A white dude from Canada, Baba Brinkman, is silencing Middle English haters by comparing rap battles to the pilgrims’ storytelling competitions in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. It’s kind of like 8 Mile, but with raping and pillaging. In an effort to save high schoolers the time of reading the CliffsNotes, Baba has created “lit-hop.” His MySpace page shows the m.o.: Chaucer’s vice-filled lyrics, Baba’s pentameter cadence and a chilly backbeat courtesy of the Cure. It’s not Illmatic, but it beats reading.
All this makes us wonder: How would Balzac rock it if he were alive today? Would a Shakespeare/Francis Bacon beef bring the blood like Tupac and Biggie? Could the epic poetry of Dante Alighieri match game with Eminem in a rap battle? Tell us what you think.

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