Gang Culture = Particle Physics? A Rapper Explains!

This is one of the stranger musical comparisons I’ve run across. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with and sharing many a CERN-related (our friendly neighbourhood super-collider folks in Switzerland) post on these pages. This one was a bit more surprising.

UK rapper responds to rising gang violence with particle physics rap music video Antimatter!

Amidst growing gang violence in his hometown of London, ‘CERN’ rapper, Consensus, has decided to respond with a gang culture/particle physics concept video: Antimatter.

Antimatter takes a meta look at gang type conflicts and their impact on society, directly making comparisons to particle physics phenomena.

Verse 1 compares gang violence conflict to proton – anti-proton annihilation.

Verse 2 compares police brutality and rising anti-police sentiment to electron-positron annihilation.

Verse 3 breaks sentiments down through general political unrest, activism, and the origins of antimatter from the beginnings of the universe.

Consensus’ Antimatter video was intended to raise awareness of where conflicts like the rise of gang violence come from. At the same time, it introduces the affected demographics of the culture with new concepts in STEM activities and further education. His idea is that gang culture is more a symptom of socio-economic failings and a lack of education rather than the rap music that often elevates it.

The track itself comes from a whole album on particle physics produced collaboration with The Large Hadron Collider, CERN and art@CMS. Since the album was released last year, Consensus has engaged in a multitude of platforms including guest lectures and performance at CERN, Cambridge, Oxford and Central St Martins University, and is currently working with the Ontario Science Centre as Dr. Micheal Hoch’s, Origin Project.

Not the type of story you hear every day! Check out more here.