Washington University dean Henry Biggs says he loves language

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. -- At Blueberry Hill, photos of famous musicians line the walls: Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Steven Tyler.

The restaurant, known for its juicy burgers and monthly performances by Chuck Berry, sits in The Loop -- a neighborhood popular with students for its record stores, coffee shops and trendy storefronts.

But on a recent night there was another draw at Blueberry Hill. In a concert venue downstairs, tables were crammed and the bar had steady business during the first headlining performance of rapper Henry Biggs, also known as "Headmess."

Dressed from head to toe in black, Biggs and a supporting band of eight, ran through his set.

He shifts his weight from side to side to the driving beat, a mic gripped in his hand. Among his lyrics: "Moves from Travolta and Body by Jake, Pour your syrup on me and prepare to get pancaked."

Is this the same -- let's say it -- white guy teetering on the edge of 40 -- wearing a button-down shirt, trousers and sensible lace-up shoes -- who is sitting in his office on the nearby Washington University campus the next day, referring to Homer and Petrarch in conversation?

It is.

Like some sort of academic superhero with a dual life, Biggs is, in fact, a dean by day and a rapper at night. Simply put, he loves the language.

Well, he loves more than one. The 39-year-old studied Latin while an undergraduate at Harvard, received a master's degree in civilization from the Sorbonne in Paris, learned German studying at the Goethe Institut and while doing chores in exchange for living in a castle in Germany.

Somewhere in there, he swam the English Channel. "Twelve hours and 59 minutes," he said, explaining it's not the distance, but the chill that's hardest to overcome. "I was absolutely insane by the end of it. You're just cold, cold the whole time."

By 1995, he'd earned his master's and Ph.D in romance languages from UCLA. He worked at Houghton College in Houghton, N. Y., becoming the chairman of the foreign languages department.

In 1999, he took a position as an assistant dean at Washington University. He's married and has three children whom he proudly displays in framed office photos.

Yet in his sideline gig, as a recording artist and rapper, alter-ego Headmess has just released his second CD.

'They were alive'

Biggs said he first became interested in rap when he was in a Greek class in college and a professor spoke about how the performances of ancient bards like Homer spinning myths weren't that different from rap music.

In French class, he heard about troubadours, lyric poets who often sang of courtly love, but were always talking about their sexual prowess.

"It wasn't that they sat in ivory towers. It was that they were alive," he said.

With his love for language, and a passion for rap, Biggs set out to write songs with social commentary and more diverse ideas than what he was hearing in other hip-hop music. And he wrote many of his songs as word puzzles, where his lyrics say one thing, but a closer look leads to a hidden message. If a song sounds like it's coming from an egocentric rapper, he'll work out a code in his lyrics to let his listeners know he's just kidding.

He said he's heard the concept sounds like grammar rock or rapping Shakespeare, though nothing could be further from his goal.

"It really, I hope, shouldn't sound like that. It should sound like viable, commercial, danceable, fun music," Biggs said.

In his first headlining performance at Blueberry Hill, Biggs drew a crowd that varied from dreadlocked students to suit-wearing administrators.

Washington University student Michael Rabinovich, 22, was among those at the show. Biggs, he said, advised him when he had six incompletes in courses and needed to make up all the work.

"He's been wonderful and helpful in my situation," said Rabinovich, who was on track to graduate after working hard to make up the credits.

"It's wonderful when you can see someone in a different light. He's seen me, and known about me. This is a way for me to learn about him," Rabinovich said.

Joe Edwards, the owner of Blueberry Hill, said he was impressed with Biggs' word play, energy and the quality of the band he'd assembled.

He mused that perhaps Biggs had honed his stage skills when he had given lectures in front of classes.

Biggs said he spent months on some of his songs, working out rhymes. Then, he'd spend even more time trying to make the song sound effortless and easy on the ears.

And he's worked to develop songs on a range of topics. While there are some where he adopts a tongue-in-cheek rapper's ego, there are others with moving lyrics like "Mysterious Ways": "I wanna sing and swing to your wonderful ways, I wanna live and breathe all the Good Book says, Bathe my soul in the joy of your sweet word, Bow all day and I'll pray to you Lord."

Biggs uses a lot of double negatives for an academic fellow, but he said even his decision to use street language was thought out.

"I think when you go to a certain vehicle," he said, "it's part of your obligation to respect the language in a certain sense."

And, he said, he's never pretended to be something he's not. "That's like somebody walking up to the pope and saying, 'You're being coy, but I know you're Catholic."'

"I'm quick to point out that I'm radically uncool," Biggs said.

As the self-described "unrepentant square" explained, after his rap performance at Blueberry Hill, he left the club, went home, and finished his homework for a few classes he's taking on the side.

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On the Net:

Headmess Web Site: http://www.funkytickle.com