Raps Scottish Roots

File under "Yeah, right".

Anyway here goes, from the Telegraph (why does a lot a crazy news come out of UK papers?)...

Professor Ferenc Szasz argued that so-called rap battles, where two or more performers trade elaborate insults, derive from the ancient Caledonian art of "flyting".

According to the theory, Scottish slave owners took the tradition with them to the United States, where it was adopted and developed by slaves, emerging many years later as rap.

Professor Szasz is convinced there is a clear link between this tradition for settling scores in Scotland and rap battles, which were famously portrayed in Eminem's 2002 movie 8 Mile.

I'd love to watch Prof. Szasz present his theory to the remnants of the Wu Tang Clan. Actually, maybe Szasz is a Wu Tang member, along with RZA and GZA.