Best Selling Books by Chuck D

A one-of-a kind survey of rap and hip hop history from 1973 to today by Chuck D, arguably the most influential rapper in the world. In the more than 40 years since the days of DJ Kool Herc and "Rapper''s Delight," hip hop and rap have become a billion-dollar worldwide phenomenon. Yet there is no definitive history of the genre-until now. Based on Chuck''s long-running show on Rapstation.com, this massive compendium details the most iconic moments and influential songs in the genre''s recorded history, from Kurtis Blow''s "Christmas Rappin''" to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to Kendrick Lamar''s ground-breaking verse on "Control." Also included are key events in hip hop history, from Grandmaster Flash''s first scratch through Tupac''s holographic appearance at Coachella. Throughout, Chuck offers his insider''s perspective on the chart toppers and show stoppers as he lived it. Illustrating the pages are more than 100 portraits from the talented artists specializing in hip hop.

His lyrics are a lesson in history. His songs are a movement in groove theory. His book is a light out of the dark that will change the way you think about America and the world as a whole. From Rap to Hip-Hop, Gangsta to Trip-Hop, Chuck D, his Bomb Squad, and his monumental band, Public Enemy, have been a sonic, singular, and transcendental force in modern music. As a poet and philosopher, Chuck D has been the hard rhymer, rolling anthems off his tongue in an era of apathy, tapping into the youth culture of the world for more than a decade. Fight the Power, his first book, part memoir, part treatise, part State of the Union Address, is a testament to his nearly twenty years in the music business and his experiences around the world. Here is a history of one of the most important and controversial musical movements of our century, its impact on modern culture, and the heroes and victims it has created in its wake. Chuck D has never been just a rapper. He''s an artist, a rock ''n'' roll star who''s shared the spotlight with everyone from U2 to Anthrax. He''s fought to bridge the gap between musical genres and cultural differences. He is truly the voice of a generation. Startling, gripping, and uncompromising, Fight the Power is most of all the story of one man''s struggle to bring about change in this difficult world at all costs. It is certain to take its place among the classics of African American experience.

Legendary hip-hop artist Chuck D (Public Enemy, Prophets of Rage) details and illustrates his encounters with some of society’s most influential musicians, entertainers, politicians, athletes, and public figures. In Interficial ARTelligence: Moments That Met Me, Chuck D presents his encounters with some of his greatest heroes and other public figures. These seminal moments in Chuck D’s life include: an editorial meeting with John F. Kennedy Jr.; presenting an award to Davie Bowie; being recruited by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay to act in a film; eating chips and guac with Quincy Jones; being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Harry Belafonte; lobbying on Capitol Hill with Anita Baker; musical collaborations with Prince, Sheryl Crow, Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu, and John Mellencamp; and visiting Mumia Abu-Jamal in prison. Chuck D says, “For a PErson like myself—an aged distance beyond a half century of life on Earth—I have experienced a vast array of PEople, PlacEs & Things. The memories are always a looping swirl in my mind. I’m often asked about them and I consider myself a decent storyteller. As an illustrator, I’m able to recreate that point of view as I saw it. So Interficial ARTelligence: Moments That Met Me is a tale with images from my PErspective in a time when so many people listen with their eyes.” Chuck’s beautiful illustrations and remarkable commentary also include his cross-pollinations with: music industry titans like Berry Gordy and Ahmet Ertegun; musical icons Madonna, the Notorious B.I.G., the Rolling Stones, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Mavis Staples, Michael Stipe, Ice Cube, Patti LaBelle, Lenny Kravitz, and LL Cool J; athletes Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Julius Erving, Barry Bonds, and Barry Sanders; entertainers/actors Oprah Winfrey, Joan Rivers, Jeremy Piven, Dick Gregory, Robin Williams, Warren Beaty, Alec Baldwin, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, and Spike Lee; political figures like Angela Davis and Jesse Jackson; and many more.

Chuck D (Public Enemy, Prophets of Rage, etc.) brings his personal insights and social critiques to the page in fierce, passionate, and evocative visual art and prose "The Public Enemy mastermind combines art and hip-hop rhymes to provide his compelling, personal views on the chaotic years between 2020 and 2022. Though they often feel like diary entries, each installment has an overarching storyline and theme . . . In an engaging, distinctly hip-hop style, Chuck D reveal important lessons from the early pandemic years." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review Legendary hip-hop artist and social activist Chuck D has used every opportunity in his groundbreaking career to stand up for civil rights. His rap group Public Enemy is widely regarded as a revolutionary act both in terms of its impact on hip-hop and its use of music to impart a message of race and class equality. The band emerged from the late 1970s/early ''80s coalescence of rap, punk, and street art into hip-hop music culture on the East Coast. At the time, Chuck D had completed his BFA in graphic design, and while his music career exploded, his passion for visual art never left his heart. In February 2020, he turned his gaze once again to the page, and began to fill three 5 x 8 journals with his written and drawn reflections of a world beginning to unravel. STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D recreates format of his original art, combining three full-color paperback bound books into a beautiful box set. The box set is the inaugural offering from Enemy Books, the new Akashic Books imprinted curated by Chuck D. Spanning the onset of COVID-19 through the first year of the Joe "Bye-Don" administration, Chuck D lends his powerful artistic voice to one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, and puts it in a capsule. Like the neo-expressionist graffiti art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Chuck D''s energetic "Naphic Grovels" marry text with drawings, commenting on contemporary events with the same activist instinct that propelled Public Enemy''s "music-with-a-message" reputation. His inventive, Amiri Baraka–esque language and accompanying art is also occasionally used as a tool for introspection, providing unparalleled insight into one of the most important cultural figures of our time. Each journal follows a distinct period in Chuck D''s (and America''s) life; There''s a Poison Goin On chronicles the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, from February–April 2020; 45 Daze of REaD Octobot follow the days leading up to and the aftermath of the historic 2020 election; and Datamber Mindpaper, which focuses on the early days of the Biden administration. No song may be more reflective of 1980s America than Public Enemy''s "Fight the Power;" no document may come to capture our COVID era like Chuck D''s STEWdio.

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.

Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps begins on the familiar backdrop of 1991 and explodes into far-flung futures with a series of speculative fiction stories by the industry''s leading creators, including Evan Narcisse (Marvel''s Spider-Man: Miles Morales), Regine Sawyer (Dark Nights: Death Metal), Che Grayson (Batman: Urban Legends), Troy-Jeffrey Allen (Villain: All Caps), and many more! Witness revolutionaries in every millennium stand up and fight the power with a little help from the rhythms and rebels of the past.

The tragedy of gun violence is depicted in annotated illustrations that illuminate a society gone hamn; from legendary hip-hop artist Chuck D (Public Enemy, Prophets of Rage, etc.) —Selected for the In the Margins Book Awards 2024 Nonfiction Recommendation List "With his latest work of graphic nonfiction, Chuck D uses his art and hip-hop rhymes to show how the US has been held hostage by gun violence and a growing sense of hopelessness . . . A focused, fresh, urgent text filled with pictures worth 1,000 words and rhymes worth thousands more." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review IN SUMMER OF HAMN, legendary hip-hop artist Chuck D takes on gun violence with rhythmic, inventive writing and passionately raw art. He has long spoken out against gun violence, including how it intersects with rap and hip-hop culture. Summer of Hamn is the bound journal Chuck D carried with him in the summer of 2022—a summer marked by a particularly high rate of gun death. In these pages, victims are memorialized, politicians are skewered, and vehement pleas to eradicate gun violence are made. Jaw-dropping statistics (40% of all personal guns in the world are owned by US citizens; there are 100 million more guns in the US than there are citizens) intersect with poetic reflections ("Another mall shooting seems normalized in Columbus / Raining outside in Ohio / Raining inside folks panic / Inside hearing shots bust"), all written in Chuck''s hand over vibrant, utterly original, neoexpressionist ink and watercolor art. This book is the follow-up to STEWdio the debut trilogy on Chuck D''s Enemy Books imprint, in which he invented a new medium—the "naphic grovel"—a bound journal brimming with his observations and reflections of current events in both art and prose. Summer of Hamn is the second release on the imprint.

The power is in the mic, and the power has been unleashed in clubs, arenas, stadiums, stages, and parks all over the planet. MC''s are able to connect with its audience in a way that the music alone cannot. Hip Hop, via the MC, has undoubtedly become the voice of a new generation. Much attention has been paid to the staggering impact hip hop music and culture has had on the greater American and world cultures; its influence on fashion, television, advertising, and the attitudes of the world’s youth. However, not nearly as much attention has been paid to the social and political impact that the art form and its artists have had. Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary is designed to transcend rap and venture into the realm of offering commentary and analysis into some of the deeper aspects of life itself. As one of rap’s preeminent political and social groups of all time, front man Chuck D offers direct explanations and interpretations of what his lyrics are about as a tool to help set minds free in this "hustle and flow and get rich or die tryin times." Chuck D — consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers of all time — will provide insight in the creation of Hip-Hop iconic albums 1988’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” and 1990’s “Fear of a Black Planet”, both recognized among the greatest politically charged albums of all time featuring rap classics such as "Fight the Power," "Don’t Believe The Hype," "Can’t Truss It," and "Welcome to the Terrordome." As Chuck D explains, "We must remain mindful that there’s a road to freedom, and resist the embarrassingly popular trend that ignorance and a ghetto mentality, which is cast upon us, is our only food for thought or food for non-thought. As MC''s we must become more responsible and revolutionary in our approach, because we have young people around the globe listening to our every word and watching our every step." Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary: Times, Rhymes & Mind of Chuck D will clarify, in a way similar to when a person rereads a book ten years after originally reading it, and allow for a deeper understanding and further insight into the thoughts behind classic and controversial Public Enemy lyrics. Admirers proclaimed him the Bob Dylan or Bob Marley of rap. -- Los Angeles Times One of the most politically and socially conscious artists of any generation? -- Spike Lee Chuck D is the greatest voice in Hip Hop history as far as social commentary and rhymes for the upliftment of Black people. Chuck D is in a league of his own. -- Kool Moe Dee

Powerful Prophetic Vision for the Church Amid the Current Global Tumult We are living in one of the most violent, chaotic, and permissive times in history--and each year the darkness looms larger. In the face of such overwhelming evil, how can we, the church, even begin to overcome? In this empowering and practical book, Chuck Pierce--one of the most accurate prophets ministering today--shows believers how to embrace their prophetic destiny in the midst of these tumultuous times. Offering a glimpse into what lies ahead, specifically the years 2017-2026, he explains · China''s and Russia''s crucial roles in the end times · how the Antichrist system is aligning with existing government structures · Israel''s pivotal role in world events · prophecies fulfilled through the blood moons · changing alliances among nations and what these mean · the coming harvest in the church · the culmination of a new world order in 2026 Many kingdoms in this age are vying to rule. We must understand what it means to stand strong as believers in Jesus Christ--and what spiritual forces we are facing. The stage is set; the battle is waging. It''s time to fight as never before. And it''s time for God''s Kingdom to triumph.

Have you ever noticed how often we use the word "time" in our everyday conversations? Not only are we acutely aware of the passage of time, but our speech is also littered with references to it: We kill and waste time. Time flies, or sometimes it crawls. We refer to time in countless expressions and figures of speech. Chuck Pierce tackles the subject of time specifically as it relates to God and our relationship with Him, addressing some transcendental questions such as, how can we tell when we get "out-of-step" with God''s timing? Pierce moves readers from viewing time as a philosophy or a curse to seeing it as a real gift from God, presenting a new reality of space, time, spirit and truth as they advance through the pages. This book is for everyone who wants to take back their life, take their place above the linear timeline, and learn to live on earth influenced and empowered by an eternal God.

This message from Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler likens our spiritual defense to that of the children of Israel while in battle. Within the ranks there were those who carried huge shields to protect the bulk of the army. And just as we fight spiritual battles today, there is a mighty shield we can carry to protect us. This shield of faith is one of the main ways we can resist our enemy''s attacks. We are fully capable of resisting the enemy''s attacks, but we must first be able to recognize how Satan fights. His main weapons are to create fear and doubt in us and to tempt us to become complainers and murmurers. If we succumb, our faith is weakened. The keys to increasing our faith are found in knowing the Word of God, which engenders praise, thankfulness, trust and obedience.

Across New York State, small towns and big cities alike have stories to tell. A unique travel guide for history buffs, Signs of Distinction delves into the varied stories revealed on town welcome signs. Welcome signs in every corner of the state beckon visitors, urging you to stop and explore. After all, who could resist stopping in a village that declares itself, "The Birthplace of Jell-O?" Similarly, the town that calls itself, "The Bandstand of the Finger Lakes," makes you want to dance! Fifty-one stories—each accompanied by a photograph of the welcome sign—share the history of these communities and their unique attributes. History lovers, road warriors, and folks who love trivia will enjoy reading about these New York towns and the stories behind their welcome signs.

Close the Door to the Enemy and Open the Door to God Learn how to rid your home of destructive objects and spiritual darkness to create a fortress of love and light for your family. Too many Christians are completely unaware of how the enemy has gained access to their homes through what they own. This practical, easy-to-read book shows you how to pray through your home and property in order to lock out evil and experience a richer spiritual life. With Protecting Your Home from Spiritual Darkness, you are just ten steps away from bringing freedom and security in Christ to your home! Includes the following sections and more: "A Step-by-Step Guide to Praying through Your Home"; "Understanding Spiritual Darkness"; "How to Protect Your Children"; "Learning to Overthrow Generational Curses."

Hip-hop icon Chuck D presents a gorgeously illustrated Pilates exercise program for people of all ages, including the over-forty crowd LEGENDARY HIP-HOP ARTIST CHUCK D has been touring the world for four decades, since his band Public Enemy put out their first album in 1987. Now, at age sixty-three, Chuck is frequently asked how he still manages to put on such high-energy performances so many years later. His response is simple: he practices Pilates, a form of exercise and body conditioning that has become increasingly popular over the last decade. Chuck’s appreciation for Pilates took a major leap in 2016 when he was setting out on a rigorous tour schedule with a powerful and energetic new band called Prophets of Rage (a supergroup including members of Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine). Over the next four years, the group would perform to more than two million people across the globe. As Chuck admits, he simply could not have delivered on such a massive level without his practice of Pilates. In this volume, Chuck and his Pilates guru, Kathy Lopez, present the “RAPilates” program of more than thirty mat-based exercises for people of all ages and experiences. The exercises are beautifully illustrated in the inimitable style that Chuck has demonstrated in his previous books of visual art, including STEWdio and Summer of Hamn. Like those two books, RAPilates is published on Chuck’s Enemy Books imprint, which is hosted by Akashic Books.

An exciting travel guide for Upstate New York road warriors, history lovers, and tourists. In Upstate Uncovered Chuck D’Imperio mines deep into his travel journal and shares an astonishing array of fun and amazing places in Upstate New York that the casual traveler might otherwise miss. As one of Upstate’s most ardent advocates, D’Imperio has traveled the backroads and byways of the region seeking out the stories, tales, and folklore writ upon the landscape. He takes readers to one hundred small towns and cities from the Hudson Valley to the High Peaks of the Adirondacks and out through the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes region. Not only a reflection of "the road less traveled," Upstate Uncovered includes pertinent information such as websites, photographs, personal interviews, and explicit directions to each of the included entries. While flipping through the pages, readers will be amazed at what turns up around every backroads corner in the region.

Upstate New York is the birthplace of many of America’s favorite foods. The chicken wing was born in a bar in Buffalo, the potato chip originated in the kitchen of a glitzy Saratoga Springs hotel, the salt potato got its start along the marshy shores of a Syracuse lake, and Thousand Island dressing was created in a hotel along the St. Lawrence Seaway. In this book, D’Imperio travels across the region to discover the stories and people behind forty iconic foods of Upstate New York. He introduces readers to the black dirt farmers of Orange County who give America its best-tasting onions, to the Catskill’s Candy Cane King, and to "Charlie the Butcher," purveyor of the best beef on weck in the state. Filled with color photographs, the book includes a map of the various regions around Upstate New York, allowing readers to create their own cultural and historic food tour.

The hundreds of rural cemeteries in Upstate New York are the bucolic final resting places of a plethora of legendary Americans from the recent and distant past. For over a decade, Chuck DImperio traveled to research the beautiful and historic region in search of some of the most famous (and infamous) figures in American history. The product of this labor of love is Great Graves of Upstate New York: Final Resting Places of 70 True American Legends. Many of the names are familiar to any AmericanWilliam Rockefeller, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (better known as Mark Twain), Frederick Douglass, Lucille Ball, and Harriet Tubman, and four U.S. presidents: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, and Chester Arthur. An equally colorful host of local characters who shaped the culture of Upstate New York are also featured, including: Kate Smith, The God Bless America Girl; mafia figure Joe Joe the Barber Barbara; Dr. Mary Walker, Americas only female Congressional Medal of Honor winner; Jennie Grossinger, The Catskills Innkeeper; and Ernie Davis, The Pride of the Syracuse Orangemen. From Syracuse to West Point to Binghamton, and on to Cooperstown, Niagara Falls, and Lake Placid, Great Graves of Upstate New York is not only a fact-filled volume on the regions cemeteries, museums, and historical sites, but a peek into the lives of 70 distinguished individuals who have shaped American history.

Unknown Museums of Upstate New York is an informative and entertaining guide to the rich resources available at fifty small, often overlooked, regional museums. Even those familiar with the upstate area will likely have never visited and perhaps never heard of some of the treasures this guide unearths, such as the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum, the Kazoo Museum, and the Robert Louis Stevenson Cottage and Museum. D’Imperio tells each museum’s story, in light of its cultural and historical relevance, and he provides a wealth of information about the museums as places of interest to visit, not just to read about.