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A profound meditation on hip hop’s transformative power, In the Hour of Chaos takes us deep into the mind of the genre’s most unabashed revolutionary.
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.
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.
Price: $24.95
Pages: 352
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Series: California Series in Hip Hop Studies
Publication Date:
10 February 2026
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520427396
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
"[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."
Chuck D is the Grammy-winning leader of the hip hop group Public Enemy. A rapper, lyricist, producer, visual artist, and author, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2022, he was the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative’s Inaugural Artist-in-Residence and currently serves on its National Advisory Board.
Contents
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
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