The Best Books of 2023
It won’t surprise PopMatters readers that many of our best books of 2023 are excavations of our increasingly clamorous culture. It wasn’t a year for escapism.
chuck d
Chuck D’s Graphic Novel ‘Summer of Hamn’ Zeros in on “Hatriots” and More
With graphic novel Summer of Hamn, rap legend and now visual artist Chuck D has produced his second, strong, COVID-era work of art and social commentary.
Chuck D Adds Talented Visual Artist to His Resume with ‘Stewdio’
Chuck D’s style in his three-volume, Covid-era graphic novel STEWdio can be described as neo-expressionistic with images and text often intertwined like Jean-Michael Basquiat’s art.
Public Enemy Ask ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’
Unlikely purveyors of comfort music, Public Enemy offer a balm for an ominous future on What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?.
Privilege vs Detriment: ‘Copyright Criminals’ Has a Good Defense
Why would the generation that covered Bob Dylan over and over get so bent out of shape of having seconds of audio copied and pasted in a new way in a rap song?
Chuck D on the Early Days of Sampling
In those early, free-wheeling days of hip-hop, the artists were waaaay ahead of the lawyers. Chuck D talks about sampling.
Chuck D’s ‘The Black in Man’ Makes the Message Bounce
Chuck D unleashes a brief but vital onslaught of old-school fury; it just might be the gutpunch today's scene desperately needs.
A New Book Calls for a More Activist Black Church — But That Might Be Easier Said Than Done
The difference between churches of service and activism is seen by the degree to which they hold to the philosophies of black theology, a school of religious thought that emerged in the wake of the racial tumult of the ‘60s.