An operatic baritone perfectly mixed Rossini’s ‘Figaro’ aria with Kendrick Lamar

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

When you trained as an opera singer, but you also really love hip-hop…

Babatunde Akinboboye is a legit incredible opera singer. He’s performed with the LA Opera, Opera San José and Opera Santa Barbara, and played some of the biggest baritone roles including Guglielmo in Così fan Tutte, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas and Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro.

But luckily for us, his skills aren’t limited to the world of opera: he also loves a bit of Kendrick Lamar.

In the video above, Babatunde plays a quick blast of ‘Humble’ from Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 album DAMN., before launching into ‘Largo al factotum’ from Rossini’s Barber of Seville.

The aria, otherwise known as ‘Figaro’, fits surprisingly well over the top. Particular appreciation for the moment at 0:48 when he times ‘Fortunatissimo per verita!’ perfectly with Lamar’s gangsta rap beats.

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