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We just squeed a little. SMU announced today that performance poet, playwright and hip-hop artist Will Power — a former Meadows Prize Winner who will join Meadows School of the Arts Division of Theatre this fall as artist-in-residence — has partnered with the Royal Shakespeare Company to produce a commissioned rap, reworking “half-man” Caliban’s Isle is Full of Noises speech from The Tempest.
A collaboration with composer and Grammy winning producer Justin Ellington, the track debuted on Friday on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s myShakespeare digital platform and was featured during the summer Olympics’ opening ceremonies.
Can the Bard go hard? Stream it from Royal Shakespeare Company here:
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It gets better. As Power details in the following video, he and Ellington created three versions — full, a capella and instrumental — disseminated through the myShakespeare platform in hopes of providing the tools that will allow new Shakespearean raps to crop up organically from fans. To learn more, check out this video, documenting Power’s process and passion.
