Saul Williams — poet, actor, vocalist and alt-Hip Hop musician — has a worldwide following that includes one unusual Classical composer in Switzerland.
You’ll be able to see and hear the results of Williams’ collaboration with that composer, Thomas Kessler, when Williams and Mivos Quartet perform the Ohio premiere of “NGH WHT” Thursday at the Woodward Theater. It’s part of the Contemporary Arts Center’s performance series.
The work, which matches a daring New Music string quartet with Williams’ impassioned recitation of a poem from his book The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop, lasts about 30 minutes. It will be followed by two shorter pieces that Williams collaborated on with the New York-based Mivos Quartet but without Kessler. These include the track “No One Ever Does,” in a radically reworked version from the one that appeared on Williams’ 2007 Trent Reznor-produced The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust album, plus a new piece by Ted Hearne and maybe others.
Original Article: http://www.citybeat.com/arts-culture/culture/article/13000237/break-the-system