In the Hour of Chaos: Art and Activism with Public Enemy's Chuck D (California Series in Hip Hop Studies)

by Chuck D

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.

352 pages, Paperback

Published February 10, 2026

Reviews

[Spiros · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'm on to better things like a hip hop forum" - Q-Tip, "Check the Rhime" ATCQ

So here we have what Tip was on about, back in the early '90's. A ten week seminar, interrogating hip hop and rap in the larger culture and in opposition to the larger culture. All ten chapters are deeply thought provoking.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and eye-opening. I was given so much to use in my everyday personal and professional life. Chuck D is the epitome of the phrase “speaking truth to power!”