During the time in which shakespeare's work was gaining i nternational acclaim across the western world, the african story was being torn up and rewritten by europeans. The plan was for dark skinned people to work for them, first through slavery, then colonialism, then popic governments and unfair trade. Hippop is the rose that grew from the concrete of slavery. In that concrete, the seeds of afAfrican identity were buried, not planted, buried. Nothing was supposed to grow there other than white power.
Created in partnership with Sotheby's, in a debate that spans the centuries, Peabody Award-winning spoken word performer George the Poet and Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson go head-to-head over which form of cultural expression best resonates now and forever. Does hip-hop and slam poetry speak more to society than historical texts that require background knowledge to be fully understood? Or does the lasting appeal of Shakespeare and other great figures from the canon show that some works have a universal value that stands the test of time?
This event was recorded on the 9th of June 2022, at Sotheby's in London and produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye and Audience Development Producer Yosola Olorunshola
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