Chaka Mkali (aka I Self Devine)

Chaka Mkali is a Minneapolis-based multidisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and community organizer whose work lives at the intersection of Hip-Hop aesthetics, visual art, and Black radical imagination. For over two decades, Chaka has used creativity as a tool for cultural resistance, healing, and transformation.

His practice spans painting, murals, music, writing, and curation—all grounded in a deep commitment to social justice and community empowerment. As Co-Executive Director of Hope Community, a nationally recognized community development organization, Chaka brings art and culture into dialogue with organizing and policy work.

His curatorial work includes Rituals of Resilience, a groundbreaking exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art that uplifted Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices through an expansive vision of healing and creative practice.

A prolific lyricist, Chaka has released multiple solo and collaborative albums, using music to reflect lived experience and amplify generational truths. His visual art has been featured in public murals, group exhibitions, and solo shows across the Twin Cities. Whether through large-scale collaborations or intimate storytelling, Chaka’s work embodies the power of creativity to shift culture, reclaim identity, and build liberatory futures.