a modern day audience. He raps, it’s ‘time to elevate your mind state and celebrate your kinship with the primate’. The Rap Guide to Evolution brings surprising scientific accuracy to the stage in a most entertaining way — explaining the nature of the hip-hop industry using natural selection, evolutionary psychology and sexual selection.
The evolutionary theory of ‘too many animals, not enough food’ is connected to the hip-hop industry’s ‘too many MCs, not enough mics’. As with the evolution of this planet, the evolution of hip-hop is rooted in survival of the fittest and, Brinkman claims, rappers are just an imitation of their surroundings and other rappers who preceded them. He makes a convincing argument.
Brinkman brings integrity, passion and warmth to the stage, and as a result manages to get a Melbourne Arts Centre audience rapping along with him. You don’t have to be a fan of rap music to appreciate his work, but it doesn’t hurt. Modern hip-hip songs, often with Brinkman’s evolutionary lyrics made over the top, as well as his own original raps are featured.
The Rap Guide to Evolution is truly an original piece of work, and Brinkman’s stage presence is warm and his wit sharp. DJ Mr Simmonds performs a captivating live set, and the use of visual slides accompany the show with its content ranging from graphs, diagrams and statistics to rap video clips. The show does have a small lull around three-quarters of the way in, but this is most likely attributed to the fact that the hour-long set is an abridged version of a 90-minute show.
The show is complete with its own anthem— ‘Don’t Sleep with Mean People’, as the audience is encouraged to consider how they can influence evolution with sexual selection. In an attempt to keep his show constantly evolving, Brinkman takes on feedback to incorporate into future shows, offering a freestyle in response to questions and comments. While The Rap Guide to Evolution is indeed a thoroughly fascinating and engaging show, you’re likely to learn as much as you are entertained.
Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 stars
The Rap Guide to Evolution
Written and performed by Baba Brinkman
With DJ Jamie Simmonds
Victorian Arts Centre
3 – 7 June
Canberra Theatre Centre
www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
11 June
Illawarra Performing Arts Centre
www.merrigong.com.au
13 – 14 June
Sydney Opera House
www.sydneyoperahouse.com
17 – 21 June
Riverside Theatre, Parramatta
www.riversideparramatta.com.au
23 – 25 June
Casula Powerhouse
www.casulapowerhouse.com
26- 27 June
