In his youth, Jazz guitarist John Scofield spent a lot of time in New York’s famous music venue Filmore East, where Rock-, Jazz- and Country musicians played on the same stage. No wonder, while finding his home in Jazz music, he loved to cross musical borders during all his career. One of his latest albums, Country for Old Men, is just one of his many fusions.
Today in a week, on March 23, New York R&B singer Deva Mahal will release her debut album on Motéma Music. You best describe Deva’s music as infectious, pulse-pounding soul with a decidedly modern edge.
Do we have a soul? And if not, can we at least still have soulful music? Baba Brinkman asks a lot of questions in The Rap Guide To Consciousness. In his Science Rap songs and the Off-Broadway show, he provides a ton of background information. Yet he still lets it up to you to answer.
With Bob Dylan winning the Nobel prize for literature in 2017, it is finally official that song lyrics are literature. Well, not all of course, but still. What can be said for a song text in general, is even more true with rap music. Our artist of the week, Baba Brinkman, is proof in several ways.
This week’s featured artist Baba Brinkman has a rich discography. Since 2004, he has a total of 23 releases. On top of that, he also produced 10 theatre shows, wrote a book and several articles, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and a Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature, and also studied human evolution and primatology. A productive man indeed!
In 2014 and 2015, our featured artist Baba Brinkman realized his Rap Guide to Religion. It’s one part rap concert, one part comedy and one part TED talk. Most of all, it’s science explained in a very modern and entertaining manner. It has already been the third of Baba’s Rap Guides, his fifth and newest is playing at the Soho Playhouse in New York during all of March and April.
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.
Baba Brinkman uses hip-hop as a vehicle to communicate science facts while illuminating the origins and complexities of hip-hop culture. Back in 2009 he started with Darwin and Evolution. Nine years later, he raps about consciousness Off-Broadway in New York.
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.
When this week’s featured artist Gangstagrass hit the road in March, they will record every gig and capture the dynamic they have on stage so everyone can get a taste.