Local musician and arranger Sam Shoup has arranged for Opus One in the past, as well as a few other notables such as the Bar-Kays, the National Symphony Pops Orchestra, Kallen Esperian and the New York Pops. Nobody's done this."īut it wasn't hard to find the talent. As Trussell put it: "You can't just call somebody up in Memphis and say, 'Hey, we've got an orchestra and a rap artist'. "I said, 'Let's do it next week,' " Kapone said, but he knew the logistics would take a little longer.įor one thing, there was the need to work up the musical arrangements of Kapone's songs for Opus One. They got together a year ago for the Grizzlies season opener, a pairing that got the rapper all fired up about doing more. And while Opus One concerts have all been held in venues that don't typically host classical performances, this one at the New Daisy marks the first time the Memphis Symphony has played Beale Street.īut it's not the first time Kapone has performed with the Memphis Symphony. Opus One is doing some other new things, including bringing in performers from the U Dig Dance Academy to add kinetic energy to some of the pieces. One would be hard pressed to find a program anywhere in the world like the one at Thursday's concert: Expect to hear the first movement to Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony" as well as "Whoop That Trick" - Kapone's catchy tune from Craig Brewer's film "Hustle & Flow." Performers in past concerts have included blues singer Susan Marshall, jazz vocalist Joyce Cobb, alt rocker Harlan T. The rest of the event has the guest performer doing special arrangements of his or her songs with Opus One.
Part of the concerts are classical works, increasingly featuring edgier, new compositions for orchestra or smaller ensembles. Thursday's concert at the New Daisy aims to give tradition a thorough makeover, something Opus One has been doing since its first public performance early last year. "This is like a real marriage: I want to understand you, you want to understand me and we want to make a baby together!" Kapone takes it further: "This concert is not just different," he said. Heather Trussell, a violinist with the classical group, acknowledges, "There are some people from both of our audiences that say, 'You're playing with who?' But I dare them to open their minds."
As collaborations go, the pairing of rapper Al Kapone with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's Opus One seems like an insurmountable mash-up.
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