Are You Ready To Die (A ritual for the living and the dead) was a tribute to rapper and philosopher Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls, curated by Amal Alhaag and Milone Reigman . In his two iconic hip-hop albums, Ready To Die (1994) and Life After Death (1997), Smalls talks about politics and pleasure, the virtue and vice of dying and the complexities associated with it. After his death in 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was seen as a mythical figure, an almost divine being, but Biggie Smalls was above all an ordinary man, an innovator of hip-hop and its poetry. Both Ready To Die and Life After Death are spoken archives regarding the social life, memories and suffering of a black population. Moreover - given his early death - they attest to Smalls' predictive gifts.
The programme commemorated our impermanence and the role of dying in today's society that rejects and erases the presence of death. Playwright Milone Reigman and curator Amal Alhaag had been working together for some time. They interpreted, remixed and used the two albums as guidelines to answer the question "Are You Ready To Die?" and invited different voices, lovers, friends and strangers to participate in a ritual programme for the living and the dead. Featuring performances by Yahmani Blackman, Rellie Pharell and Simone Lagrand.
| Guest curator | Milone Reigman Amal Alhaag |
| Performer | Blackman, Yahmani Lagrand, Simone Pharel, Rellie |
| Curator | Rumping, Radna Iersel, Michiel van |
| Period | 16-03-2018 |
| Location | Noorderzijbeuk |
Are You Ready To Die (A ritual for the living and the dead) was a tribute to rapper and philosopher Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls, curated by Amal Alhaag and Milone Reigman . In his two iconic hip-hop albums, Ready To Die (1994) and Life After Death (1997), Smalls talks about politics and pleasure, the virtue and vice of dying and the complexities associated with it. After his death in 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was seen as a mythical figure, an almost divine being, but Biggie Smalls was above all an ordinary man, an innovator of hip-hop and its poetry. Both Ready To Die and Life After Death are spoken archives regarding the social life, memories and suffering of a black population. Moreover - given his early death - they attest to Smalls' predictive gifts.
The programme commemorated our impermanence and the role of dying in today's society that rejects and erases the presence of death. Playwright Milone Reigman and curator Amal Alhaag had been working together for some time. They interpreted, remixed and used the two albums as guidelines to answer the question "Are You Ready To Die?" and invited different voices, lovers, friends and strangers to participate in a ritual programme for the living and the dead. Featuring performances by Yahmani Blackman, Rellie Pharell and Simone Lagrand.
| Oude kerk Adlib Collect priref | 2107 |