Hip Hop and Global Culture with Chuck D

Chuck D is the leader and co-founder of legendary rap group Public Enemy. He redefined rap music and hip hop culture with the release of PE’s explosive debut album, Yo Bum Rush The Show, in 1987.

Since then, Public Enemy has completed 86 tours in 85 countries, and they’re still going strong. Chuck D and Public Enemy were celebrated in the May 2004 issue of Rolling Stone magazine as one of the “fifty most important performers in rock & roll history.” In 2010, their song, “Fight the Power” was recognized by VH-1 as the greatest hip hop song in history. Public Enemy has sold, to date, over 10 million albums, and for the first time in their career, were number 1 in iTunes downloads in the UK for their song “Harder Than You Think,” a song penned by Chuck D and longtime collaborator Gary G-Wiz, and used as the 2012 Special Olympics signature song. In 2013, Chuck D recognized by what is universally known as one of the highest honors in music: along with the Public Enemy, he was inducted into the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Chuck D has been a national spokesperson for Rock the Vote, the National Urban League, and the National Alliance for African American Athletes. He is on the advisory board for the Sankofa Foundation, convened by Harry Belafonte to radicalize artists and orient them to social movement activism. Chuck has appeared in numerous public service announcements for national peace and the Partnership for a Drug Free America. He is featured in countless documentaries as an expert on several genres of music, sports, and history, including the critically-acclaimed documentary, Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome, a retrospective of the group and its indelible impact on American music. Chuck D is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, the author of two books, and he continues to work on commentary, music, and writing on diversity, rap, and reality.