Toastin' to the haggis as Rabbie goes rap

Published on Saturday 23 January 2010 19:45

HEY yo! Get down in da house to Ae Fond Kiss and To a Mouse, this is Robert Burns as you've never heard him before.

A new recording project by two of Scotland's leading rappers has produced a modern version of Burns's poetry that has practically seen the Ploughman Poet reincarnated as Snoop Robbie Rob, the Ayrshire MC and great chieftain of the hardcore hip-hop scene.

Bigg Taj, the renowned Scottish Beatboxer, and Louie, the respected Scottish MC who raps in the hip-hop group Bohemian Beatbox, have produced a rap-version of the Address to the Haggis.

The project that combines Louie's rapping skills with Bigg Taj's vocal percussion has produced a unique version of the famous poem that will be recited - in slightly more conventional style - at Burns Suppers all over the world.

The two artists have even composed two extra stanzas for the Haggis Rap, which has been recorded in an attempt to turn youngsters on to the delights of the National Bard and brings the poem up-to-date with mention of the internet.

Bigg Taj and Louie will be taking the poem from Ayrshire's "fields laid bare an' waste" down on to "da streets" when they perform it to youngsters at the Cabins Community Centre in Springburn, Glasgow, on Tuesday.

The duo were commissioned to stamp their urban style on Burns by the custodians of the new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, who are anxious to introduce the poet's work to young people. They made their recording on Friday at a session in Sloan's Bar and Restaurant in Glasgow.

Although they had been introduced to Burns at primary school, it was an unusual experience for the artists as they attempted to transform 18th-century Scots language poetry into the urban beat patterns of contemporary rap.

"I thought it was cool, man," said Bigg Taj, 26, who has supported hip-hop artists Killa Kela, Grand Master Flash, J5, DJ Format, Wiley and Jay Sean.

"The timing was a wee bit different from what we're used to. That was the tricky bit. It was different from anything I've ever done before. We wanted to reach out to a younger audience by interpreting the work in a contemporary way."

But as might be expected from a performer, who was named the Newcastle Beatbox Champion 2005 and was a finalist in the UK Beatbox Championships in 2005 and 2009, it was a challenge he relished.

His colleague Louie, 23, said: "We were really inspired by Burns, but Taj had to mess about with the beats and the rhythm.

"We're from Glasgow with strong Glasgow accents and Burns was from Ayrshire, so we had to tweak a few wee things to make it make sense rhythmically… but that was no bother.

"But when we were practising, we had to try hard to get our tongues round the old words that we were not familiar with," added Louie, who runs ResonanceGlasgow, which provides artists with opportunities in performance, recording and networking.

Although many of Burns's poems deal with "adult" themes such as love and drink, Louie was anxious that their efforts would not be associated with the less savoury aspects of their genre defined by so-called Gangsta Rap, which celebrates sex, drugs and violence.

"For me, hip-hop is about expressing yourself in the community," Louie said.

Nat Edwards, the director of the 21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, said: "Robert Burns entertained his cronies by composing poems about his life, his loves and his occasional struggles. He sampled and rearranged traditional songs and work by other writers. He used the latest technology available to get his work to a mass audience and he sometimes used language that would be categorised as 'parental advisory' if it was recorded now. I don't think he was a million miles from today's hip-hop artists."

The rappers' efforts were also welcomed by Gerard Carruthers, the Director of Robert Burns Studies at Glasgow University.

"Burns was not a purist," Carruthers said. "Many of the people looking for the true interpretations of Burns forget that Burns was open to all kinds of influences.

"So I think this rap is true to the Burns tradition. Burns was a man for the present and it is not simply about locking him in a historical cage."

Ronnie Jack, Emeritus Professor of Scottish Literature at Edinburgh University, agreed.

He said: "Burns was first of all a lyricist. He himself had a whole range of influences. There is the additional fact that the Address to the Haggis is a comic poem, which would suggest that this would be within the tradition."