Yusuf Jah, Author

Yusuf Jah has co-authored several books including Fight the Power: Rap, Race and Reality, and Uprising: Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America’s Youth in the Crossfire. He is an educator in Los Angeles.

Chuck D: Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary, Volume One
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by Chuck D, Yusuf Jah

ISBN: 0974948411
Pub. Date: January 2007
Format: Paperback, 364pp
Publisher: Off Da Books

Book Description
The power is in the mic, and the power has been unleashed in clubs, arenas, stadiums, stages, and parks all over the planet. MC’s are able to connect with its audience in a way that the music alone cannot. Hip Hop, via the MC, has undoubtedly become the voice of a new generation. Much attention has been paid to the staggering impact hip hop music and culture has had on the greater American and world cultures; its influence on fashion, television, advertising, and the attitudes of the world’s youth. However, not nearly as much attention has been paid to the social and political impact that the art form and its artists have had. Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary is designed to transcend rap and venture into the realm of offering commentary and analysis into some of the deeper aspects of life itself. As one of rap’s preeminent political and social groups of all time, front man Chuck D offers direct explanations and interpretations of what his lyrics are about as a tool to help set minds free in this "hustle and flow and get rich or die tryin’ times’." Chuck delves into the inspiration and writing of such rap classics as "Fight the Power," "Don’t Believe The Hype," "Can’t Truss It," and "Welcome to the Terrordome." As Chuck D explains, "We must remain mindful that there’s a road to freedom, and resist the embarrassingly popular trend that ignorance and a ghetto mentality, which is cast upon us, is our only food for thought or food for non-thought. As MC’s we must become more responsible and revolutionary in our approach, because we have young people around the globe listening to our every word and watching our every step."

Admirers proclaimed him the Bob Dylan or Bob Marley of rap. –Los Angeles Times

One of the most politically and socially conscious artists of any generation –Spike Lee

Chuck D is the greatest voice in Hip Hop history as far as social commentary and rhymes for the upliftment of Black people. Chuck D is in a league of his own. –Kool Moe Dee

Uprising: Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America’s Youth in the Crossfire
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by Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'Keyah

ISBN: 0684825376
Pub. Date: February 1997
Format: Paperback, 352pp
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group

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. Photos.

From the Publisher
In the spring of 1992 the African American neighborhoods of Los Angeles - Compton, Watts, Gardena, South Central - were irrevocably transformed by the greatest domestic riots of this century: the "Uprisings," as they are now described on the streets. In the aftermath of this violence emerged a powerful spirit of reconciliation and change, as gang members who had fought each other for years came together to rebuild their homes, businesses, and families. This new sense of peace and cooperation continues 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: The mean streets of L.A. can be found in cities like Chicago, Dallas, Portland, Atlanta, New Haven, and Minneapolis. Gang warfare is escalating, spreading to the heartland - and here Yusuf Jah and Sister Shah'Keyah proclaim that lives, and communities, must be saved.

Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality
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by Chuck D, Chuck D., Yusuf Jah

ISBN: 0385318731
Pub. Date: September 1998
Format: Paperback, 288pp
Publisher: Dell Publishing

From the Publisher
Like the hard-hitting sounds of a Public Enemy jam, the words of the band's lead singer, Chuck D, excite the mind and senses. In his first book, Chuck D pours out commentary that takes on Hollywood, race, the music industry, the murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G., drugs, and the three E's—education, economics and enforcement. Likening the challenge to "scaling a slick mountain on roller skates," Chuck D lets no one off the hook, putting celebrities and street kids alike on notice that the future is up for grabs...and the only way to be part of it, to be players not victims, is to work together.

As an insider's view on Hip-Hop culture slides into intimate revelations about his own life, as lyrics from his songs bump shoulders with top ten lists like "The Greatest Rappers of All Time," Chuck D has his say with verve and electrifying energy, with anger, love and truth. A book that brings light into darkness, Fight the Power speaks for a generation. It is a powerful and prophetic message that America, both Black and White, urgently needs to hear.

Nightline with Chuck as the featured guest.

His rejection of celebrity and his constant community activism have made him a hero. For the past five years he's been touring colleges and universities, delivering three hour lectures on everything from the music industry's corruption of young talent, the history of black music from Blues to Rap, his own controversial lyrics, problems in the black community, self-empowerment, contemporary culture and current political leaders to Public Enemy's rise to international stardom. All while maintaining his solo and Public Enemy's recording careers.

Fight the Power examines a multitude of complex social, racial and artistic issues. In his unmistakable voice, Chuck discusses the role of heroes and role models in the black community, Hollywood's negative images of blacks, the effect of gangsta rap, its images on the country's youth and the war between east and west coast rappers that may have spawned the murder of Tupac Shakur, the role of athletes and entertainers in eroding and strengthening values, and other vital contemporary concerns. Candid, thoughtful, and in your face, Fight the Power, the first substantial book by a rapper, offers readers a look into the culture of hip hop and the future of Black culture.