The Wild Foundation Commissions Rapper Baba Brinkman To Create Wilderness-Awareness Album Set For 12/16 Release

New York, NY, November 14, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Wilderness conservation organization The WILD FOUNDATION and Canadian hip-hop artist and playwright Baba Brinkman are pleased to announce the upcoming release of The Rap Guide to Wilderness, a collection of seven songs commissioned by WILD that captures the spirit of their commitment to wilderness conservation in a way that is both infectiously informative and heartfelt.

The Rap Guide to Wilderness is a thought-provoking hip-hop celebration of nature and all the ways it contributes to human wellbeing. Brinkman seamlessly blends the relentless energy of rap with a deep environmental consciousness that educates as well as entertains. The album addresses current environmental issues such as biodiversity loss, habitat loss, de-extinction and the delisting of wolves. More importantly, the mission of the album is to promote public awareness of wilderness and its key services to human health and prosperity, stressing the importance of humans having a relationship with wild nature, not just taking from it.  

"The core issue is the lack of true relationship between people and nature. People largely see nature as a resource to be used for human good, short term. The Rap Guide to Wilderness speaks to something else, that wildness is part of us; it provides for us and has 'grown' us for 2 million years. We need to honor that relationship, allow space for nature on its own, so that the relationship can flourish, not wither."

Vance Martin, President of WILD

This concept of integrating human existence with nature is the center of The WILD Foundation’s initiative, Nature Needs Half. The core issue is the lack of true relationship between people and nature. People largely see nature as a resource to be used for human good, short term. The Rap Guide to Wilderness speaks to something else, that wildness is part of us; it provides for us and has 'grown' us for 2 million years. We need to honor that relationship, allow space for nature on its own, so that the relationship can flourish, not wither.” says Vance Martin, President of WILD.

Brinkman was commissioned for this project because “Baba is a talented artist with a mission – to help people understand themselves and the world they live in and depend upon. We envision this release as becoming a part of the 'wilderness toolkit' we continue to develop – involving policy, communications, science, and culture -- for use to communicate with and inform professionals, the public, youth, and policymakers”, continues Mr. Martin. Prior to his musical endeavors, Brinkman spent 12 years in the Canadian wilderness planting trees.

Brinkman has shared the stage with a number of high profile science thinkers, from Stephen Hawking to physicist Brian Cox to The God Delusion author, Richard Dawkins. Brinkman will debut songs from The Rap Guide to Wilderness at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia this November; a once-every-ten-years meeting of the world's conservation organizations, both government and non-profit.

The Rap Guide to Wilderness is scheduled for release in the US on December 16th, 2014. Half of the net profits from album sales will go to WILD’s conservation programs.

ALBUM TRACK LIST

1)      Go Wild

2)      Tranquility Bank (feat. Aaron Nazrul)

3)      Party of Life (feat. Tia Brazda)

4)      Walden Pond

5)      Bottleneck (feat. Sean Ross)

6)      Never Cry Wolf (feat. Wyckham Porteous)

7)      Seed Pod

ABOUT BABA BRINKMAN

Baba Brinkman is a Canadian rap artist, writer, and former tree-planter who has personally planted more than one million trees. He is also a scholar, with a Masters in Medieval and Renaissance English Literature. To date Baba has written or co-written five hip-hop plays, all of which have toured the world and enjoyed successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and off-Broadway in New York. His newest play, The Rap Guide to Religion, is currently running at the SoHo Playhouse and the album of the same name is slated to come out in spring 2015. He has also released ten original rap albums on his independent label Lit Fuse Records, including the upcoming, The Rap Guide to Wilderness, which explores the contributions of wild nature to human happiness.

Baba’s show, The Rap Guide to Evolution, won the prestigious Scotsman Fringe First Award in Edinburgh, where Brinkman performed for six full seasons. The show was also nominated for a “Drama Desk Award” in New York, in addition to a sold-out week at the Sydney Opera House. Brinkman has made appearances at multiple TED conferences, opened for Stephen Hawking at the Seattle Science Festival, performed for a sold-out crowd of 3,500 at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, and was a guest performer on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show.

Brinkman is also a pioneer in the genre of “lit-hop” or literary hip-hop, known for his adaptations of The Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, and Gilgamesh. He is a recent recipient of the National Center for Science Education’s “Friend of Darwin Award” in 2013 for his efforts to improve the public understanding of evolutionary biology.

When he is not on tour, Brinkman resides in New York City.

ABOUT THE WILD FOUNDATION

As the heart of the global wilderness community for over 40 years, The WILD Foundation protects wilderness while meeting the needs of human communities, working across cultures and boundaries by collaborating with local peoples, organizations, the private sector, and governments to create dynamic practical projects and communications initiatives.

WILD’s work promotes and demonstrates Nature Needs Half, a vision and a common sense, practical approach that helps create a reciprocal, balanced relationship between people and nature, based on state-of-the-art scientific analysis and time-tested traditional knowledge and wisdom. The goal of NNH is to ensure that enough wild areas of land and water are protected and interconnected (usually at least about half of any given eco-region) to maintain nature’s life-supporting systems and the diversity of life on Earth, to support human health and prosperity, and to secure a bountiful, beautiful legacy of resilient, wild nature.  NNH requires a shift in our thinking – to recognize that we are part of nature, not separate from it. WILD is also the founder and steward of the World Wilderness Congress, the world’s longest–running, public, international conservation program.

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