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.

Fight The Power: Rap, Race and Reality

"Moments of brutal clarity.One finishes the book convinced of its authentic depiction of gang life." - The New York Times Book Review In the spring of 1992 the African American neighborhoods of Los Angeles - Compton, Watts, Gardena, South Central - were irrevocably transformed by the greatest domestic disturbance of this century: the "Uprisings, " as they were then described on the streets. In the aftermath of the violence emerged a powerful spirit of reconciliation and change, as gang members who had once fought each other for years came together in an attempt to rebuild their homes, businesses, families and most importantly themselves. This new sense of peace and cooperation continued to thrive in the inner city, and now, with uprising, thirteen former Crips and Bloods give voice to their fresh hopes for the future. What these men reveal is both provocative and profound: the rites of initiation, the pressure to commit crimes, the bonds of gang brotherhood, the significance of gangsta rap, the need for self-empowerment, and the durability of racism in our culture. But Uprising has a timely moral mission as well: Mean streets similar to those of L. A. can be found in cities across the country like Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Atlanta, and Newark. Gang warfare is escalating, spreading to the heartland - and here Yusuf Jah and Sister Shah'Keyah proclaim that lives and communities must be saved. An intricate mosaic of a nuanced and often turbulent world, Uprising defines issues that confront all Americans. It's message cannot be ignored. From the authors of Nation Conscious Rap comes a powerfully raw, intimate history of gang life in South Central L. A. In detailed interviews, gang members of the Crips and Bloods open up on a wide range of issues, including the bonds of the gang brotherhood, the significance of gansta rap, the despair of welfare, and the scourge of drugs.

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