Supported by the Wellcome Trust and 300 independent crowdfunding backers, this DVD includes ten professional music videos based on Baba's classic Darwin/Rap mash-up.
The videos can be previewed along with downloadable teaching materials available here: www.rapguidetoevolution.co.uk
Includes unlimited streaming of The Rap Guide to Evolution (Original Version)
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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I’m cocky and single and I got your genes tingling
Girl, with my costly signaling
Rockin’ the rhythm and all you keep thinkin’ about
Is the offspring we’ll bring into the world
And you’re awfully tempting
So you got my genes tingling too
With your costly signaling
You’re cute, but you gotta be considerate
And have a sense of humour
Or you will not be interesting
Charles Darwin saw natural selection
As the most serious cause of evolution
But what was going on with bird songs
And peacocks?
They follow mysterious laws
And then Darwin had a curious thought
It probably occurred to him while explaining
His theory to a young Victorian blond
Whose face displayed a mixture of
Desire and feverish awe
The immediate cause of which Darwin clearly saw
So he said: “My dear, descent with modification comes from
The struggle for survival AND reproduction
Hence, the reason for some structures
Must indeed be seduction”
In fact, Darwin’s brain was probably one such structure
Just as peacocks’ tails show off the genes of the top males
And likewise the songs of nightingales, the fighting skills
Of elephant seals, and minnows with colourful scales
These are all traits that sexual selection has shaped
Through the female preference to get with the fittest mates
But in human beings, selection goes both ways
Pretty much anything that’s just for display
And isn’t meant dissuade and chase predators away
Was probably selected for in a sexual way
But wait, isn’t THIS just such a display?
I mean, I really thought I had something to say
But, is it just a demonstration of my DNA?
And, so what if it is? That's great, what’s to explain?
Okay, maybe a couple of things
First, to say that something ornate
Like language, evolved as a seductive display
Doesn’t mean that people only use it just to get laid
Darwin leaves Freud in the dustbin, okay?
I could use a urine stream to put out a fire
That doesn’t mean the penis evolved as bush fire fighter
This is a theory of language function
A theory of where it comes from; what it’s used for
That's a separate discussion
So which was it?
Was language originally a mechanism for survival?
Or reproduction?
Well, let me put it this way...
Can you talk a predator out of attacking?
Can you talk a parasite out of infecting?
Can you talk a potential mate in to consenting?
Potentially, right? Not necessarily
But potentially
I’m cocky and single and I got your genes tingling
Girl, with my costly signaling
Rockin’ the rhythm and all you keep thinkin’ about
Is the offspring we’ll bring into the world
And you’re awfully tempting
So you got my genes tingling too
With your costly signaling
You’re cute, but you gotta be considerate
And have a sense of humour
Or you will not be interesting
Presenting the grand unified theory of rhyme
The mating mind uses lyrical signs, combined with wit
And wordplay, conversation, humour and different narrative styles
To appraise the fitness of mates
Both for the purpose of marriage ties
And mates of the more temporary kind
These are the humble roots of the literary sublime
We’re all Shakespearean primates verbalizing our cherry behinds
But how could we possibly test this theory of mine?
Ideally, we could use experimental holding zoos
Filled with human subjects, and with an overhead view
We could observe which breeding pairs reproduce
And how often they use their verbal ornaments to seduce
We could even separate them into control groups
To see whether male or female vocals
Are more prone to be used to stimulate hormones
Although, it’s true
That this sort of method isn’t normally approved
If only there existed in a state of nature
Some cultural group preoccupied with makin’ paper
And parading naked women, shakin’ their money makers
In front of competitive males displaying mating behaviour
While trading their creativity for sexual favours
If such a group existed, I predict it would be a major
Player in the entertainment industry, and would be in major
Danger of being overwhelmed by angry player haters
But I may have to save some of my research for later
I’m cocky and single and I got your genes tingling
Girl, with my costly signaling
Rockin’ the rhythm and all you keep thinkin’ about
Is the offspring we’ll bring into the world
And you’re awfully tempting
So you got my genes tingling too
With your costly signaling
You’re cute, but you gotta be considerate
And have a sense of humour
Or you will not be interesting
And how do I answer the charge
That I’m participating in this mating dance
Myself with these dazzling bars?
That isn’t hard – I plead guilty
I worked hard to achieve this ability
And if it also gives my genes visibility, then so be it
But, I confess, it also reveals my unique disability
See, my tendency to tell these monkey fables
And funny medieval tales, generally fails
To attract any nubile young females
It does attract women a lot though
All highly-educated and post-menopausal!
I know, isn’t it awful?
I get mobbed after my Chaucer shows
By grandmas thanking me for making it possible
For them to appreciate a hip-hop flow
And, you might ask, where are their granddaughters?
My guess is, they’re at gangster rap concerts
But hey, that’s how sexual selection works
Any mutation gets tested first
And if it doesn’t get spread, then it gets purged
So this experimental hip-hop mix
Where it gets crossed with literature and lectures
Will probably get the burial that it deserves
That is, unless you spread it like whispers
I’m cocky and single and I got your genes tingling
Girl, with my costly signaling
Rockin’ the rhythm and all you keep thinkin’ about
Is the offspring we’ll bring into the world
And you’re awfully tempting
So you got my genes tingling too
With your costly signaling
You’re cute, but you gotta be considerate
And have a sense of humour
Or you will not be interesting
Yeah, step into the area
You and me, girl, we got different criteria
We gotta get over a couple barriers
Before I'm gonna marry ya
But for now
I just wanna get near to ya
supported by 13 fans who also own “Sexual Selection”
I wish there was more music like this. So good to listen to while working on art, and filled with awesome quotes that make you think about the deepest questions in life. It's like science music. Amazing. Goes good with point506. vinbasshred
supported by 10 fans who also own “Sexual Selection”
I've got Metaphor Swordman on lock but there are some rad tracks here such as Flower Girl, Prison Planet, Dopamine Notes, .7, Snowflakes & Flowsnakes. Lyrically eschelons above the rest. icarusignite
supported by 7 fans who also own “Sexual Selection”
Big fan of artists challenging religion. "Just another internet tough guy, hiding behind the keyboard watching the dust fly off of the Bible he hasn't read in ages. Taking shots at Muslims, Atheists & Pagans." as one of many succinct lyrical examples of creative prowess. icarusignite
supported by 7 fans who also own “Sexual Selection”
Grey, you're music is my medicine, along with the reefer. Coming from a broken home, where i grew up with no mother, and an abusive father, and sisters who ended up in the system. knowing I'm not alone in the journey to find inner peace, your music keeps me pushing. especially this album. :\\Trippy Longstalkings