Chuck D is an artist.
The rap legend is an actual artist as well always has been.
CHUCK D:I spent half my life in a hotel room, going to 116 countries and touring.
‘STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D’.Courtesy of Akashic Books
I could really draw to the moment.
And so I became a furnace for art output and activity, turning my room into a gallery.
Before you could say, “Yeah, I do art come by, see my gallery.”
Public Enemy’s Chuck D.John Lamparski/Getty Images
On social media, all you got to do is post it, and the world is your gallery.
I multitask through art because what most people have is their doodles.
I work on speed, where I could do a complete work in a matter of minutes.
My sketches became more like my doodles.
ThatNaphic Grovelis talking about how we’ve lost ourselves in the culture of guns.
That’s what “the hamn” means.
It’s the appetite, the fetish of guns in the USA, or even in the world.
Now, it’s just revisiting it fully.
Yeah, it’s a combination.
It’s a ride, it’s an experience, it’s a roller coaster through my design.
It took me four or five years to get my style back.
Did you have second thoughts about putting any of this out into the world?
I mean, you’ve got all this stuff in there about Flavor Flav and his lawyers.
Did you ever think, “Oh, maybe I should hold this back”?
Yeah, a little bit.
But it was what it was, and it’s clear.
It’s not disrespectful.
There was another one during the Gods of Rap tour that I did [without Flavor Flav].
That’s just what it is.
