AKALA: I am reckless what I do to spite the world.. Ticket savings, great seats, and exclusive benefits, Our award-winning performances of Shakespeare, adaptations, and new works, Our early music ensemble Folger Consort and more, Our longstanding O.B. You can find more about the Folger at our website, folger.edu. So, if someone, you know, if youre an artist who wants to write a verse that you can go into a cipher with and be confident that whatever beat that the DJ puts on you can flow with it, the pentameter is a great rhythm to do that. As part of the colonizing efforts of the British in imperial India, the first English literature curricula were constructed, and Shakespeare's plays were central to . BARBARA: So, and for people who havent heard it, you recite a passage, I gather, and you ask the audience, do they think its hip-hop or do they think its Shakespeare. Top stuff Akala! Working together for an inclusive Europe. I will do. AKALA: Yeah, what we try to I show young people, adult or anyone, I think as a songwriter, for me, actually, any songwriter should be engaging with Shakespeares work, if youre interested (a) in lyricism, but (b) in rhythm. AKALA: describes it as jazz. Samantha MICHAEL: Kingslee James Daley is better known as the rapper Akala. I study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nottingham (2nd in the UK for my course according to the Guardian) and not one of my lecturers can deliver like this man! Yes!! So, in a lot of so our last production as a company was of Richard II which was, we did essentially a concept, rock opera, if you like, think, you know. A philosopher for the people. I mean it certainly could be Shakespeare. That piece by NPR has some examples of the pronunciation of the words as we know it from Shakespeare's time.Tell me if it sounds like Appalachian English or not. I feel that Akala was more interactive with the audience and much more informative. Several phrases and terms still used by English speakers today are his creations. Periphery. Learning never stops! You know, Othello is okay. BARBARA: Well, and thats the irony, too. This statement has been disproven many times by academics. Faro particip en la Semana de la Innovacin 24 julio, 2019. For many who were intimidated or just plain bored by Shakespeare at school, its a revelation. I didn't feel like sitting in the canteen on my lunch break, I felt like making better use of my time. The most delightful TED session! Its all over the place. AKALA raps the lines of Shakespeares Sonnet 18 over a 90 BPM beat. Ian McKellen came. The original Shakespeare theatre was built in 1599, it has since become Shakespeare's Globe theatre Although it's not "well known", Akala says the world in the book might feel familiar to some . Like playing being a virtuoso classical pianist or playing violin or being a great actor. Discover Shakespeares stories and the world that shaped them. AKALA: I think theres two points in there. But many of these stories are not original stories. Its literally all over the place. Maybe its food for the spirit. He also says he begins to question what the point of education today is and what we truly get out of it. Shall I compare thee to a summers day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate.Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summers lease hath all too short a date.Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimmed;And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance or natures changing course untrimmed.But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou owst,Nor shall Death brag thou wandrest in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou growst.So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. What might Akala say that we should teach Shakespeare?] Big up Akala. pure knowledge and fire! Aliyah Ive known so many working-class kids who pretend to be less smart than they are.. AKALA: But also I mean the Elizabethan theater itself was not, you know, the Globe was on the south side next to the bear baiting and the prostitution. French Louisiana was one of the only places in the Americas at that time where enslaved Africans had a day off. I think theres something about Shakespeare as a brand, but I think that comes as much from what has been written about him as what he wrote. You know, they watch MTV and they see MTVs version of hip-hop culture, which is ironic given that, you know, Viacom is this massive big corporation. And so its that I want people to take away the fact that cultures there to be enjoyed. Although at 66 I might be unusual, but I love Hip-hop. AKALA: Yeah, we did a production of Richard II which were revamping and will go on tour soon. All rights reserved. AKALA: I think a number of things. Shakespeare and hip hop are two similar things. Shakespeare was a masterly adapter, and his work is largely based on borrowing and interpretation. And when you hear a song, same thing. You wont always be able to pick up the rhyme. AKALA: And spending time with him and hearing him rap, in Brazilian Portuguese, I was like, the rhyme is not the same. What I would hear audibly as a rhyme in English isnt exactly what a rhyme is in Brazilian Portuguese. The question is, why are some people then turned off it and others not? Do they say, oh do they always think it cant possibly be Shakespeare because it sounds so modern? (As in, a school subject unit). Music is imitating the rhythm of life what an intelligent perception, his lectures are intellectually rich. This is a romanticized view of things, because it sounds nice for tourism purposes. One of the interesting things about the iambic pentameter is, because of this very consistent 10-syllable structure, you can do exactly that. I have a problem with that being the only voice that cuts through and being seen as the dominant perception. This guys should be a guest lecturer in a lot off universities man. Shakespeare is a literary heavyweight, and just bringing up his name strikes a chord with readers and writers (you can see eyes growing wide with affection at the very utterance of his name). The fact that he dealt with the flaws of humanity. 6 why might akala say that we should teach shakespeare . It was the first time I realized cause we know this about music, right? So you learn to articulate your feelings and that is really important. We obviously live in a corrupt world.What would the world be like with leaders such as thisI also wonder what Akala thinks pertaining to more spiritual perspectives on life. Everyone here because of their teachers lmaooo, if that is the case your teachers deserve more than you can possibly give if you find yourself in this position give him/her a hug or if that isn't appropriate shake hands or elbow bump a man that deserves to be heard, I loved Akala before my teacher and now when Im listening to it at school my teacher is on about how I like It now. what information does he give him about the following: claud In addtion Shakespeare was a . But I think some of the perceptions are because of the way a lot of commercial modern hip-hop is, that basically it doesnt take much intelligence to be a rapper from people that dont know about hip-hop. It's definitely a new way to teach our children who are not exposed to such comparisons. Even an acclaimed Shakespearean actor like Sir Ian McKellen can't always answer correctly. We need more people like Akala and Lowkey. I would absolutely love to see him and Jordan Peterson have a public discussion. In the meantime, find us online and on the road. AKALA: How difficult that is to do to make sense, to rhyme, to be semi-autobiographical and to put ten syllables in every single line. Even though America has massive problems we dont have, they still have more paths out of the hood than we do. Akala comes across so intelligent and articulate. A terrific introduction to hip hop and sonnets -- I love the final rap of quotes from plays. I'm gonna show this to my BSU's meeting on hip-hop. So hip hop is an 'Enlightened movement'. This is for my theater class _ good luck. AKALA: And it isnt. We can teach parts of some of them and really focus in on specific elements of that section. So if artists wanna learn how to make stuff rhythmic that doesnt rhyme, you think of Hamlet: What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving. But that didnt mean he was always a good boy. Im doing my thing,Youre jealous like Othello.Who you? AKALA: Okay. BARBARA: You have a rap about this, right? But what do you want people to go home with? Bring Shakespeares work to life in the classroom. So, with that in mind, it makes sense that he's taught in school. BARBARA: Well, what I find interesting about peoples misperceptions, I mean this gets back to this relationship between hip-hop and Shakespeare that you talk about, is that Shakespeare really was the original mash-up artist as well. So. Ppl have the RIGHT to like what they likeat least classical actors aren't disrespecting women nor any other living creatures. @Tiffany Summers He is perfectly clear. I love your art, i've learnt more from akala lyrics and youtube vids than i ever did in history or english class, Hip-Hop & Shakespeare? Then he talks about rhythm and the 'iambic pentameter'. It's because of the musicality of the rhymes and the flow, it eases the memorisation, and this is partly why hip-hop is so great. I found it fascinating, enlightening and extremely educational. Thats kind of fascinating. The point is youre supposed to get them wrong, which well discuss in a minute. Akala was brought up to take his education seriously. Why might Akala say that we should teach Shakespeare? Lyrics, Meaning & Videos: That Boy Akala, That Boy, -That Boy Akala-, Dat Boy Akala, That Boy Akala (Pure Exclus 2006), Akala - That Boy Akala, The Edge, Akala - Shakespeare, Akala feat Low Deep - That BOy Akala. Would love to see more of Akala on TedxTalks :). Learn about the building renovation and start planning your visit. AKALA: Right. Salute. BARBARA: I still dont recognize that line from Shakespeare. The Poets Pen Turns Them to Shapes was produced by Richard Paul. Photography by Paul Tait, Gaza scholar, Hadil Louz believes she made the best decision of my life by coming to Oxford Brookes to study International Human Rights Law read her story, [] Akala, hip-hop artist, writer and social entrepreneur read our cover story []. And you can get to meaning after that.". , the inclusion of a bill of rights in the u.s. constitution was the direct result of the. Wow love that! We had help from Joe Philip at Covered PR, from Mariama Abudulai and from Ryan Pate at the Dub Room Studio in Los Angeles. Some hiphop artists may not be educated in a way such as to use the vocabulary of Shakespeare and such. Some people can't even get past the language, sucks for them. Maybe its hatred I spew. AJ says: "Because hip-hop tells stories, Shakespeare is a good subject. You still talk but it still perplexes me. AKALA raps Sonnet 18 again over an uptempo grime beat, closer to 140 BPM. AKALA: A hundred percent. This man has a brilliant mind and a brilliant heart! Nothing but intellect and pure truth in the booth . Shakespeare was a master in creating characters rich in personality and traits. so happy to find akala. Bless the Good Man. I heard every single word. BARBARA: And what about rhyme? But what we look at one of the things thats interesting about the iambic pentameter, anyone whos an MC will know that its very difficult to write a verse that is transferable. 6 why might akala say that we should teach shakespeare . BARBARA: This reminds me of this wonderful presentation that you do which shows the relationship between iambic pentameter and how it fits with hip-hop and the rhythmic relationship between the two. AKALA: Yes, it was, because my step-dad was the stage manager of, you know, to be crude, Londons equivalent to the Apollo. And the point is, the guy wrote performance poetry and great stories that were about sex and violence and love and tragedy. How? But also its not seen as cool to be clever it is in Jamaica, its not here. Got linked here through an article on decolonising shakespeare and one rabbit hole later. damn Akala's good. Thank you for sharing. What was the popular perception of jazz when jazz was the dominant youth culture for black America? I remember Wu-Tang, particularly, was the first group that all the kids that listened to heavy metal, BARBARA: Oh, you went straight to Wu-Tang from, AKALA: Right, no, it really it literally before that, I guess hip-hop in the UK for a long time was came to the kind of British Caribbean community, via our cousins in New York. BARBARA: I want to start by picking up on something you use at the beginning of the presentations that you do, usually, and its the, Is it hip-hop or Shakespeare? bit. BARBARA: So, youre talking about the work that you do with The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company. I mean its listen, I dont like to embarrass people but we did a workshop, one of our launch workshops. And I was like so people would hear a rhyme differently in different languages. AKALA: No, I dont think that has the same ring to it. Show all results: Artists. So, if we take the sonnets, 154 sonnets, all ten syllables each, all end up rhyming. Akala raps the following Shakespeare sonnet. This is a wonderful lecture. In a way, theyre kind of more perfect characters, if you like. So, youre going hip-hop again? When I asked them what they wanted to be when they were older, they said marine biologist, judge, lawyer, soldier not I want to be famous which is the most common aspiration in this country. The integration of thoughts across the two seemingly separate worlds of Shakespeare and Hip Hop. A few years ago, I saw "a comedy of errors" set in a mafia controlled town in Italy. Big up Akala and the intelligent movement! Something like this helps hiphop, at its best, be understood. Showing this to my students. Previous: Creating TNTs Will| Next: Shakespeares Kitchen. Its not there to beat you over the head with. The majority of my teachers were really, really good. I wish she showed us more of him. 6. This was a boy who had already read Lord of the Rings and was tackling The Autobiography of Malcolm X far ahead of anything he was being taught in school. Skespeare wrote in the 1600s. They call blues devils music and they called it the Negros revenge. Thats an actual quote from the Daily Mail. Maybe its food for the spirit. Wait, is that Shakespeare? I get an immediate connection. They need more exposure. BARBARA BOGAEV: Well, part of me just wants you to rap for half an hour. From award-winning theater and music, to poetry and exhibitions, experience the power of the arts with us. AKALA: Because actually the sounds that rhyme to a Brazilian Portuguese accent are not exactly what we perceive musically to be rhymes in English and it was a really interesting thing that I kinda found and heard. No one feels intimidated by Bob Marley, though. Thank you! Finish Akala's sentence: "Rhythm is so intrinsic (or natural) to us because music is imitating _____" A heart beat. He played with rhythm and language so its natural that to enjoy him we should do the same. Maybe its hatred I spew.. 2. In the 1400s, the main kingdom he speaks about in that book is the Empire of Mali. Mansa Musa I, the ruler of that kingdom is, you know, many economists estimate the richest human of all time. Akala ascribes the low educational achievement and aspirations of poorer children not just black children in England to two things: a divisive education system and an anti-intellectual culture. I want this guy as my history/English/RE teacher, he as an absolute breath of fresh air and you have to love his music! We should teach Shakespeare because it could teach our future generation ways into how these texts, visuals, and themes, can connect to our life experiences or tragedies. Hip -hop or Shakespeare? is a challenge that Akala puts to lecture audiences including eminent Shakespeare scholars. I think if you look at hip-hop in particular, in London, the most diverse audience youll ever see at any gig you ever go to, without question, will be a hip-hop show. QUICK TIP: Open the transcript for this video and skim through it to help you find answers faster. xx The main thing that they share is rhythm. Well done. Youll recognize this as Sonnet 18. Same honestly. Posted July 25, 2017. In awe at the knowledge of this lad. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. I do think theyre partly just his brilliance but I think theyre also related to, you know, wider issues of politics and culture and all of that sort of stuff. I will use this to start teaching the other kids I've taken under my wing about the importance of being the "custodian of knowledge" for themselves. This man is pure geniusshould be on telly. Folger Shakespeare Library. What a miracle. Id like to read it. For the Folger Shakespeare Library, Im Folger Director Michael Witmore. Answer by Guest. You are blessed with knowledge and you speak wise words. Theres only five percent that are old words. Since 2009, under the auspices of his Hip-hop Shakespeare Company, Akala has been going to community centers, prisons, and schools in immigrant and underserved communities, using the tools of hip-hop to spread an understanding of the relevance of Shakespeares poetry. This culture needs more like him My level of appreciation for Shakespearean plays went up a few notches after listening to the play on a rap beat. Everyone is born with a love of learning. Bell Work 4/23. Harry of Hereford, Lancaster, and DerbyAm I, who ready here do stand in arms. Since hearing Shakespeare I've checked him out and feel I've missed alot of his knowledge for alot of my life. That English accent doesnt exist in England anymore. Songs. You know, it can appeal to you. Today, everyones like Charlie Parker, of course hes a genius. And even he got a couple wrong. So we give people all different sorts of verses to show how versatile Shakespeare was and how much he experimented across his career. So, the type of societies that West Africans came from to the Americas has often been oversimplified. K. Chesterton~. I dont no, definitely not. So even if they dont make it as a basketball player or footballer or whatever, they come out of it with a degree.. Some of my uncles were gangsters. He also does this again with another backing. Alaka says He doesn't rap about women, money and weed whatsoever like most of the rappers rap about today, he talks about racial difference, discrimination and humanity. Find teaching resources and opportunities. No matter what you say it will never work. very old; of a long time ago. the outer limits or edge of an area or object. Prove it. High schools. AKALA: And then you listen to Rappers Delight, its the same flow. This is great. I'm a teacher, and my students and I love this performance. The fact that my questions are exactly the same word for word Click CTRL+F and you can search for key words within the transcript! One of the things I learned, going all around the world and working with hip-hop artists in Brazil and Algeria and all sorts of different placesin fact, one of my good, good friends is a legendary Brazilian rapper called MC Marechal, [CLIP: MC MARECHAL raps in Brazilian Portuguese]. Surrender yourself to the floor. Great discussion, as usual.. Shakespeare Unlimited comes to you from the Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the worlds largest Shakespeare collection. Miles Davis, of course hes a genius. Its similar with hip-hop. . With iambic pentameter examples from Shakespeare, Akala Gets Real On Capitalism And Economic Exploitation, Shakespeare's Ghosts and Spirits - Professor Sir Jonathan Bate FBA CBE, Akala at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Akala highlights The Racial Bias And Stigma With Mental Health (Recap), Akala: Football, Music & Politics | Music HISTORY, The Shakespeare strategy | Brad Berens | TEDxBergen, Reaction to Akala - The Journey ft. Mic Righteous. @Tiffany Summers I think it is only you and the person who liked your comment that have the problem. I remember hearing the odd song from him when I was younger. They don't give up much. If you can get him then anything is possible. And through Hip-hop Shakespeares creative workshops and interactive lectures he is directly helping some of them giving them confidence in their own ability. He is more Shakespeare than Shakespeare himself. AKALA: So what we do with that is we take five different verses and we play a beat, any kind of beat and we theres so not all of them are iambic. Maybe If I had his positive influence I would have made better and wiser choices whilst at school. It has to be rhythm first. So, even that in England people think, Shakespeare was posh, which, again, is a, you know, a statement of class and a statement of that way I was just talking. BARBARA: It has a very different completely different atmosphere. And the word is *enunciation*. In the UK, Shakespeare has become a symbol, in many ways, of the British class system, and theres a perception that you have to be like basically as smart as Albert Einstein to enjoy Shakespeare. And one element of hip-hop was always knowledge. Following on from his bestselling nonfiction, Natives: Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire, the BAFTA and MOBO award-winning artist, writer, and social entrepreneur has made his first foray into . He has inspired thousands of UK Emcees to rap consciously, the future of UK Hip Hop is bright. He has been co-opted as being just for people who speak in a particular way but there was no RP (a form of English pronunciation associated with higher social classes) in Shakespeares times! He wasnt, you know, top of the top. AKALA: Yeah, I mean he is an icon. 6 why might akala say that we should teach shakespeare. I am one that I sometimes am critical of mainstream hip-hop and the violence and the misogyny and whatever else. I've heard his fire in the booths but never checked him out even though they were and still are the best ones. And obviously I deliberately picked rappers that were eloquent, rappers that were good, rappers that use I mean, weve got a line in there where the RZA says, the most benevolent king communicates for your dreams. You know, weve got another line fromthe Wu-Tang in particular were one of my favorite groups growing upwhere they say, judgment day cometh, conquer, its war. People hear the word cometh and obviously, naturally would assume its Shakespeare. But the fact is, similarly with Shakespeares sonnets, to take a coherent narrative, to rhyme it over the beat, to actually have flow and persona, like any art form is very, very difficult. You know, if youre 12 how would you understand the fact its even called the Mystery of Iniquity or RZA, 12 Jewelz, hes gotta rap about physics, right? So, I think, like I said, theres a lot of proeven Received Pronunciation. For me, its that sense of cultural property, of not being told, You are X. Use this to follow along: Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? @SelinaP95 I could not agree more. Okay, cool. The English language has not changed as much as people would like to believe. AKALA: Yeah, he was sampling other peoples stories. -Rhythm 2.) And if you think of the millions of people all around the world, that rap, only a handful of them are actually genuinely incredible. Believing and teaching our students that all his works are fundamentally "good" is a disservice to our kids. , Akala is too much! BARBARA: It was such a pleasure to talk to you. AKALA: He was like, I like this stuff. After this he talks about the medieval empires of Western African and how they had people who were the custodians of the history and cultural and spiritual traditions and were often musicians. TEDx + Akala = Best entertainment! Garland Scott is the associate producer. How he remembers all these lyrics off the fly, i'll never know. O'Brien said that Shakespeare has been adapted to different times in history since nearly the moment he wrote the plays, and calls the trend to bring hip-hop and Shakespeare together a great one. What does hip-hop mean? BARBARA: Well, what when you do that exercise, then, what misperceptions do you find that people have? please tell me how assigning this as english work is gonna help us in the real world lol, this shows how hip hop can relate to shakspere and how similar it is, @Akala you are so underrated! In what ways do you think that Hip-Hop and Shakespeare can be similar?, Ella Wesley wish I had your teacher I have to connect with the deeper meaning of his conclusion on there ideas, Ella Wesley same like i dont even know what hes saying. This was an excellent use of my time! Using hip-hop to explore Shakespeare is not as unlikely as it might sound. Reading the Excerpt. This man makes me think about artistic styles of the ages. Hardison Poetry Reading Series and workshops, Our virtual book club inspired by Shakespeare and our collection, Read and learn more about Shakespeare's plays and poems, The First Folio (the book that gave us Shakespeare) and what came after, From playhouse to film sets, explore four centuries of staging Shakespeare, Find out about Shakespeare's life in Stratford and London, See manuscripts, paintings, costumes and more from the Folger collection, Resources and activities for young children and their parents, An accessible and immersive way to teach students about any kind of literature, Get full access to the latest resources and ongoing professional development, From live webinars to on-demand content for educators, join us, Access lesson plans and activities for the classroom, organized by play, Read and search the complete works of Shakespeare for free, All kinds of programs for all kinds of students, From printed works of Shakespeare to rare materials from the early modern period, Researcher registration and reference services, Find out about our scholarly programs and fellowship opportunities, Use our online catalog to search the Folger collection, Access our digital image collection, finding aids, and more, Get answers to your questions about Shakespeare, our collection, and more, Unlock more of the Folger with a membership, More options for how to make your donation, Our campaign supporting the building renovation project, Help keep the Folger going and growing for the next generation, A celebratory evening to benefit the Folger.
© Naturheilpraxis Bünner 2023