BBC Radio 1xtra Stories - When Words Collide

  • Nick Taylor
'When Words Collide' was an hour-long documentary I produced for BBC Radio 1xtra. It was presented by Nihal and explored the relationship between hip-hop and spoken word culture. The programme featured interviews with hip-hop and spoken luminaries such as Chuck-D, KRS-One, Kate Tempest, Scroobius Pip and Saul Williams.
As producer I carried out all research, arranged, recorded and conducted the interviews independently at a variety of locations and edited the documentaries together, as well as dealing with budgeting, music reporting and compliance for both features. As part of the documentary I also put on a ‘Rap Vs Poetry’ night in East London, in which team of rappers and a team of poets competed against each other over a number of rounds. This involved fully assessing the venue for its suitability, and working alongside a promoter to help choose the acts involved and promote the event itself. I recorded the event to a professional standard so it could be used as the main narrative device for the documentary.