{"id":3234,"date":"2019-10-03T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T20:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/classics-instructor-is-keepin-it-real-with-homer\/"},"modified":"2024-01-12T08:07:06","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T16:07:06","slug":"uncovering-relevance-in-homers-illiad-through-rap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/uncovering-relevance-in-homers-illiad-through-rap\/","title":{"rendered":"Classics instructor is keepin\u2019 it real with Homer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3084-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3084-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3084-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Classics instructor is keepin\u2019 it real with Homer\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Assistant Professor of Classics Brandon Bourgeois brings a new twist to an ancient favorite, putting a beat to Homer\u2019s The Iliad and performing a rap adaptation. (Photo: Mike Glier.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Classics instructor is keepin\u2019 it real with Homer<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Assistant Professor of Classics Brandon Bourgeois uncovers relevance in The Iliad \u2014 and raps to tell about it. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Lance Ignon<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">October 3, 2019<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Brandon Bourgeois is the Trojan horse of Greek poetry. Or maybe the Jay-Z.<\/p>\n<p>Clad in black, a gold medallion depicting the face of Medusa slung around his neck, <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/brandon-bourgeois\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bourgeois<\/a> takes to the stage at the front of a room of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/clas\/\" rel=\"noopener\">classics<\/a> students on a recent afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>And starts to rap.<\/p>\n<p><i>3,000 years ago, a Greek poet whose name was Homer composed a flow for his feta, he was a real rov-uh.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>He spun and spread a tale of lust, war, rage and revenge.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>A tapestry, a masterpiece, words stitched together without a pen.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>A story \u2014 rather gory in detail:<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>10 years of bloody battle waged by Greeks over a female \u2014 hell, you heard-uh Helen.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>She sailed to Asia with a prince named Paris already married to a Spartan king named Menelaus.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Ran to his brother \u2014 the great king Agamemnon: \u201cWhat happened to my queen?!\u201d The brotha told him to stay strong: \u201cWe out for blood!<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cGrab your weapons, spread the message to all the kings in Greece. We\u2019ll have your Helen home in no time, a matter of weeks.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The lyrics are a hip-hop introduction to his adaptation of the prologue to <i>The Iliad<\/i> \u2014 delivered as a rap lecture in staccato bursts to music Bourgeois composed using Apple\u2019s GarageBand app. Street-wising <i>The Iliad<\/i> is, of course, his way to make the classic poem \u2014 one of the foundational texts of Western civilization \u2014 relevant to a modern audience. But it\u2019s more than that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The ancient world\u2019s Jay-Z?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For centuries, <i>The Iliad<\/i> passed from generation to generation by spoken word. Homer lived in the eighth century B.C. and told a story that dated from the 12th century B.C., Bourgeois said. It wasn\u2019t until around the sixth century B.C. that the sprawling epic was committed to the page.<\/p>\n<p>Bourgeois believes that the oral tradition that kept <i>The Iliad<\/i> alive bears remarkable similarities to modern rap. Both tell tales of everyday life, hardship, violence, love lost and gained. Both are histories.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHomer is at the end of a long line of bards just like him,\u201d Bourgeois noted.\u00a0 \u201cAnd he happens to be the best at it. He happens to do things with the stories that no one else has done before. It\u2019s like having Jay-Z. Jay-Z\u2019s not the first rapper ever, but he\u2019s in the tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bourgeois arrived this summer at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science as freshly minted assistant professor of classics. His primary area of research focuses on Roman political tradition.<\/p>\n<p>Bourgeois acknowledges that the classics have long been considered the domain of white scholars. The glory of Greece and Rome have even been invoked by white supremacists to allege their superiority.<\/p>\n<p>But the scholar notes that the classics have also been used as a tool for emancipation.<\/p>\n<p>Fredrick Douglas was inspired and informed by a primer on classical oratory that he spirited from the room of his owner\u2019s son. Enslaved Africans across America in the 18th century absorbed the classics to promote insurgency.<\/p>\n<p>And it didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHuey Newton (co-founder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-43587976\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Black Panther Party<\/a>) taught himself how to read, self reportedly, by reading Plato\u2019s <i>The Republic<\/i>,\u201d Bourgeois said. \u201c&#8230; (Newton\u2019s) entire autobiography in which this is mentioned, called <i>Revolutionary Suicide<\/i>, is actually modeled on Plato\u2019s <i>Allegory of the Cave<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Hype 4 Homer\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to imagine that Bourgeois would end up as a classics professor, much less an accomplished rapper, based on his early academic aspirations. The son of a nurse and a pharmaceutical executive, Bourgeois headed to the University of Chicago as an economics major.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to be filthy rich. I wanted to be one of those guys that you would see in a limo or something, and people would shout down the street, \u2018Die, you capitalist pig.\u2019 I wanted to be that rich.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was only one problem: He hated economics.<\/p>\n<p>His path began to change thanks to an influential friend in his fraternity who spoke 16 languages and dabbled in classics, which led Bourgeois to courses in the same and, ultimately, a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.<\/p>\n<p>Bourgeois\u2019 ability to translate <i>The Iliad <\/i>into rap lyrics comes from more than his knowledge of ancient tomes. He was an avid actor and president of the theatre club in high school, and a card-carrying member of the Junior Thespian Society, he says. He also plays guitar and plinks the piano when he visits his parents.<\/p>\n<p>Those diverse talents and interests have coalesced into his performance project, which he calls <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/hype4homer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Hype 4 Homer<\/i><\/a>. His ultimate goal is to render the entire <i>Iliad<\/i> in rap \u2014 what he calls <i>The Trilliad. <\/i>\u201cTrill\u201d is a hip-hop portmanteau for \u201ctrue and real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe project is not just a marriage between hip hop and ancient Greek poetry,\u201d he said, \u201cbut a marriage between Homer and I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<address>Watch Professor Brandon Bourgeois perform &#8220;The Trilliad,&#8221; a rap-presentation of <em>The Iliad<\/em>.<\/address>\n<address>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aMVPKLk2Prg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/address>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Assistant Professor of Classics Brandon Bourgeois uncovers relevance in The Iliad \u2014 and raps to tell about it. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[690,178,143],"class_list":["post-3234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","tag-brandon-bourgeois","tag-classics","tag-faculty"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Classics instructor is keepin\u2019 it real with Homer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/uncovering-relevance-in-homers-illiad-through-rap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Classics instructor is keepin\u2019 it real with Homer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Assistant Professor of Classics Brandon Bourgeois uncovers relevance in The Iliad \u2014 and raps to tell about it. 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