WIKIMEDIA, FLOWIZMYesterday evening (October 12), GZA, one of the founding members of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan, addressed a large crowd at the University of Colorado Boulder with a few of his verses: “There appeared a speck of light, infinitely hot and extremely bright. Within the center of this great shining, there was enormous energy and it was expanding in great timing.” The song is called “The Spark,” a musical history of the universe that arose from a collaboration between the artist, NASA, and Apple as part of an effort to celebrate and attract public excitement around NASA’s Juno mission.
GZA is known for his imaginative lyrics that draw from scientific concepts. “Science is inspiration for a compelling story,” he told the audience. He’s consulted with scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson and Juno mission principal investigator Scott Bolton, and together with Columbia University professor Chris Emdin, GZA encourages students to create science-themed raps as part of an outreach program called Science Genius.
“Science Genius is a tangible manifestation of what we set out to do, long ago: express brilliant universal ideas in new artistic ways,” he explained to the crowd. After his talk, he sat down with The Scientist to discuss his lyric-writing process and the appeal of hip hop to communicate science.
The Scientist: What is your personal experience with science? Can you ...
