Jeff Chang Releasing New Book

Hip-Hop writer Jeff Chang is releasing his new book titled Total Chaos, in Februrary of this year. Chang wants Chaos to fill the holes. He wants it to hit the topics of hip-hop culture he missed in his 2005 release Can't Stop Won't Stop.

“Total Chaos has been a labor of love for two reasons,” Chang told HipHopGame. “When I was writing Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, I felt that there were so many aspects of the hip-hop arts movement that I didn’t get to talk about. So Total Chaos fills in some gaps. One person can never represent the entirety of hip-hop. So I love this book because it’s as diverse and dizzying as hip-hop arts is at its best, with everyone speaking in their own amazing voice.”

Chang feels that many current writers in the hip-hop field only discuss rap and not the real culture and transformation of the grand movement.

“The arts establishment doesn’t recognize hip-hop arts if it’s not in the form that we saw during the early ‘80’s – emceeing, DJ’ing, graffiti and b-boying/b-girling,” Chang says. “But for anyone who has grown up with hip-hop, it’s obvious that the hip-hop arts movement is one of the most vibrant and transformative of our time. So I think the time has come for us to claim with pride all the hip-hop being made in places people wouldn’t expect – in literature, photography, graphic design and more. The list goes on and on.”

Be ready to express your views and debate when Chang and a panel of writers, contributors to hip-hop, etc. go on the road with the release of Total Chaos for a tour discussing the topics in the book and in the culture in general.