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 Days of Red October 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. Everything from oil paintings of 1950s baseball fields to pencil sketches of music icons have been curated exclusively for Genesis Publications to create a striking kaleidoscope of his work. Chuck pays homage to his musical peers and influences: from the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan to Woody Guthrie and Nina Simone; hip-hop legends including Ice Cube and Run the Jewels; and Def Jam labelmates Run-DMC and Beastie Boys. Chuck D is an illustrator—he designed the Public Enemy logo—as well as a rapper, and studied graphic arts at Adelphi University.

Fueled by the dual flames of relentless pop culture and political news cycles, hip hop artist Chuck D churned out thousands of images in watercolors, colored pencils, and ink in 2020. 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. The Deluxe Edition features a set of numbered prints depicting three iconic hip-hop groups: Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and Run-DMC. Before that, he grew up on Long Island, obsessed with the New York Knicks and Motown – though to judge from this book’s opening salvo of musician portraits painted in a confident, appealingly scribbly hand, he had his ears wide open: to Nina Simone, free-jazzer Archie Shepp, blues meister Taj Mahal and hobo folkie Woody Guthrie.But all of this seems in the service of giving a rounded portrait of its author: working musician, political orator, visibly grateful to those who inspired him and people he’s worked with, in some ways mellower than the firebrand listeners first encountered during the late 1980s, in other ways remarkably unchanged. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you.

It’s the most immediate and effective way of communicating what I think and see,” he says, so compiling a book was a natural progression from his music.

Chuck D’s style can be described as neo-expressionistic, with images and text often intertwined (not entirely unlike famed graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, for example). Recently, I’ve reverted into the arts, combining all these elements in my work, still trying to change the world. Genesis Publications has today (October 19) shared details of the book, which is currently unnamed, and has encouraged fans to register their interest in the project here. Chuck D's fine art book, LIVIN’ LOUD–ARTitation, which features over 250 of the Hip-Hop legend's paintings, sketches and drawings, is available now. I was raised with an artist’s mentality; my first 25 years were spent as somebody who wanted to live among graphics and artwork and illustration, and then for the next 30 years it was all music.

Numbered 1 to 350, the Deluxe copies are fully bound in cloth with gold foiling and presented in a clamshell box. The nonconformism and innovation heard in his music have endured throughout his art, which he has produced since he was a teenager. He acknowledges the inevitability that hip-hop is cast as a sort of musical pariah whenever there is a shooting involving a rapper.Chuck D, born Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, is an American rapper, activist and founding member of the iconic hip-hop group, Public Enemy. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.