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This book is not an autobiography. It’s not a manifesto. It’s a razor-sharp investigation into hip hop and rap music by searing lyricist and global music icon Chuck D of Public Enemy.
Engaging with some of the world’s leading thinkers on hip hop, “Professor Chuck” sets out on a journey that celebrates fifty years of hip hop and charts paths forward for its future. Exploring the intersections of hip hop with Black radicalism and feminism, media and technology, and globalization and politics, this curated collection shows the power of culture and the arts not only to bring people together but to bring about political change in this current hour of chaos.
Features conversations with leading thinkers, including Robin D. G. Kelley, H. Samy Alim, Jeff Chang, Davey D, Scot Brown, Cheryl L. Keyes, Gaye Theresa Johnson, Bryonn Bain, Maya Jupiter, Adam Bradley, Joan Morgan, and more.
"[Chuck D is] neither snootily professorial nor just an OG unspooling war stories. Rather, he’s a thoughtful interlocutor . . . . a valuable chronicle of the genre’s role in troubled times—and how the times have always been troubled. Smart and chatty hip-hop history."
“Anyone even slightly familiar with the work of P.E. will know that Chuck D is a gifted lyricist, capable of boiling down very real experiences into lines that have the greatest impact—an attribute he shares with the likes of Dylan, Guthrie, and Marley. So, it’s not at all surprising that his book packs a genuine punch. The man can write.”
"The book presents a razor-sharp investigation into hip hop and rap music from the searing lyricist and global music icon, engaging with some of the world's leading thinkers on the genre. 'Professor Chuck' sets out on a journey that celebrates fifty years of hip hop and charts paths forward for its future."
"Public Enemy fans and rap aficionados who want to delve into Chuck D’s contention that hip hop was the ‘Black CNN,’ or learn how ‘Fight the Power’ sprang from the Isley Brothers, or examine the Black Panthers' influence on the group’s public persona, will be rewarded."
"The Public Enemy frontman has always been one of rap music’s most articulate advocates, but in 2022 he shifted career from MC to university lecturer. . . . [In] In The Hour of Chaos, Chuck D talks about the cultural politics of hip hop and what it means for the future."
Illustration inserts are placed after page 148.
Preface
Introduction: Living in the Hour of Chaos
Chuck D
1. Fear of a Black Planet: Black Geography, (Im)migration, and Sound
Chuck D, H. Samy Alim, and Robin D. G. Kelley
2. Welcome to the Terrordome: History, Context, and the (R)evolution of Hip Hop
Chuck D and Jeff Chang
3. Don’t Believe the Hype: Technology, Media, and the Importance of Community
Chuck D and Davey D
4. Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need: Hip Hop and Funk
Chuck D and Scot Brown
5. Revolutionary Generation: Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Hip Hop
Chuck D and Cheryl L. Keyes
6. World Tour Sessions: Global Hip Hop Culture
Chuck D, Samuel Lamontagne, Mikko Kapanen, Amkelwa Mbekeni, and H. Samy Alim
7. Prophets of Rage: Hip Hop and the Futures of Black Radicalism
Chuck D and Gaye Theresa Johnson
8. Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos: Hip Hop, Justice, and the Prison Industrial Complex
Chuck D, Bryonn Bain, and Maya Jupiter
9. Harder Than You Think: The Poetics of Hip Hop
Chuck D and Adam Bradley
10. Show ’Em Whatcha Got: Hip Hop and the Visual Arts
Chuck D and Joan Morgan
Bibliography
Index
Praise for Chuck D