Theater: Soho Playhouse / 15 Vandam St., New York, New York, 10013
Synopsis:
The Rap Guide to Evolution seems to speak for itself: Canadian Baba Brinkman creates an entire hip hop show about evolution, combining the wit, poetry and charisma of a great rapper with the accuracy and rigor of a scientific expert. But The Rap Guide not only uses hip-hop as a vehicle to communicate the facts of evolution; Brinkman also accomplishes the (more surprising) feat of illuminating the origins and complexities of hip-hop culture with Darwin as his inspiration.
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June 27, 2011: If Terrence Malick’s majestic depiction of Darwinian natural selection in “The Tree of Life” was a little too solemn and symphonic for your taste, you might consider the more loquacious hip-hop alternative of “The Rap Guide to Evolution,” at the SoHo Playhouse.
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June 26, 2011: Unlike Darwin, who is as famous for his bravery as for his science, performer Baba Brinkman wants very much to be liked. In "The Rap Guide to Evolution," written by and starring Brinkman, he largely succeeds, bringing charm and a voracious curiosity to a playful lecture on Darwin, culture, sex, and rap. He sets his solo sermon to rhythm and rhyme, alternating among monologues, spoken-word poetry, and rap, and supported by the serenely cool presence of DJ Jamie Simmonds. What he fails to do is to risk a coherent arc, intellectual or artistic, for his audience to take home.
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June 27, 2011: Anyone who's napped through high school biology will appreciate the remedial education Baba Brinkman offers in "The Rap Guide to Evolution," an audacious one-man show on Darwin's theories.
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June 27, 2011: A white guy from Canada delivers a hip-hop lecture on the theories of Charles Darwin in The Rap Guide to Evolution, now at Soho Playhouse. Writer/performer Baba Brinkman frequently surprises with this well-crafted performance that is part comedy routine, part music concert, and part science lesson.
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June 22, 2011: Who would have ever thought there was a correlation between Darwinism and hip hop? Apparently Baba Brinkman did, having created an entire show to prove it. Coined a Canadian "lit-hop" rapper, Brinkman is a former tree planter with a degree in Medieval Literature. In an interview with The Gothamist, Brinkman says he was born into a Canadian family of tree planters who also happened to be very loquacious. He started listening to rap at a young age and decided it was the best medium for making an impact on the world.
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