Do Not Shine!

Featuring poetry and music written and performed by Craig “muMs” Grant (Bronx), Taro Vestøl Cooper (Norway) and Beatur (Iceland), this collaborative international hip-hop theater production was developed in workshops both in Norway and New York. “Do Not Shine” explores “Janteloven”, a common unwritten code in Scandinavian countries that deemphasizes individual success as generally unworthy and focuses on group accomplishments instead. Scored with beatboxing on a loop machine played by Beatur, current Icelandic champion in beatboxing, Janteloven is explored in the show through Taro Vestøl Cooper’s Norwegian upbringing and the impact of knowing he is the son of American legendary jazz musician Johnny Griffin, Beatur’s immigration to Norway from Iceland juxtaposed with Craig muMs Grant’s upbringing within early hip-hop culture in the Bronx.