Since 2004 Baba has toured his award-winning hip-hop theatre show, "The Rap Canterbury Tales", to dozens of cities around the world, including two tours of Australia, three critically-acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, several college campus tours of the USA, including Harvard, and frequent returns to the UK and Europe. His rap adaptations are now used in hundreds of classrooms around the world.
In 2007, Baba founded the indie record label Lit Fuse Records, and released the debut album "Butterfly Man" from up-and-coming Vancouver singer/songwriter Aaron Nazrul. The lead single "When the Night" was recently featured on network television on 90210, and the video enjoyed Top Ten rotation on Much Music.
In 2008, Baba joined forces with UK BBC Slam Champion MC Dizraeli to form the hip-hop group Mud Sun, and they co-wrote and released two albums, including "The Rebel Cell", a hip-hop play that was one of the biggest critical successes of the Edinburgh Fringe, winning the "Spirit of the Fringe Award".
Baba's latest project, "The Rap Guide to Evolution" won the prestigious Scotsman Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009, and went on to tour the UK and USA, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.
Baba is currently working with Brighton-based DJ/producer Mr. Simmonds on two new shows (and CDs) for the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe, a sequel to the Evolution show entitled "The Rap Guide to Human Nature" about the science of human behaviour, and a new rap storytelling show, "Rapconteur", which will feature adaptations of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and the Finnish Kalevala.
When he is not touring, Baba Brinkman resides in Vancouver.
-Bio from his website, http://www.babasword.com
Artificial Selection
Baba Brinkman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How did people ever get cows, chickens and pigs
And other animals and plants to act so domestic?
We took them from the wild and we bred them, brethren
Welcome to the Charles Darwin Bicentennial
So, why does everybody think this guy is so special?
Maybe because a man was born two centuries ago
To recognize the underlying pattern behind the pageant
Affectionately known as "life on this planet"
He was the first to understand it
The first to translate his amazement
At the wonder of life, into a way to explain it
So this is a celebration of Darwin's greatness
In the form of a rap – some would say "a debasement"
I would say "be patient", just think of this as
A manifestation of the evolutionary equation
A recapitulation of life, a re-enactment
So, how do you go from amoebas to rappers?
You open The Origin of Species, and you read its chapters
The first chapter is about the impact of people's actions
On farm animals, pets, and domestic crops
Where did they come from? From original stocks
Of wild animals and plants, which were selected and crossed
For the best properties, and thus became the effect of their cause
But of course, not every selection was conscious
Still, even if breeders in ancient Egypt couldn't see this
And had no idea how to rework the features
Of a species of sheep or increase the sweetness
Of their peaches every season, when they chose to seed it
Or to feed it or to breed it or to weed it out and delete it
'Cause they didn't see it as needed, whether the preferences in question
Were for bigger chicken breasts or whippets with a thinner mid-section
Or if it was just an inner predilection to pick the best in
Any mixed collection, that's artificial selection
Artificial selection, it starts with a question
How did people ever get cows, chickens and pigs
And other animals and plants to act so domestic?
We took them from the wild and we bred them, brethren
But there's nothing artificial about domestication
Ant colonies keep domestic aphids
It's just an arrangement where one hand washes the other
We protect the cow, and the cow offers the udder
And even if there's never a conscious discussion
If our little selections and little preferences
Can change and enhance the critical differences
Between wild and domestic breeds over the centuries
Then maybe that can explain… everything
In nature it isn't us that makes the selections
It's just survival and reproduction in the midst of competition
Where slight differences that arise randomly
Get selected by the pressures applied environmentally
And eventually species divide like a family tree
Into everything alive, from a fly to a manatee
So how does this apply to the craft of the MC?
Well, variation can be found in the styles on display
Rappers all have different techniques when they're on stage
And the results can be seen in the audience's face
Like, for instance, at this moment, you all look amazed
Like guppies removed abruptly from their aquatic space
Your minds are probably racing over questions of style and race
And genre and time and place, and some of your eyes are glazed
Like "For God's sake, how long will this take?!?"
But if you all feel that way, then soon I'll be replaced
By someone more entertaining, like maybe Lil Wayne
This is the rap version of the doctrine of Malthus
It's the proportion of hungry mouths
To food resources in the form of captive audiences
Where crowds of two or more will always
Be at least half as common as performers
Can you see the mathematical problem?
But survival on stage is a non-random process
'Cause those who get massive responses tend to influence
Those who aspire to get massive responses
So if you say I sound like, for instance, Eminem, then I'll say
"That's preposterous!" But if you catch me grabbing my crotch
And acting obnoxious, then I might have to acknowledge
That this is a form of imitation modified by experience
Which is similar to the genetic basis of inheritance
Except it's part Darwinism and part Lamarkism
With genes and culture co-evolving as we rock to the rhythm
But whether you think cultures really evolve
Or if it's just a silly metaphor that's pretty but false
Or whether you've never even thought about that
I still think Darwin can teach us a lot about rap
And vice verse; 'cause it's all about that
Competition for status with intricate language
Delivered in battles, and it's all about getting that
Fitness advantage and the different adaptive behaviour patterns
That have us acting crazier than capercaillie mating dances
But hey, that's natural selection; so just sit back and listen
And witness the evolution of the rap profession
Artificial selection, it starts with a question
How did people ever get cows, chickens and pigs
And other animals and plants to act so domestic?
We took them from the wild and we bred them, brethren
In the "Artificial Selection" song by Baba Brinkman, the lyrics revolve around the story of Charles Darwin and evolution theory. The song begins with Baba Brinkman asking how people managed to domesticate animals and plants. He then celebrates the birth of Charles Darwin and his contribution to the scientific world. Baba Brinkman highlights how Darwin recognized the underlying pattern behind life on the planet earth, and he was the first to explain the concept of life through his works. Baba Brinkman also states that the song is a re-enactment of the evolutionary equation as it tells the story of life on earth.
Baba Brinkman highlights that artificial selection starts with a simple question about how people domesticated animals and plants. They took them from the wild and selectively bred to get the best properties. Baba Brinkman then connects the process of domestication to nature, where it is not humans that make conscious selections but rather survival and reproductions. The song also draws links between the craft of the MC and the doctrine of Malthus. Baba Brinkman talks about how the competition for status with intricate language delivered in battles can result in different adaptive behavior patterns.
Overall, "Artificial Selection" is a celebration of Charles Darwin's work and the concept of evolution theory. It connects the process of domestication to nature and draws a parallel between the craft of the MC and natural selection.
Line by Line Meaning
Artificial selection, it starts with a question
The process of artificially selecting animals or plants begins with curiosity and questioning as to how these domesticated species came to be.
How did people ever get cows, chickens and pigs
People bred wild animals and plants to produce domesticated species such as cows, pigs, and chickens.
And other animals and plants to act so domestic?
Humans have selectively bred animals and plants to exhibit domesticated behavior by breeding the best properties of each species.
We took them from the wild and we bred them, brethren
Domesticated plants and animals originated from their wild counterparts that were selectively bred by humans to produce desirable traits.
There's nothing artificial about domestication
Domestication is a natural process where certain species adapt to live with humans by offering beneficial traits in exchange for protection.
Ant colonies keep domestic aphids
Even ants can have domesticated relationships with other species, such as aphids.
It's just an arrangement where one hand washes the other
In domestication, both humans and animals benefit from the mutually beneficial arrangement where one species offers a desirable trait in exchange for protection or resources.
But of course, not every selection was conscious
While some domesticate consciously through selective breeding, many traits are naturally selected and passed down to future generations without human intervention.
So, how do you go from amoebas to rappers?
The history of evolution, from single-celled organisms to complex animals and humans, reveals a lot about the development of different cultures and professions like rap music.
Rappers all have different techniques when they're on stage
Just as different species have unique adaptive traits, rappers have different styles and techniques when performing on stage.
And the results can be seen in the audience's face
Audiences react differently to different styles of rap music, and their responses can be observed through their facial expressions.
But if you catch me grabbing my crotch
Certain actions or behaviors, like grabbing one's crotch, may be imitated by other rappers as a form of adaptation to the culture and environment of rap music.
But whether you think cultures really evolve
The debate over whether cultures undergo evolution or not is still ongoing, but Darwin's theories can still provide insight into the development of cultures and professions like rap music.
I still think Darwin can teach us a lot about rap
Darwin's theories of evolution can be applied to the development of different professions and cultures, including the evolution of rap music.
Contributed by Dominic G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
PumpkinEskobarr
This is rap music I can tolerate. The lyrics make perfect sense.
Thea Shell
What about Wallace?
Derek The Rubbish
Love this track! By the way.. you're way more entertaining than Lil Wayne.
PumpkinEskobarr
This is rap music i can tolerate. The lyrics make perfect sense.
Loretta Cheeks, Ph.D.
Baba, I love your rap and will be sharing with my summer camp students!
Master Therion
This is dope!!! Great job Baba.
Alan Burnham
GO BaBa! Love it wildman!
Kurt Cooper
First time Malthus mentioned in rap, I'll bet!
MrCherrycoke64
At my school every school dance plays only rap music. I can't wait to recommend this song to the DJ right after he finishes playing a banger.
Mario Cesar
Congrats mate from Brazil, like it a lot, I'll try to spread it within my friends, cuz it's not fair such a little visualizations for a really awesome video and song