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Rapper Canibus is being accused of plagiarism for his latest album, Prentice Hall Biology. While the underground MC has always been known for his scientific rhymes, critics say that his new album crosses the line - in that everything he raps is quoted verbatim from the high school science textbook Prentice Hall Biology, by Miller & Levine.
“Most of the universe consists of matter and energy,” raps Canibus on the opening song, “Atoms and Molecules.” “Energy is the capacity to do work / Matter has mass and occupies space / All matter is composed of basic elements / that cannot be broken down to substances / with different chemical or physical properties.”
“I really can’t support this,” says Canibus fan Doug McCallister, while playing Starcraft 2 in his parents’ basement. “I mean, Canibus is ill. I loved ‘Poet Laureate II.’ But it’s not right to steal like this. I knew something was wrong when Canibus’ lyrics sounded coherent, and I started to learn something.”
Prentice Hall Biology is Canibus’ tenth studio album, and each song has the same title as a chapter in Prentice Hall Biology, the high school science textbook. Since there are no choruses, each track consists of Canibus rapping random passages verbatim, with the only deviations being the occasional “yeah,” “yo” or “uh!”
On the lead single, “Evolution,” Canibus raps, “Gene flow moves alleles among populations / through interbreeding as well as by migration / of breeding individuals. Gene flow increases variation / within a population / by introducing new alleles produced in another population.”
“Look, I know what to expect when I listen to a Canibus album,” says Canibus fan Winston Feingold, while playing World of Warcraft in his dark studio apartment. “I expect beats by people I’ve never heard of, songs with no structure whatsoever, and dope ass rhymes that reference literature, science and philosophy. I don’t want to hear Canibus plagiarize a high school science textbook. Although this is still better than C: True Hollywood Stories.”
The writers of Prentice Hall Biology, Ken Miller and Joe Levine, remain unsure if they’re going to press charges.
“We thought about suing Canibus to get a cut of his record sales,” says Ken, “but he doesn’t really have any record sales.”
“Then we thought about suing Canibus to get our names listed on his album as songwriters,” says Joe. “But we heard his songs and we don’t really want to take credit for them.”
Prentice Hall Biology - the Canibus album - is available to purchase online, and at that sketchy Best Buy in your state’s biggest city. While Miller & Levine debate whether or not to press charges, they take comfort in knowing the plagiarism is so obvious - on multiple songs, Canibus raps the discussion questions at the end of each textbook chapter.
“Why are sponges classified as animals?” raps Canibus on “Invertebrates.” “Why is the movement of water key to a sponge’s survival? / Match the terms on the left with the definitions on the right / Osculum, spiculus, pores, coanocytes, archaeocytes / Describe how a sponge feeds / What triggers a sponge to produce gemmules?”
- Posted by JOE
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