Abrams said about The Greatest: “As a Louisvillian and a musician, I wanted to offer an artistic tribute to the legendary figure who has inspired, influenced, and captivated humanity in the modern era. Learning from Ali’s story and message, I’ve found both personal inspiration and a call for the world to be a far more peaceful, empathetic, and tolerant place. This work is not only about Muhammad Ali but about his impact on the world. When I started writing this work, I realized there is no way to distill his life into in a 10-12 minute piece. It required something much, much bigger. When I looked at the finished score it was a 90-minute work. It is sung, but also narrated and rapped. It’s like a 21st century oratorio that looks at Muhammad Ali’s life and the things that we know and love about him, and the incredible and momentous issues that Ali confronted. I used Muhammad Ali’s speeches and poems (which are set as raps with full orchestra), along with the words of others throughout his era such as the poetry of Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman, and Amiri Baraka, and political speeches by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. I try and make all this come together in a celebration of our own hero Muhammad Ali.”