Chuck D just wanted to dance: NCC talk revisits rap revolution and return to visual arts roots

It was up to Leslie Sinanan, a dental hygiene student at Northampton Community College, to get the accomplishments and historical perspective out of the way first. Sinanan stepped to the mic inside NCC’s Spartan Center to introduce Carlton D. Ridenhour — Chuck D. He visited the Bethlehem Township campus Tuesday night as part of the NCC celebration of a half-century of hip-hop, “50 Years Down the Line,” put together largely by sociology Professor Andrew McIntosh. “Known as a musician, an artist, an activist and front man for the group Public Enemy, who better to celebrate hip-hop culture’s dynamic mix of influences and styles, how they came to be, how they evolved, and they continue to be practiced and thrive in American culture,” Sinanan intoned before an audience of about 700. “Chuck D first rose to fame in the 1980s with a string of commercially successful albums that addressed weighty issues about race and inequality with a combination of intelligence and eloquence never seen before.” Chuck D went on to speak for more than two hours, blending humility, timing, humor, context, personal revelation, life advice, predictions and more. His baritone, inexhaustible delivery of songs like “Rebel Without a Pause” and “Fight...