A TEENAGER from Tilbury has won a BBC Shakespeare Hip Hop competition.

Tolu Agoro, 19, has been named one of five winners in the national competition, which asked entrants to write a rap which lyrically reflects both Shakespeare and Hip Hop.

She will now take part in a two-day masterclass with MOBO award-winning rapper Akala, and hip hop talent Bashy, followed by a trip to the Maida Vale studios on September 16 to record a session for BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Tolu, a student at London’s Identity Drama School, said: “I have been writing for some time, however I have never performed any of my poetry because I never thought my written pieces were as good as others that I have heard.

“Its an amazing feeling, I was absolutely astonished as I never actually thought I would get this far.”

Tolu heard about the competition at drama school and then went along to a BBC Blast workshop at New Vic College in Newham.

She said: “During the Blast workshop in Newham, we were given short quotes and asked to distinguish whether they were Shakespearean or Hip Hop.

“It was then I realized how intriguing and influential he was, as many quotes that I deemed to be Hip Hop were in fact by Shakespeare.

“The beauty of each word, the way they were structured and their messages really had an impact on me, which influenced me to write my piece.”

Competition organiser Eleanor Fry said: “The Hip Hop Shakespeare competition has been a great success, attracting a huge range of entries.

“The judges were looking for an engaging performance that showed originality and artistic flair and lyrically reflected both Hip Hop and Shakespeare.

“The standard of entries was incredible and though they had a very difficult job to select the final five winners Tolu’s entry really shone out.”

Tolu has also been invited to join 50 other young people for a two-week residency in October.

The young people will take creative workshops across five disciplines and put together a retelling of Othello with a modern, urban twist and showcase it at the Lowry Theatre in Salford.