Akala demonstrates and explores the connections between Shakespeare and Hip-Hop, and the wider cultural debate around language and it's power.
MOBO award-winning hip hop artist 'Akala' is a label owner and social entrepreneur who fuses rap/rock/electro-punk with fierce lyrical storytelling (think Wu-Tang Clan and Aphex Twin meets Rage Against The Machine). With Akala's latest record, convention-defying album DoubleThink, Akala has proven himself as one of the most dynamic and literate talents in the UK. Inspired by the likes of Saul Williams and Gil Scott Heron, Akala has also developed a reputation for stellar live performances with his drummer Cassell 'TheBeatmaker' headlining 5 UK tours and touring with everyone from Jay-Z, Nas & Damian Marley, M.I.A. and Christina Aguilera to Siouxsie Sue and Richard Ashcroft, appearing at numerous UK / European and US festivals (Glastonbury, Big Chill, Wireless, V, Hove and SXSW) also partnering with the British Council promoting British arts across Africa, Vietnam (the first rapper to perform a live concert in Vietnam), New Zealand and Australia. In 2009, Akala launched the 'The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company', a hotly-tipped music theatre production enterprise which has sparked worldwide media interest since its inception. Previous collaborators include: British actor; Sir Ian McKellen, actor/musician; Colin Salmon and Royal Shakespeare Company Voice Director; Cicely Berry. 2011 sees the launch Akala's latest endeavour 'Illa State Productions' to garner his budding scriptwriting talent alongside TV presenting and as a music composer for various TV and Film projects.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Who’s watching this because your teacher assigned it to you????????? 🤔
@Eric Suesue facts
Why else?
I'm showing this to my students in Ohio. Not a teacher yet but you have a teacher below 40 probably. I'm 29 and working on my PhD.
me Mrs. Bonnar
Gosh your teacher must be profusely patting themselves on the back for how hip they are
Quarantine homework be like:
Guillermo M. Fr 😭
fax
FACTS
fr tho
ikr
Who else here from an English class
Mr. smith sent me...
Ms. Klien sent me
I wish my english teacher assigned such things like this :(
na I m here for drama
MRS MASON SENT ME
Everyone here because of their teachers lmaooo
Some of us are here because we love Shakespeare. I know school makes it boring but theres a reason its only outsold by the Bible and is translated into over 40 languages. Its universal. He was a master of finding the nuggets of truth that all people and cultures can relate to. He didnt think they would be remembered like they are either. It was 7 years after he died that the first collection of his plays were published by his friends. He only published his poems himself.
Ashley Faulkner there are also reasons I find it boring and don’t even want to do it for English classes. Idrc for plays but good for Shakespeare ig
Your mom, lmao that’s every gen z teen ever
Your mom should have listened
Faxxxx
I'm laughing because everyone here is teenagers trying to do their English homework edited: LMFAO I DIDNT THINK THIS MANY PEOPLE WOULD SEE THIS AHAHA guys i got a 100% on this assignment so can you haha
Sophia Hamilton fr and my teacher assigned questions to go w this video but i have no idea what they mean 😭
your last name is the same as my english teacher
lmaoooooo so true
i have to write a 1-2 page response about this like how has shakespeare influenced music and stuff😭
@@lucasbaluyut5746 Same
okay all boring "whos here because of their English teacher" comments aside, he was actually spittin'
minecraft andy
So, basically, this dude does a quick quiz and takes some phrases from both shakespeare and hip hop and shows how they are similar. Then he talks about rhythm and the 'iambic pentameter'. After this he does Sonnet 18 (that one that goes 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day) from shakespeare with a music background and he shows how it sounds like hip hop. He also does this again with another backing. Then he says how iambic pentameter is so similar to a heartbeat and how it is 'intrinsic to life' and how it helps people get across feeling and what u want with that rhythm. Many people want to find a reason for his 'intelligence' because he didnt go to Oxbridge and people wanted to explain that. He then goes on to explain how many people who often criticize hip-hop dont actually understand it. He explains how there are 5 components of hip hop. He says hip comes from the word hippy from a Senegalese language and it means 'open one's eyes and see' and the hop is representative of movement. So hip hop is an 'Enlightened movement'. Hip hop has 5 elements MCing, DJing Breakdancing, Graffiti art and knowledge. 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. He then goes on to show how these oral traditions influenced a lot of music styles from jazz, funk, blues to hip hop. This covers roughly first 10 minutes of this, so I help this can help somebody out there with homework.
Sadly I cant continue cuz my homework is due real soon and ima be late for dat.
Stay safe out therd
THANK YOU FOR THIS
I don't like hip hop so that means I don't understand it? Strange opinion.. (Not talking about you by the way)
Nice just helped me with my assignment We stan ❤️
Everyone here for homework but no one is giving answers this ain't right
Hip-Hop and Shakespeare can be similar in the way of flows and bars. They both have the same cut tempo. When put beside each other there are a lot of lyrical similarities and there can be some evidence that Hip-Hop evolved from Shakespeare’s work. :d
You’re a lifesaver 😌
@Kadence Mazzanti why
@Kadence Mazzanti So textbooks with info in them should be abolished?
AGREED xD
“whOS WAtChIng tHIs BeCaUSe oF SchOOl” yeah ok but who got the answers
right 😭
for real
✋🏻 Shapesphere abd Hiphop shares: Rythem, 5 sets, 2 beats. Rythem or music imitates the "heartbeat of life". With Hip Hop, "the way you are saying it" is just as important as what you are saying. A misconception of Shakespeare is that he spoke posh and was for the rich. He wasn't. Most of his audience was unabl to even read or write. Hip Hop means "Intelligent Movement". The 5 elements of Hip Hop are: DJ, MC, break dance, graffiti art, and knowledge. The appeal of the Wu Tang Clan was that it united people that listened to all different kinds of music. The "custodian of knowledge" means enlightened, having ideas and doing activities that unite people. Knowing, basically. The connection between Shakespeare and Hip Hop, according to Akala, is uniting the ideas of people. Combining art forms. The background knowledge as far as Shakespeare is concerned is.. Well, that one is up to whoever is filling in the worksheet!
@@_Steampunk bruh where were you two months ago i finished that class already 😭
@@taywittakay 😂 sorry! I just got this class jaja Maybe you'll see me in whatever next video assignment you have to do- I have been filling all my worksheets out in the comments bc screw the system-
This man was put on Earth to teach.
Herbie Hancock Bobby Fisher I don't mean to be rude and I'm sorry if this does come off as rude, but what are you talking about??? After your first three sentences your words just look like a jumbled mess.
you seem woefully unaware of his body of work.
Without Shakespeare, rappers today would not have the extensive vocabulary they use. Shakespeare created more than 3,000 words that are part of our vocabulary today.
kinder eggs
lol
0:22 Hip Hop VS Shakespeare quiz 4:28 Main thing shared between hip hop and Shakespeare 5:10 Demonstration of beat and lyrics 7:37 Finish his sentence of Rhythm 8:57 Perception V reality 9:44 % of how much of his audience could read and write 10:46 HipHop meaning 15:36 Great art finish the sentence 16:54 hiphop and Shakespeare combined is meant to show.. for all my English babes
Thank u BROO IM GONNA PASS MY TEST
thanks
i love you
I’m bawling my eyes out with joy and gratefulness THANK YOU SO MUCH KIND PERSON
YOURE AN ANGEL I LOVE YOU SM
Who else in 2020 watching this during the corona virus??
Yumiゆみ online school🤢
HEYYYYY🙋🏽♀️
Me too for homework
Oh my god meeeee
Yeah me, also what kind of homework they assigned to you people?
This was my homework
Same
+Junaid Ahmad I had to memorize this poem. Missed 1 word
Same 2
The Shatzer yeah same,we're reading Merchant of Venice
Wow same.
Man, this audience. They don't give up much. I can't believe they didn't clap after he did 12 Jewels. If he had been some classical actor and did a sonnet, they would have been on their feet.
they didn't clap because he started speaking straight afterwards and didn't give them time
Xelanderthomas p
He didn't speak for 5 seconds. It take 1-2 to respond.
Xelanderthomas he didn't talk about robots taking over the world so it's blank faces.
CAUSE THEY WAS SHOOK!! LOL
no one: the comments: this is my English homework
@Fariha Mustafa it was lmaooo
Bruh this video went from 3k to 1m views because of English Teachers
How he remembers all these lyrics off the fly, i'll never know. Akala comes across so intelligent and articulate. A very interesting talk.
+Daniel Cohen This proves that Shakespeare could have only been Black - White folks can't roll like Black folks
***** The lies just keep on coming - for you and any White person can not rhyme or write as a Black person: you've been told that you being White have done everything throughout Human history.
+Zack Heru Don't cry m8
Will Ford Until we as Black people know our History, the White Man will continue take credit for what we have done - "Read" my People!
"White person can not rhyme or write as a Black person" Akala is half white. Aesop Rock is white. Eminem is white. Insulting other people is not necessary to compliment yourself. Hatred only breeds more hatred, racism only breeds racism. You don't need to spout hateful words about white people to say proud things about black people. And you certainly don't understand a word Akala says if you're saying what you're saying.
Looking through the comments for homework answers be like 👀
This guys should be a guest lecturer in a lot off universities man
Yes, sadly standards at top universities have been slipping for a long time.
Boargut Facebeater oh okay.
he is
He spoke at Oxford, it’s on KZhead ✨😁
@@kierank2505 his speech was mind blowing
"She has a big booty so I call her big booty" Hip hop or Shakespear?
that's a hard one... I'm gonna have to go with Shakespeare
Shakespeare. Actually a line from Romeo and Juliet.
That's not hip hop thats just plain ole' rap!!
Lmao
Romeo said it to Juliet
Shakespeare is such an old school rapper
He is an og of the grime scene
maybe u should call it ancient school
Medieval school
Akala lending TEDx undeserved credibility.
Captain L-Ron Cancer man!
I-I’m here bingeing Akala videos and everyone else is here bc of homework lmao
Same honestly. Got linked here through an article on decolonising shakespeare and one rabbit hole later.... damn Akala's good.
cheekbones
🔥
Eyeball
Hello Fellow Classmates who have been assigned this.
I'm relieved I'm not the only one here completing English homework 30 minutes before it's due at 11 at night
that was fucking fire
Shakespeare had them bars tho he is one of the G.O.A.T. MCs!
LMAO
Heck yess
what ye mean thou saucy fellow/?
Timestamps 3:46 he stops that Shakespeare or hip hop thing 4:25 main thing shared between Shakespearean and hip hop 5:20 raps shall I compare these to a summer day 10:42 what hip hop means 10:57 the 5 elements of hip hop 11:28 founding fathers see themselves as... This is for my theater class ಥ_ಥ good luck
BRO UR LITERALLY THE BESTTTTT
thanks bruh
goat
Actually goated thank you my dude
goat fr
✋🏻 Have some answers, fellow students! ✋🏻 Shapesphere abd Hiphop shares: Rythem, 5 sets, 2 beats. Rythem or music imitates the "heartbeat of life". With Hip Hop, "the way you are saying it" is just as important as what you are saying. A misconception of Shakespeare is that he spoke posh and was for the rich. He wasn't. Most of his audience was unabl to even read or write. Hip Hop means "Intelligent Movement". The 5 elements of Hip Hop are: DJ, MC, break dance, graffiti art, and knowledge. The appeal of the Wu Tang Clan was that it united people that listened to all different kinds of music. The "custodian of knowledge" means enlightened, having ideas and doing activities that unite people. Knowing, basically. The connection between Shakespeare and Hip Hop, according to Akala, is uniting the ideas of people. Combining art forms. The background knowledge as far as Shakespeare is concerned is.. Well, that one is up to whoever is filling in the worksheet!
HipHop ain't dead Akala's got it at Ted and has risen Shakespeare from the dead.
thank you
hip hop will never die.
You have just written some Shakespearean hip hop!!!😅
Marc Favell imagine
Bro couldn't you say this in like 10 minutes so this homework would not take as long
DEADDDDDDDDDDD LOL
LOL Riiiiiight
lmao
Ikr lol
Listen and really take in what he is trying to say. There’s a reason why your teacher has assigned this to you other wise don’t bother doing it.
I'm new to Akala. But he's been the biggest inspiration of me for 2016. His intellect and use of word is breathtaking. Wow. What education should look like
You should check out milo
He's like a present-day Alan Watts. A philosopher for the people.
I remember hearing the odd song from him when I was younger. But I heard Shakespeare at the beginning of 2017 and I've been absolutely blown away by it. I then went on to show my mates and they all knew it and I was gutted. One of them knew it word for word! I've heard his fire in the booths but never checked him out even though they were and still are the best ones. Since hearing Shakespeare I've checked him out and feel I've missed alot of his knowledge for alot of my life. Easily one of my favourite artists now. He is incredibly clever, even picking the name akala, a Buddhist word meaning "immovable" and in "dat boy akala" there is a line that says "my name means you can't move me" I like little things like that!
Wow, you're basing what education should be based on a guy who talks about philosofy and music, two of the most useless subjects.
YOU'RE BREATHTAKING
So I will think twice before ragging on hip hop after watching this...thanks Akala. Brilliant
Online classes be like 😂
“In what ways do you think that Hip-Hop and Shakespeare can be similar?”
@Ella Wesley same like i dont even know what hes saying
@Ella Wesley wish I had your teacher I have to connect with the deeper meaning of his conclusion on there ideas
Akala is one serious dude, man knows his stuff and reps "urban music" hard
This man has a brilliant mind and a brilliant heart! He really does embody knowledge, he's covering whole anthropology from history and modern day culture casually like he's explaining instructions on the back of a microwave meal, I mean wow.
My level of appreciation for Shakespearean plays went up a few notches after listening to the play on a rap beat. Top stuff Akala!
It went 0-100 real quick
QUICK TIP: Open the transcript for this video and skim through it to help you find answers faster. 1.) What is the main thing shared between Shakespearean language and hip-hop? -Rhythm 2.) What is the rhythm of IAMBIC PENTAMETER? -Five sets, two beats; dee-dum, dee-dum, dee-dum, dee-dum, dee-dum 3.) What does hip-hop mean? -Intelligent movement 4.) What are the 5 elements of hip-hop? -DJing -MCing -Break dancing -Graffiti art -Knowledge 5.) How did the founding Hip-hop artist see themselves as? -Custodians of Knowledge 6.)Why might Akala say that we should teach Shakespeare? -“Because of the intrinsic value in inspiring people towards their own creative excellence.” Shakespeare’s writing influences a lot of modern-day trends we see in today’s society such as music. **Just helping out :) Please correct me if any of these are incorrect!!
Bruh thanks so much
THANKSSS
Click CTRL+F and you can search for key words within the transcript!
Bless
The fact that my questions are exactly the same word for word...
I’ve got one. Hip hop or Shakespeare: “Lil pump oooh lil pump yah”
Matt K Shakespeare
It's obviously Shakespeare
R madhava
lil pump is not a hip hop artists. next.
I believe this quote is found in Midsummer Night's Dream
lmao am I the only one who voluntarily watched this during quarantine or what
42 year old woman here at 11pm on a Saturday night trying to write a play with some decent rhythm ;)
Nope! I too am voluntarily here getting my life lol. I love this man.
@@MrsCrazyrange good luck in that miss
No here for a love of Shakespeare among other things.
Man, I am here just for fun. I'm not even studying anything related to literature, poetry, music, or popular culture. I'm in freaking health sciences and I'm watching this because Shakespeare rocks, rhythm in words is one of the greatest things humanity can play with, and this lecturer is awesome at getting this point across to the audience. I feel bad for the kids who are watching this out of obligation and can't wait for it to be over.
This Is beyond amazing.
A little tip. Put the speed in 1.75 speed so your done in under 10 minutes. Also put captions on so u can just read along
The definition of hip hop he gave was fascinating. I always believed that knowledge was not something that was stationary or stagnant, but something that was verb more than subject. The enlightenment of knowledge is a moving force. It is not an "ah ha" moment but a "Ta dah" movement because it resonates.
‘Music is imitating the rhythm of life’ what an intelligent perception, his lectures are intellectually rich.
Indeed.
I was just recommended this by my teacher and then I found out this was assigned by everyone else's teacher
Akala really deserves to be more popular. 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. I really do enjoy his intelligence expressed in his passion in hip hop.
This is amazing and very eye opening. I never expected this. My class and I are speaking of Shakespeare and I will definitely recommend this to my students.
Be glad your teacher told you to watch this--it's good stuff. And it's not just about anwers on homework; it makes you think! (Yes, I'm a teacher--a professor--and I'm making my students watch this, too)...
This is a wonderful lecture. I would take this fellows class or lectures whether I was a music lover/musician, writer or actor. What he has to say is relevant to many act forms. Thank you for sharing.
Hip hop should be taught more in universities and people like him should be honorary professors.
This was flawless ... very informative yet entertaining. I have used this as a concept for a university class presentation. We need more people like Akala and Lowkey. They need more exposure. Salute
I came here for homework but it’s really interesting
I am so glad that my 15yr old daughter showed me this video. I found it fascinating, enlightening and extremely educational. It's definitely a new way to teach our children who are not exposed to such comparisons. The integration of thoughts across the two seemingly separate worlds of Shakespeare and Hip Hop. Thank you!!!! 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.
nobody cares
it’s currently 3 am i have to make a couple comments on this video as homework. quarantine sucks. if you’re reading this i hope you have a good day.
Shout out to everyone doing their homework!
Ty 😌
so happy to find akala. so inspiring and intellectual, and passionate about what he does, wanting to create a positive impact through music but also just a great guy trying to make a change!
listen at 1.5 speed absolute life saver for school
omg tysm llol
Skespeare wrote in the 1600’s. That English accent doesn’t exist in England anymore. There was a study that found the most preserved form of the Elizabethan English accent was in the most isolated areas of Appalachia due to being cut off from the evolution of society for so long. That’s right folks. These great plays were originally performed with, and spoken by Shakespeare himself, in the most backward, hillbilly, West Virginny accent you can imagine. Holler.
This statement has been disproven many times by academics
What are you talking about?? Prove it. Your making things up.
@@truthhurts837 Michael Montgomery has done significant work (listed below) that talks about this and disproves this, among a mountain of other sources. While there are certainly Shakespeare-ian phrases and a few pronunciations that exist in the Appalachian dialect, it's disingenuous to say that the accent is the same or close to what they spoke like. This is a romanticized view of things, because it sounds nice for tourism purposes.
Listed below what? What “significant work”? Where’s this “mountain of evidence”? I’d like to read it.
@@truthhurts837 I think my comment got caught by the spam filters, because it had a few links to outside of youtube (it was on NPR), and it will have to be manually approved by the person who uploaded this video. Feel free to go check out Mongomery's book, A Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English, he's written other things but that one should suffice. Since youtube doesn't want me to link it, google "Shakespeare's Accent: How did the Bard really sound?" 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. Thanks.
my lovely english homework for the half term
Man it’s kinda crazy seeing how far back teachers have been giving this assignment
remains to be my favorite ted talk, ive watched over and over and over again
Jesus people.. this is one of the most interesting and creative TED talks out there! Respect is mandatory!
Who here because they actually wanted to watch it lol
100%.
Ya boi
Akala for Prime Minister
Agreed! 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! Would love to see more of Akala on TedxTalks :)
That was great! The first Ted I happily watched all the way through, and will watch again.
Damn Shakespeare would burn charlies booth down
At least my teacher didnt give us a quiz sheet to complete so i can peacefully sleep during dis video 😁
This video is truly awesome! Akala is a man of wisdom after analyzing so many poems/rap lyrics.
"I remove you roof homie, let the sun shine in.." Akala da man. Came through the manor when the fire blazed. Tottenham, respect.
The best in the UK Hip Hop scene right here ^ He has inspired thousands of UK Emcees to rap consciously, the future of UK Hip Hop is bright
Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan and most of today's mainstream rappers need to listen to this
tell me about it.
Zain Zaidi Or they don't, because they're not lyricists What's 2+2 buddy?
4
Pretty simple, right?
dont complain about them cus they aint hip hop they just new era rap really more about sound instead of meaning behind lyrics and so what they doing their thing leave em be
Absolutely gripping. Showing this to my students. Thank you.
I am voluntarily watching this because I wanna major in English and I rap. People don't realize Shakespeare's impact on English he introduced more than 1700 words to the language that we still use today.
Brilliant video! Thank you Akala!
Yes!! Stack that knowledge... I didn't feel like sitting in the canteen on my lunch break, I felt like making better use of my time. This was an excellent use of my time! Big up Akala.... pure knowledge and fire! The only difference sometimes is cultural understanding.. without knowledge, how can you understand? Learning never stops!
rapping half my life love the way u broke that down changed my way of look8ng at my craft our craft well done!
@Akala you are so underrated! I love your art
This man is awesome. I'm a teacher, and my students and I love this performance. Too bad for those of you who don't.
You can lead a donkey to water. But you can't make it drink it. Everything isn't for everyone. Further, appetites can and do change.
*_His mixtape gon be fire 🔥_*
+Accent Tué Thy tape of mix shall become consumed by flame.
B. Tickles *_Sir, would you please let a brethren acquire 1/5th of ye White Privilege? _*
Accent Tué Consuming his white privilege might cullionly yond thee has't to starteth whistling in the m'rning
OMFG! XD
I cantttttttttttt!
Wow. Thank you for this Akala... eyes opened, mind slightly blown... appreciate!
You are blessed with knowledge and you speak wise words. I've only known about you for about a month, but for you, I have a lot respect.
OMG my theatre arts teacher showed this to us in class last year. I wish she showed us more of him. This guy is smart asf!
Kanye would jizz in his pants from hearing this video "I am shakespeare"
David Sroka naw that's a downgrade from god
Amazing, educative and inspiring!!! Akala, one to watch out for!!!!
Beautiful.
Hey guys ! I‘ve gotta say something.. I would not write a comment down here if my teacher hadn’t told me to do it. But anyway, this video was quiet interesting! I mean the imagination of Shakespeare being a rapper is just hilarious 😅 In my opinion, the style of how you presented your findings is good and the interactive task of choosing who actually said different frazes was very interesting as well. I personally like hip hop a lot, so seeing a loved topic combined with the topic we are dealing in school with right now gives me a personal attachment to Shakespeare. Thanks a lot for your creative presentation and I hope to see more interesting stuff like that on this Channel!!!👨🏻💻👨🏻💻👨🏻💻👨🏻💻👨🏻💻
rip my guy
man got forced to write a comment for homework lol
bruh all the people who are watching this is bc they were assigned in school to watch it for homework and so am I XD
Antonia Morales corona things 🤭🙈
Yep, online school tingz :( this guy is so boring omg
This was a great learner moment. Thank you.
Truly inspiring.
This is fantastic. Big up Akala and the intelligent movement! This culture needs more like him...
Thank you! Although at 66 I might be unusual, but I love Hip-hop. Esp Rebelution and Sick Jacken etc. Fabulous and educational talk, one of the best TEDs I have seen!
👏😊
This is great. I used to not like hip hop but I do now, and I completely agree with you.
I am mind blowing with this tedtalk rap!! It hits so hard it's so lit..
such an great public speaker
I like the way he blends these disparate cultures (griots = bards) and mentions the need for explanation about Shakespeare's education as if only certain people have about the custodians of knowledge. A terrific introduction to hip hop and sonnets -- I love the final rap of quotes from plays
Had this guy Come into our school day, no lessons for yr 8 listening to this man all day loved it
How did your school make this happen??? I'm a high school English teacher.
God bless! i understand everything bouta pass this test tomorrow Thank you so much Akala!
You are amazing and you are now my favorite rapper!!!