Chuck D is a key figure in the history of hip-hop. There’s no denying that. In Jeff Chang’s seminal 2005 book, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, — arguably the definitive document on the history of hip-hop culture — The Public Enemy MC is featured prominently as a source and Public Enemy are justifiably a major part of the book’s comprehensive tracking of hip-hop’s sociopolitical shift in the late-80’s and early 90’s. So it’s fitting that Chuck D is now bringing The Story Of Hip-Hop With Chuck D, a four-part docuseries for TV that will document the history of hip-hop and air on PBS.
Produced by PBS and BBC Studios, the series is set to trace the history of hip-hop over the course of the past 40 years and a press release indicates that it’ll feature first hand accounts from hip-hop legends and voices of “those who were there at the start, creating an anthology of how it became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history.” Chuck D, who developed the series with his manager Lorrie Boula shared a statement on the project:
“The hip-hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” said Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip-hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip-hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”
The Story Of Hip-Hop With Chuck D is entering production and no word on yet on when it will be released.