As a poet and philosopher, Chuck D has been the hard rhymer, rolling anthems off his tongue in an era of apathy, tapping into the youth culture of the world for more than a decade.

Fight the Power, his first book, part memoir, part treatise, part State of the Union Address, is a testament to his nearly twenty years in the music business and his experiences around the world. Here is a history of one of the most important and controversial musical movements of our century, its impact on our culture, and the heroes and victims it has created in its wake.