Testament announced as a Patron of The Blake Society
The Blake Society is delighted to announce that writer, rapper and composer Testament will be a Patron of the society. His work has long been inspired by a deep love and knowledge of Blake. At this important moment, as we head into the bicentenary of Blake’s death in 2027, we couldn’t be more pleased to have Testament’s support and interest. We are confident that his enthusiasm for Blake and his vibrant creativity will help to take the Society to new level.
Talking about his new role as Patron of The Blake Society, Testament said: “Blake is an iconic, worldwide figure now. My introduction to Blake was at school – at first I didn’t really get those lambs and chimney sweeps and roses; but as I grew into my own political, social and spiritual consciousness and I came back to him as I grew and tried to understand the world around me, his work blew my mind. Blake led me in my thinking about the contrary pulls between pain and hopefulness in this world; and, as someone who came up through hip-hop culture, he made me think how I could use art and the poetics of rap and spoken word and song to explore and empower others. A lot of the social messages and the quest for spirituality that I was finding within hip-hop as a young teen, I find also in Blake. He walks with us in the labyrinth of our imagination. We still walk streets of satanic mills, commerce, greed and inequality, and still we find that the human imagination is key to hope and peace. Two hundred years after his death he is more relevant today than ever before and offers us an opportunity to imagine the world an anew – a world of compassion, empathy and imagination.”
Blake Society Trustee and post-doctoral Research Fellow, Dr Camila Oliveira Querino has been studying the influence of Blake on contemporary culture, from the Beat poets to the composers and performers of the 21st century. She said: “Testament is one of the most powerful voices in Blake’s musical afterlife. His deep understanding of Blake’s poetry and thought makes him uniquely placed to re-echo Blake’s words in times of division and wrath. He demonstrates that poems that we once listened to imagining harps, flutes, and strings now seem perfectly tailored for beatboxing. Testament – his name says it all – is a living proof of the all-encompassing rhythms and voices contained within Blake’s work.”
Announcing the appointment, Dr Sibylle Erle, Chair of The Blake Society said: “Exploring and promoting Blake’s influence on artists, poets, writers, musicians, thinkers and performers is one of the key elements of today’s Blake Society. Testament is a perfect blend of inquiry and creativity – someone who knows and continues to explore Blake’s work, but also brings it right into the 21st century and introduces Blake’s voice to others with power and intelligence. The work of Testament is the most perfect example of why Blake remains one of the most important figures of the Romantic movement. We’re delighted to welcome Testament as a Patron, and we are all really looking forward to our journey into 2027.”
ABOUT TESTAMENT
Testament is an acclaimed writer, rapper and Guinness World Record-breaking human beatboxer and co-artistic director of Black British northern theatre company Theatre Decoded. His work as a spoken word poet, playwright and composer, as well as an essayist and presenter, straddles the world of music, art, literature and theatre. He has worked with a diverse range of people, from Bishop Desmond Tutu, to Grammy winning musician Corinne Bailey Rae, jazz legend Joe Lovano and author and actor Paterson Joseph. His award-winning work has attracted praise from voices as diverse as Alan Moore, Lauren Laverne, Mark Thomas and the progenitor of hip-hop himself, DJ Kool Herc. His work for screen includes projects for Netflix, Disney+, BBC and Channel 4.
Testament’s work as a rapper includes the celebrated hip-hop album: Homecut: No Freedom without Sacrifice and his current project, William Blake Remixed, with composer Matthew Bourne, a personal response to the work of William Blake.
For more about Testament check out https://www.testamenthomecut.com/ and https://theatredecoded.com/
BLAKE200
The Blake Society is planning events, projects and publications which focus on the bicentenary of William Blake’s death in 1827 – #Blake200. The year 2027 will be marked by a global programme of activity.
