We are proud to feature Baba Brinkman as our artist of the week. In over one and a half decades he has produced 19 albums. That is more than a record per year on average! Much more, with his thematic “literature” and “science rap” Baba has also done ten theatre shows over the time. During March and April, he is performing his newest program The Rap Guide to Consciousness Off-Broadway in New York City.
Baba Brinkman
Brinkman, whose real first name is Dirk, received his nickname Baba at birth by his father because he has seen in his son a contemplative, Buddha-like expression. Raised in Vancouver, Canada, he now lives in New York.
Baba has been born into a political and activist family, the commitment to nature has always been an issue in his life. It is not surprising that he first gained attention with Literature Rap since he has a Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature. Also, his more recent Science Rap is based on his education; in fact, he studied human evolution and primatology.
Hip-hop and Rap music is always at its best when it’s grounded in the rappers’ life. But this doesn’t mean you have to be a criminal or on the darker side of life. Baba Brinkman is the proof.
The Rap Guide to Consciousness
During all of March and April, Baba is on the Soho Playhouse stage performing The Rap Guide to Consciousness. His one-man shows are fun and educating at the same time. If you happen to be in New York in this two months, don’t miss it.
During this week, we will present the album and its songs in exclusive audio-visual Soundposters. To start, we choose the track Mary for you:
(With the help of a video by Psychedelic Trips.)
Baba’s comment on the track:
The “knowledge argument” is a philosophical thought experiment in which a color scientist, Mary, learns every conceivable detail about color vision and the brain basis of color experience while being raised from birth in a black and white room without the ability to see color herself. When she sees color for the first time, is she surprised? Or did she know enough to “see it coming”? In this version, Baba re-imagines Mary as a deaf acoustic scientist who studies rap music without hearing it firsthand. And then when she listens to a rap song for the first time, does she learn anything new? Or does her vastly enhanced imagination mean she knows in advance what it will feel like?
(D. Brinkman, T. Caruana)
Produced and Mixed by Tom Caruana
Keys by Simon Kendall
Further reading:
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_argument
• ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/pa…/RoboMaryfinal.htm
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdKEy6vcCMw
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