Tune In To When Words Collide on 1Extra, 9pm

Nick Taylor's Documentary 'When Words Collide' is aired tonight on 1Extra at 9pm. Nick is also  collaborating with Chill Pill for 'Chill Pill Connect' at The Roundhouse which will be a live recording for a Spoken Word radio show on 13th Feb 2013. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q1n4p

Via 1xtra website

When Words Collide

"Are hip-hop and poetry worlds apart? Or are the lines between these two celebrated art forms starting to blur? Nihal investigates the relationship between hip-hop and poetry, hearing from some of the finest rappers and spoken word artists around - including Chuck D, KRS-One and Scroobius Pip.

Along the way, we head to a bar in East London where five rappers and five poets are battling it out across three rounds to decide which form of expression is the best. The results may surprise you...

In Round 1 of Poets vs Rappers, the two teams do what they do best. We find out the shared history of the two art forms, and learn that the connection between hip-hop and poetry might go further back than we think - from the vibrant rap and poetry nights in New York in the 90s, to the legendary 'godfathers of hip-hop' such as Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets, to American recordings of the 1920s. Could the romantic poets and Shakespeare even be connected? Spoken word artist Kate Tempest and hip-hop artist Akala tell us how.

Round 2 sees our competing poets and rappers taken out of their comfort zones, where poets have to do their thing to music, and rappers have to do their thing without a beat. Nihal speaks to some of today's finest spoken word artists who started off as rappers, including Kate Tempest, Polar Bear, The Ruby Kid and Scroobius Pip. We also hear from established rappers who have taken themselves out of their comfort zones and strutted their stuff at spoken word nights. UK rappers TY and Mystro tell us why so many rappers are crossing over in to spoken word today. Finally before we find out how our own rappers and poets got on, we meet poet Mark Grist and MC Mixy, otherwise known as The Dead Poets, who tell us about their unique theatre show about learning each other's art forms.

Then, in our final round of Poets vs Rappers, it's an out and out battle of words as our rappers and poets clash - but this isn't the first time a rapper and a poet have gone head to head. At the beginning of 2012, teacher-turned-poet Mark Grist battled MC Blizzard as part of Don't Flop, the UK's largest rap battle league. We find out how this battle became an online sensation, and hear from other spoken word artists who have tried their hands at battle rap.

In hip-hop, a rap battle is one of the best places to show off your lyrical skill. We head to Shake The Dust, the UK's biggest ever youth, poetry slam, where a new generation of lyricists are embracing poetry. We hear from those competing about their love of words and how they draw influence from both poetry and hip-hop.

But where are these new poets and rappers coming from? Nihal finds out how both poetry and hip-hop are being used in education, from the many brilliant poetry and rap workshops, to the growing 'HipHopEd' movement, which aims to bring hip-hop culture in to the classroom and prove that it can sit comfortably next to classical poetry.

Finally we return to Poets vs Rappers, to hear what happened when our competitors clashed and find out the winner."

BBC E-Mail Response To David Starkey Complaint

Dear Mr Antrobus

Thank you for contacting us regarding ‘Newsnight’, broadcast on Friday 12 August.

We understand some viewers felt David Starkey's contribution to the discussion on the England riots was inappropriate and racially offensive. We note some viewers also felt Dr Starkey's views were not sufficiently challenged by presenter Emily Maitlis.

Firstly, it is important to stress that Dr Starkey’s views are his alone and not those of ‘Newsnight’ or the BBC. It is part of ‘Newsnight's remit to air and challenge controversial views and we believe his perspective on the riots was robustly challenged during the course of this discussion.

The aim of this, at times heated, ten minute debate was to examine the causes of the recent riots and looting and in many ways it encapsulated different strands of opinion, both ideologically and socio-economically, as to what provoked the violence. Presenter Emily Maitlis directly challenged David Starkey’s views on a number of occasions, asking: ‘Is black culture the cause of the rioting?’ and ultimately ending the discussion by asserting that Dr Starkey was ‘using black and white cultures interchangeably as good and bad’.

Aside from Emily Maitlis’ interjections, guests Owen Jones and Dreda Say Mitchell clearly took exception to David Starkey’s opinions and were given ample time and space to make their disagreements heard. Owen Jones particularly highlighted that many people listening would find the views expressed offensive, and Emily Maitlis provided further context - making it clear that David Cameron had stated that this was not a race issue, and that people taking part in the riots came from a range of ethnic backgrounds.

Although some viewers found David Starkey’s arguments offensive, others agreed with them. It is not ‘Newsnight's’ job to censor the views of our guests; the programme would rather challenge them in a robust way on air, and allow viewers to draw their own conclusions. We believe this discussion was conducted in a fair and professional manner.

Please be assured your concerns were raised with the programme.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

NB This is sent from an outgoing account only which is not monitored. You cannot reply to this email address but if necessary please contact us via our webform quoting any case number we provided.

Kind Regards

Andrew Hannah

Do This In Remembrance Of Me

The other day I walked past a Church. Outside there was a banner put up on the door that said with God everything is possible. I always thought God was some kind of metaphor for the spirit of our imaginations – I still do.

My Granddad was a minster at a Congregational Church and gave Sermons every Sunday. I never met him; he died of Leukaemia two months before I was born. My Grandma keeps a photograph of him on her mantelpiece above her fireplace. He’s lying down on a grass lawn and even though the picture is in black and white you can tell the sun is shining and the grass is warm.

In November last year I read one of my poems on BBC Radio. My Grandma told everyone at her Church. The ratings must have gone through the roof – 50 little old ladies in the middle of Hertfordshire were roaring from their sofas as my poem was spoken into their living rooms.

“IT’S BARBRA’S GRANDSON ON THE RADIO!”

When I next saw my Grandma she spoke much about my Granddad and how he’d written sermons, short stories and poems while at home and travelling around. She gave me a box with the text of many of the sermons he gave. The papers looked brown and aged, some of the sermons were written up on a typewriter and others in cursive hand writing. His writing is incredibly neat and it’s always in blue. I couldn’t wait to be left alone with these. I took them home and started reading them in my room.

The papers smelt faintly rotten so I opened the window and read the sermon at the top of the pile. The heading read “Do this in remembrance of me”

I turned towards the window and read this out loud.

Luke – 22:14 – 20 (A.V.) Text – Luke 22:19

“Imagination. The vivid imagination of a child leads him to live in the world of his own creating. He really is Davy Crockett or Robin Hood or the policeman in Z Cars. Although the line between fact and fiction in the child’s imagination is not clearly drawn (ask him if he’s washed the back of his neck) such play is sometimes the beginning of a real career. The girl playing with her doll is preparing for motherhood. Imagination is an important factor in our lives that can lead to actual good or ill. It was the continual evil imagination of the thoughts of his heart that brought the destruction of the flood upon mankind, (Geneses 6) it can lead to arrogant opposition to God, “why do the heathen imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2)

On the other hand, it was the lively imagination of the Ethiopian guard at the Judean court that made him feel for the emaciated Jeremiah, a prisoner in the pit dungeon who let down some old rags to pad the rope with which he was to pull the prophet out of his prison.

Kindled Imagination can also lead us to grasp a reality so that we can act upon it. Memory tends to fade without some token to recall to the imagination of what we remember. In a play by J.B Priestly, a young widow complains that time is robbing her even of the memory of what her husband looked like. One reason for a photograph is so that we can recall to mind, through the imagination, not only the appearance but the personality of someone far from us”

I stopped reading and stood there with the imagination of my Granddad, a man who only exists to me as a photograph I’ve smiled at for years. I heard his voice echo inside a church hall and I smiled so hard you would have thought I was crying.

Chill Pill RELAUNCH - 30th March - Soho Theatre

Chill Pill created by Mista Gee (BBC Radio 4 - Bespoken Word, Rhyme & Reason host) Raymond Antrobus, Deanna Rodger, Simon Mole and Kim-Leng Hills.

A night of Word based entertainment. Due to Chill Pill's major success after a run at Scream Bar, Chill Pill is relaunching at Soho Theatre on March 30th.

Doors - 7.30pm

PRE-BOOK Tickets (£5) - http://www.sohotheatre.com/pl2063.html
LINE UP

Tim Clare is a writer, stand-up poet and musician. His autobiographical book about having one last shot at your dreams, We Can’t All Be Astronauts, won Best Biography/Memoir at the East Anglian Book Awards 2009. It is out now from Ebury Press. He has written for the Guardian, the Times and the Independent, and has appeared on BBC2, Radio 1, 2, 4 and 6. In 2005 he presented the Channel 4 series ‘How To Get A Book Deal’.




Greeds (with Key notes) G.R.E.Ed.S (Generating Rhymes to Engage the EnlighteneD Soul) A performer, a poet, an entertainer with a love for music. Poetry provides him with a therapeutic space that has no boundaries where he can create his own pace, and tell his story his way. His journey is taking a new twist... Follow him as he shares this with you.



Harry Baker is a phenomenal 18 year old performance poet and winner of the online European Slam. Harry says he's on a whirlwind adventure since winning the poetry slam at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2010.



Vanessa Kisuule is a performance poet and was a regular at Chill Pill, consistently burning the place down. Don't worry Soho have fire exits.








Keith Jarret is a national and international Slam Champion. A Chill Pill favourite. Camden based poet, teacher and short story writer.