How hip-hop helps us understand science | Danielle N. Lee
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 April 2019
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the early 1990s, a scandal rocked evolutionary biology: scientists discovered that songbirds -- once thought to be strictly monogamous -- engaged in what's politely called "extra-pair copulation." In this unforgettable biology lesson on animal infidelity, TED Fellow Danielle N. Lee shows how she uses hip-hop to teach science, leading the crowd in an updated version of Naughty by Nature's hit "O.P.P."
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This TED Talk features behavioral biologist Danielle N. Lee, recorded live at TED 2019. |
| 0:10.0 | How y'all doing? |
| 0:12.0 | Good. |
| 0:13.0 | I came here to give you a science lesson about animal mating systems and why defining monogamy has been a challenge for scientists. |
| 0:23.6 | But you won't need a textbook or download an online lecture. |
| 0:27.6 | All you'll simply need to do is revisit the song OPP by Nottie by Nature. |
| 0:33.6 | It was released in 1991. |
| 0:36.6 | Now, OPP is a call and response song. |
| 0:41.8 | So throughout the talk, I'm going to put lyrics up on the screen, |
| 0:45.3 | and I'm going to recite some, and I'm going to prompt you when it's your term to do the response, okay? |
| 0:51.7 | Now, I know some people in this audience know this song, so I need you to lead the way with the |
| 0:56.2 | tempo and the rhythm, if that's all right, okay? All right, y'all ready? You down with OPP? |
| 1:02.3 | Yes, you know with OPP? |
| 1:04.9 | Yes, you know what OPP? You know without P? |
| 1:07.5 | Yeah, you know what OPP? That was perfect. Thank you. |
| 1:13.6 | OPP, I can't explain it. I take it frame by frame it to have y'all jump and shout and sing in it. |
| 1:17.6 | O is for other, P is for people, scratch it temple. |
| 1:20.6 | The last P will, that's not that simple. |
| 1:22.6 | Now, in the song, the MC hints that it's a five-letter word, |
| 1:26.6 | but to keep it rated PG, he simply refers to it as property. |
| 1:33.0 | The song is about cheating on your significant other. |
| 1:36.8 | Now, around the time that this song was in heavy rotation, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.