The RAP Party @The London Library: Fugees/The Score (In person)
30 years ago, one of the greatest albums in hip hop was released. Combining lyrical dexterity and poetry, with soul and R&B, groundbreaking internal rhyme patterns with Haitian and Jamaican musical influences, Fugees released The Score. Peaking at No.1 on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B/Hip-hop album charts, it became one of the best-selling albums of all time. The singles ‘Killing Me Softly’, ‘Fu-Gee-La', and ‘Ready or Not’ helped the group - Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill and Pras - achieve worldwide recognition.
What might eloquent voices from contemporary poetry and spoken word movements have to say about hip-hop’s past, present and future? Come find out at award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams’ exhilarating live literature phenomenon, the RAP (Rhythm and Poetry) Party, a nostalgic, no-clutter, no-fuss night of hip-hop-inspired poems and favourite hip-hop songs.
In collaboration with SONY Music, incredible contemporary poets will share new verse and fresh perspectives in response to the timeless journeys, questions and reflections of The Score. Our stellar line-up includes: Crispin Best, Nadeem Din-Gabisi, Aniefiok 'Neef' Ekpoudom, Simeon Farrar, Hasti, Adam Kammerling, Theresa Lola, Keri Mosuro, Laurie Ogden, Riwa Saab, Binta Yade and Inua Ellams, plus music from DJ Sid Mercutio.
Twelve writers + a DJ = the best night out you’ll ever have in a library – or anywhere, for that matter.
'A truly fluid literary event not just mingling poetry and music together seamlessly, but also bringing different tribes of poets: ages, races, gender, styles together. You will be moved in your heart and in your head.’— Roger Robinson
Crispin Best was born and lives in London. He has performed for audiences in New York, Chicago, Berlin, Madrid, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Reykjavík and at the Serpentine Gallery in London. His first pamphlet was published by Faber & Faber in its New Poets series, and his second, ok, was published by If a Leaf Falls Press. He is also the author of a book of minion meme erasures entitled i know god is watching. His most recent book is Hello.
Nadeem Din-Gabisi is a storyteller working across music, poetry and visual arts, channelling his experiences as a British born, second-generation immigrant of Sierra Leonean Krio descent. His debut album Offshore is out now on Moshi Moshi and has been featured in NPR, Worldwide FM and The Fader's list of Best New Albums, The Observer’s ‘Ones To Watch’ and included The Quietus and Electronic Sound’s Best Albums of 2025.
Aniefiok ‘Neef’ Ekpoudom is a writer from London, whose work documents community and culture across contemporary Britain. His first book Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain (Faber, 2024) is a narrative social history of British Rap from the 60s to the present day and was a Dazed and GrantaBook of the Year and Jhalak Prize shortlistee. He has won a British Journalism Award and been named Culture Writer of the Year at the Freelance Writing Awards.
Inua Ellams is a Nigerian-born, UK-based poet, playwright and performer who has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the BBC. His latest play was an adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters set in Nigeria, staged at the National Theatre. The Actual, his fifth poetry release and first full collection, was published in 2020 by Penned in the Margins. He is an Ambassador of The London Library.
Simeon Farrar is an artist/fashion designer by day and a poet by night. He manages two fashion brands, Simeon Farrar, and the streetwear label Black Score, where his love of words, music, popular culture and social justice all collide. He appeared in the BAFTA winning Life and Rhymes show on Sky Arts and has featured at many spoken word events around London.
Hasti is a poet and writer. A member of the inaugural Southbank New Poets Collective and the Ledbury Poetry Critics, they are the recipient of the 2023 White Review Poet’s Prize and the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize for Poetry. Hasti also hosts open mic and poetry night Fresh Lip, and their debut pamphlet young, dumb and full of poems is out now with Little Betty.
Adam Kammerling is an award-winning poet, interdisciplinary artist and educator. His works include Seder, his debut poetry collection, which was a National Jewish Book Award finalist, and its theatre adaptation, which toured nationally; Shall We Take This Outside, a spoken-word/dance show; and Inside!, a poetry/rave theatre piece commissioned by Centrepoint and the Saatchi Gallery. He was founder and programme lead of The Nest, a nationwide arts programme, in partnership with The Fostering Network between 2019 and 2025.
Theresa Lola is an award-winning poet and artist. She has performed at the ICA, Royal Albert Hall, and Jazz Cafe. Her second poetry collection Ceremony for the Nameless was awarded the Derek Walcott Poetry Prize. The book explores memory, collectiveness, growth, and the constructed self. A poem from her first collection In Search of Equilibrium is studied in the UK’s GCSE syllabus. She has been commissioned to write for The National Gallery, Selfridges, Nest New York, and Rimowa.
Keri Mosuro is a Nigerian-British actor, poet and facilitator based in London. She is a RADA graduate and an alumna of the Obsidian Foundation and Old Vic Theatre Makers. She recently appeared in EastEnders (BBC) and is a performer and practitioner with Dead Poets Live, supported by the TS Eliot Foundation.
Laurie Ogden is a Northern multi-award winning writer and performer. A former Roundhouse Resident Artist and Barbican Young Poet alumna, her debut pamphlet Humaning was published by flipped eye. Her work was longlisted for the Bruntwood Playwriting Prize and shortlisted for the Women's playwriting prize 2025. Laurie is co-editor of online poetry magazine And Other Poems.
Riwa Saab is a writer, performer and producer, who works across disciplines concerned with space, sound and words. Through theatre, poetry and music, her work extends an invitation to put people and relationships at the centre of the political narratives we inhabit and explores the diasporic experience of building cultural bridges, unpacking generational baggage and creating space for pockets of joy. A Barbican Young Poet and Roundhouse Slam Finalist, she is developing her first full-length theatre piece.
Binta Yade is an Australian-raised, UK-based international poet and performer working across spoken word and live performance. Born and bloomed on Gadigal Country in Sydney and rooted in the Senegalese and Italian diaspora, she writes from a life lived across continents. Her work weaves ancestral memory with present-day truth, crafting intimate, politically resonant performances that invite audiences into moments of reflection, connection, and becoming.
Sid Mercutio is a London-born DJ and producer whose sound spans house, garage, hip-hop, R&B, 90s-inspired grooves and nostalgic chart topping hits from the 70s, 80s and beyond, all seamlessly blended into contemporary rhythms. Having spent part of his youth in Nigeria, his music carries a diverse range of influences, combining deep grooves, rhythmic intensity and melodic textures into a signature musical journey.
NB This event will take place in person at The London Library. Please see our Event Access Guidelines before you arrive. Doors (and the bar) open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. It officially ends at 9.30pm, though we may keep you dancing a little longer!
Books by the speakers will be available to buy at the event and online from our partner bookshop Hatchards.
This is a standing event but there will be chairs available in the room.
