Jeff Chang is an American historian, journalist, and music critic on

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

music and culture. His 2005 book, '' Can't Stop Won't Stop'', which won the

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

, chronicles the early hip hop scene. His writing has appeared in '' URB'', ''

BOMB A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

'', ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', '' San Francisco Bay Guardian'', ''Vibe'', ''Spin'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', and ''Mother Jones''. He has also been featured on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. Chang was the executive director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts + Committee on Black Performing Arts at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He also served as the executive director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. In June 2018, the Institute announced that Chang would leave to become the first vice president of Narrative, Arts, and Culture at Race Forward. Chang resides in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

Early life and education

Born of Chinese and Native Hawaiian ancestry, Chang was born and raised in Hawaiʻi where he attended

ʻIolani School Iolani School is a private coeducational K-12 college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It serves over 2,200 students with a boarding program for grades 9 - 12 as well as a summer boarding program for middle school grades. Founded in 18 ...

. He then earned his bachelor's degree at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and went on to get his master's degree in Asian American Studies from

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Career

In 1993, Chang co-founded and ran the indie hip hop label SoleSides, which is now known as Quannum Projects. He helped launch the careers of

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...

Lyrics Born Tsutomu William "Tom" Shimura (born September 2, 1972), better known by his stage name Lyrics Born (formerly Asia Born), is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker. Early ...

, and Lateef the Truthspeaker. As a student, Chang was influenced by the anti-apartheid and the anti-racist movements at

, where he worked as a community laborer and student organizer. He also worked as a lobbyist for the students of the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

. Chang has lectured at colleges, universities, festivals, and institutions in the U.S. and around the world. Chang was an organizer of the inaugural National Hip-Hop Political Convention. Chang is a United States Artists Fellow in Literature, and has won awards such as the North Star News Prize award, the UTNE Reader award, the St. Clair Drake Teaching Award at Stanford University in 2014 and the 50 Visionaries Changing Your Word award. He cofounded CultureStrike and

ColorLines ''Colorlines'' is a digital news platform that publishes political content focusing on social justice and progressive activism. History ''Colorlines'' was founded in 1998 as a print publication published jointly by the Applied Research Center ( ...

movements. In 2005 he participated in a conversation with

Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, becoming an i ...

, the social and political activist and director of the Peace and Justice Resource Center in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, in the Mario Savio Memorial Lecture. In 2007, Chang interviewed then-candidate

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, for the cover of ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' magazine. He has also written for ''

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the ''

'', '' The Believer'', ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'', ''

n+1 N1, N.I, N-1, N=1, or N01 may refer to: Information technology * Nokia N1, an Android tablet * Nexus One, an Android phone made by HTC * Nylas N1, a desktop email client * Oppo N1, an Android phone * N1, a Sun Microsystems software brand now ...

'', '' Mother Jones'', ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', and ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

'', among others. In 2005, Picador published his first book, '' Can't Stop Won't Stop'', which won the

and the Asian American Literary Award. In 2007, he edited the book ''Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop'', a compilation of different artists' interviews and discussions. In 2020, Chang was involved in a documentary called ''Asian Americans'' on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. Chang served as a featured commentator, bringing his expertise in cultural history and social issues to the forefront. His contributions primarily revolved around providing historical context and cultural analysis, particularly focusing on the intersection of race, identity, and the Asian American experience. With his background in exploring similar themes through the lens of hip-hop culture, Chang offered unique insights into the narrative of Asian Americans.

Bibliography

Books

* '' Can't Stop Won't Stop'' (2005) * ''Who We Be: A Cultural History of Race in Post-Civil Rights America'' (2014, St. Martin's Press) * ''We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation'' (2016, Picador)

Edited works

* ''Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop'' (2007)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Jeff American music critics American music journalists American male journalists American writers of Taiwanese descent American writers of Chinese descent Writers from Hawaii Native Hawaiian writers University of California, Davis alumni ʻIolani School alumni Living people San Francisco Chronicle people The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American journalists of Chinese descent Hawaii people of Chinese descent American Book Award winners American hip-hop record producers Progressivism in the United States