In the Hour of Chaos: Hip Hop Art & Activism with Public Enemy’s Chuck D highlights the transformative power of Hip Hop with some of the nation’s most insightful thinkers on the art form’s social, cultural, and political significance. Guided by Chuck D himself, the film tells the story of how artists, activists, and academics came together at UCLA to celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop cultural history. The all-star line-up of guests explores the profound impact of an arts movement that revolutionized the world.

Over much of the last 4 decades, Chuck D’s music and activism have taught so many of us. This film captures Chuck D at his best, engaging some of the nation’s leading public intellectuals on the social origins of Hip Hop culture and its continued evolution. The film covers a range of topics, including Black radical movements, Hip Hop feminisms, and the global circulation of the culture within the ever-evolving music and entertainment industries. Narrated by Chuck D, this film follows his tenure as the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence. No other film captures this journey, at this critical juncture in our history, as we celebrate over half a century of Hip Hop with one of its most important and globally-recognized voices. And no other artist speaks so powerfully and eloquently about Hip Hop’s continued relevance in today’s “hour of chaos.”Website: https://hhi.bunchecenter.ucla.edu/