Chuck D. is celebrating Public Enemy’s industry imprint with Graphic Novel Art.
Nothing says artistry like a creator’s interpretation, visualization, or advancement of a creative piece. The writer uses his artistry to celebrate and advance earlier work put out by Public Enemy. Chuck D’s novel will be titled “Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps.”
This graphic novel draws its inspiration from Public Enemy’s track, “Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Back.”
Chuck D The Artist
Chuck D. is a novel author, but also an artist with multiple talents. He is the founder of the hip-hop cultural force Public Enemy. His impact on the culture is vast and remains an integral force carving out a path in hip hop. A source notes,
“Chuck D helped pave the way for political, social, and culturally conscious hip-hop.”
In the late ’80s, the world wasn’t quite ready for the message Public Enemy had to deliver. A combination of trepidation with shifting culture and rage against the change is what sparked Chuck D’s creativity to write a novel. And the persona of Public Enemy was born.
The Expansion of Chuck D’s Creativity
Chuck D’s artistry stretched far beyond music, as he now demonstrates.
Chuck D is also a graphic novel artist. The artists’ contribution to the upcoming project also includes his original artwork. His expression is beyond a rehash of what was created initially. As Chuck states,
“The future of my art is to not tread upon areas I’ve already done as a song; in general, my work is more futuristic, and I’m about the universe, so those concepts from the album are definitely carried through in the novel.”
“Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps”
The “Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps” project is commemorative. The graphic novel flows in line with the original Public Enemy track. According to Chuck,
“The original album is pretty much the soundtrack in the graphic novel.”
Chuck’s Growth into the Comic World
Chuck D admits to not always being a hardcore comic novels fan. According to the artist, it wasn’t until the 70’s he garnered a little more interest. However, that interest was enough to spark his creativity. According to Chuck, the entire persona of Public Enemy also came from comics. In his words,
“I didn’t invent them [Public Enemy]; I just brought it out with imagery. Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, the S1W’s, Terminator X, and myself. It was all comic book imagery.”
Amazingly sort of reminiscent of the X-men. So, the progression of Chuck D’s work from music to this graphic novel flows naturally.
Project Release
Sources show the novel’s release is set for November under Z2 Comics. However, fans can put in a pre-order now.
Chuck’s talent shines through everything he has done and also continues to do. The culture is so much more because of people like him who extend every part of themselves to create something beautiful and timeless—much love and success to Chuck D on his project.
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Written by Renae Richardson
Did you miss Chuck D’s exchange with former group member Flava Flav? If so, then check out FM Hip Hop’s retrospective article.