Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Chuck D (Fight The Power (2020 Colourway))”?
Artist Statement
"Shepard says I've inspired him, but he's inspired me. Artists need to connect and collaborate. Lift each other up, when we can. This isn't our first print together. But it's the first one we've done since the US is turning and folks are in the streets. The world is a different place now, but art is still important." – Chuck D Chuck D has long been a hero of mine as founder and leader of Public Enemy. He's s an outspoken social and political voice, and activist. Chuck's lyrics always spoke truth to power. He is a trailblazer and true original. Public Enemy created a lane in music that few have had the guts to travel. I'm always looking for excuses to collaborate with Chuck and celebrate his influence on me and culture in genera I was very happy to be asked to participate in his upcoming art show ' The Terrordome' and create a new colorway of my first portrait of Chuck. The art show at Black Book Gallery in Denver will now be online because of COVID-19, more information is coming on that, but the 'Chuck D: Fight the Power' print will be available June 30 on obeygiant.com. If you don't own Public Enemy's 'It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back,' or 'Fear of a Black Planet,' listen to them and witness what music at the pinnacle of its sonic, political, and revolutionary potential can be. Proceeds from this print will go to Black Lives Matter Greater NYC. All prints signed by Shepard and Chuck D. Thanks for the inspiration, Chuck! -Shepard? Chuck D: Fight the Power. 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey and Chuck D. Numbered edition of 500. $80.
Summary
Chuck D (Fight The Power, 2020 Colourway) is a 2020 screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches on cream Speckletone paper, signed by both Shepard Fairey and Chuck D, in a numbered edition of 500, priced at $80. It is a new colorway of Fairey's first portrait of Chuck D, the founder and leader of Public Enemy. Created for Chuck D's online art show "The Terrordome" at Black Book Gallery, the print celebrates Chuck D's influence as an outspoken social and political voice and activist. Proceeds go to Black Lives Matter Greater NYC. The work pairs music-portrait imagery with Fairey's graphic propaganda style.
Why It Matters
Chuck D (Fight The Power, 2020 Colourway) is a landmark music-portrait collaboration that joins two activist icons at a charged moment. Fairey calls Chuck D a longtime hero, an outspoken social and political voice and activist whose lyrics spoke truth to power, and frames Public Enemy as having created a lane in music few had the guts to travel. Chuck D's own quoted words emphasize that this collaboration came as the US was turning and people were in the streets, anchoring the print to the 2020 racial-justice uprisings. The decision to issue a 2020 colorway of Fairey's first Chuck D portrait, timed to Chuck D's online "Terrordome" show at Black Book Gallery, gives it both art-historical and cultural continuity. With proceeds going to Black Lives Matter Greater NYC, the print is an explicit act of solidarity, not just a celebrity portrait. Signed by both artists and numbered to 500, it carries the weight of a genuine collaboration between a visual artist and a hip-hop pioneer. For collectors it is a high-appeal crossover object uniting music, civil rights, and Fairey's propaganda-poster aesthetic, documenting a specific moment when art and protest converged.
Collector Perspective
This is a top draw for hip-hop and Public Enemy fans, music-portrait collectors, and buyers of socially engaged art. The dual signatures of Fairey and Chuck D and the edition of 500 make it a desirable collaboration piece, while the Black Lives Matter Greater NYC benefit gives it a strong cause-driven narrative. At 18 x 24 inches it frames cleanly as a statement portrait in living or studio spaces. As a 2020 colorway of Fairey's first Chuck D portrait, it appeals to collectors tracking the evolution of that image. It groups well with Fairey's music and civil-rights work and stands out as a crossover between his visual catalog and hip-hop history, broadening its collector base beyond art-only buyers.
Historical Context
The print sits at the convergence of Fairey's music portraiture and his 2020 social-justice output. Created for Chuck D's online "Terrordome" show at Black Book Gallery in Denver, held online due to COVID-19, it revisits Fairey's first portrait of the Public Enemy leader in a new colorway. Released amid the 2020 racial-justice protests, with proceeds to Black Lives Matter Greater NYC, it reflects how that year fused Fairey's celebration of musical heroes with direct activist support. It belongs to his ongoing tradition of portraying influential cultural figures, here honoring a hip-hop pioneer whose politically charged music aligns closely with Fairey's own messaging.
FAQ
Who is depicted and who signed this print?
The print is a portrait of Chuck D, founder and leader of Public Enemy. It is signed by both Shepard Fairey and Chuck D, in a numbered edition of 500. Fairey describes Chuck D as a longtime hero, an outspoken social and political voice, activist, and trailblazer.
What is the occasion for this print?
It was created for Chuck D's art show "The Terrordome" at Black Book Gallery in Denver, which moved online due to COVID-19. It presents a new 2020 colorway of Fairey's first portrait of Chuck D, released June 30, 2020 on obeygiant.com.
What cause does it support?
According to the source, proceeds from this print go to Black Lives Matter Greater NYC. Chuck D's quoted statement ties the collaboration to a moment when the US was turning and people were in the streets, anchoring it to the 2020 racial-justice movement.
What are the specifications?
It is a screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches on cream Speckletone paper. Signed by both Shepard Fairey and Chuck D, it is a numbered edition of 500 with a release price of $80 in 2020.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.