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Norwich student raps his entire dissertation and gets a first

And you thought your dissertation was lit


A UEA student rapped his 10,000-word dissertation and somehow managed to get a first.

English and Creative Writing student Nicholas Uzoka produced his 10,000 word dissertation in a 21-track album, containing nine rap tracks and 12 poetry skits under his performing name Zoka the Author.

The dissertation, titled "The First Stone: An Oratorio", was an exploration of Nicholas's relationship with God through the metaphor of a relationship with a woman.

Nicholas told The Norwich Tab he views rap as an art form which derives from poetry, and said it was a suitable media form for his dissertation as he wanted to fully integrate his passion, and hopefully future career, into his degree.

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Nicholas on graduation day

Nicholas choose to combine the classical oratorio format with hip-hop to emphasise the tension between societies classical ideas of God and religion with modern way of life.

The 22-year-old said rapping his dissertation allowed him the opportunity to express himself in his favoured form of artistic expression as his life is all about music.

Since finishing uni he has recently appeared on BBC Introducing in Norfolk.

He now says his plan now is to "give the music industry his absolute all to see how far I can go".

In an Instagram post, Nicholas thanked UEA for being a place that has allowed him to grow and mature, "both personally and as an artist".

Nicholas told The Norwich Tab his module leader was super enthusiastic about the creative idea, and he thanked his supervisor Dr Sandy Pool, "for pushing me to extend my ideas further than I ever could imagine".

You can stream other work written and produced by Nicholas, aka. Zoka the Author, here.

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