Held at the Hammer Museum, this special screening was an unforgettable evening celebrating the power of Hip Hop as art, activism, and scholarship. In the Hour of Chaos captured Hip Hop’s enduring role in advancing racial and social justice, linking past movements to today’s cultural and political moment. Following the film, Chuck D joined an all-star panel featuring Joan Morgan and H. Samy Alim, moderated by Jeff Chang, for a lively conversation on the past, present, and future of Hip Hop and its capacity to challenge inequity and inspire global solidarity. The evening reaffirmed the Bunche Center’s role as a home for critical dialogue and creative expression – where the intersections of art, activism, and academia illuminate new paths toward cultural transformation.
Film Description
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 four decades, Chuck D’s music and activism have taught so many of us. This film captures Chuck D at his best, engaging 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.”
The film features leading Hip Hop voices like Robin D. G. Kelley, Joan Morgan, Jeff Chang, Davey D, Cheryl L. Keyes, Scot Brown, Gaye Theresa Johnson, Bryonn Bain, Maya Jupiter, Adam Bradley, H. Samy Alim, and more.
