Baba Brinkman, the Canadian rapper, science communicator, award-winning hip-hop playwright, and our artist of the week, is best known for his “Rap Guide” series of science-themed plays and albums, a genre called Science Rap. During all of March and April, you can see him on stage at the Soho Playhouse in New York performing his Rap Guide to Consciousness.

Science Rap

So far, in his Rap Guide series, Baba wrote about evolution, human nature, business, wilderness, medicine, religion, climate chaos and now consciousness. For four of them (evolution, human nature, religion, and consciousness) he did also theatre performances around the world.

The subjects are always well researched and explained. In addition to the lyrics, Baba also provides explanations and links for further explorations. While the theories behind it are serious, the performances never get boring and are very entertaining. I wish I had a science teacher like this!

The Rap Guide To Consciousness

In his newest guide, Baba explores the scientific study of consciousness. The show has been made with support from the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Studies, the Sandpiper Fund, the Schein Foundation, the Anthropocene Institute, and the Canadian Core for Neuroethics.

Baba’s comment to the song Room, today’s Soundposter: In the “Chinese Room” thought experiment, philosopher John Searle asks us to imagine a person in a room reading out a computer code containing the symbols necessary to carry out a fluent conversation in Chinese, but the person in the room doesn’t understand Chinese. Does the room contain any true comprehension of Chinese? It seems to from the outside, but inside is just a computer code and an uncomprehending person. In this song, Baba puts a new twist on the experiment, imagining an old man who can’t rap, reading out a computer code that produces amazing beats and rhymes on demand. Does anyone or anything in the room know how to rap?

(Soundposter with a little help from Josu Relax)

He is currently performing The Rap Guide To Consciousness in New York at the Soho Playhouse. Don’t miss it if you have the chance to see it!