Jeff Chang

Jeff Chang is an American journalist and music critic on hip hop music and culture. He received a bachelor’s degree from U.C Berkley and a master’s degree in Asian American Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1993, he co-founded and ran the influential hip-hop indie label, SoleSides, now Quannum Projects, helping launch the careers of DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born and Lateef the Truth Speaker. His 2005 book, Can't Stop Won't Stop, which won the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award, chronicles the early hip hop scene. His writings have appeared in publications such as URB, The Bomb, San Francisco Chronicle, the Village Voice, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Vibe, Spin, The Nation, and Mother Jones. In addition, Chang co-founded CultureStr/ke and ColorLines and was Senior Editor/Director at Russell Simmons' 360hiphop.com. He is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts + Committee on Black Performing Arts at Stanford University.