Cartoonist Keith Knight
…was born and raised in the Boston area. Weaned on a steady diet of Star Wars, hip-hop, racism and Warner Bros. cartoons, Knight started drawing comics in grade school. After graduating from college with a degree in graphic design, Knight drove out to San Francisco in the early ’90s. It was in the Bay Area where Knight developed his trademark cartooning style that has been described as a cross between Calvin & Hobbes and underground comix.
Knight is part of a new generation of talented young African-American artists who infuse their work with urgency, edge, humor, satire, politics and race. His art has appeared in various publications worldwide, including the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon.com, Ebony, ESPN the Magazine, L.A. Weekly, MAD Magazine, and the Funny Times . Knight won the 2007 Harvey Award and the 2006, 2007 & 2008 Glyph Awards for Best Comic Strip. His comic musings on race have garnered accolades and stirred controversies, prompting CNN to tap him to grade America on its progress concerning issues of race.
Three of his comix were the basis of an award-winning live-action short film, Jetzt Kommt Ein Karton, in Germany. His comic art has appeared in museums and galleries from San Francisco (CA) to Angoulême (France).
Keith’s work has been collected in 9 books so far: six collections of his multi-panel strip, the K Chronicles, and two collections of his single panel (th)ink titled Red,White, Black & Blue and Are We Feeling Safer Yet?. He also co-wrote and illustrated The Beginner’s Guide to Community-Based Art.
His semi-conscious hip-hop band, the Marginal Prophets, will kick your ass. Their last disc, Bohemian Rap CD, won the California Music Award for Outstanding Rap Album, beating out rap heavyweights Paris, Aceyalone, E-40, Too-Short, and Ice Cube’s Westside Connection. Hip-hop music with a punk-rock aesthetic.
Keith Knight is available to perform his hilarious and inspirational multimedia comic strip slideshow at your campus, library, community center or church. For more details, contact the artist at keef@kchronicles.com.
Fun Facts
In 1984, Keith Knight was the official Michael Jackson impersonator of Jordan Marsh, a department store in Boston.
Keith Knight was born in Malden, Massachusetts, birthplace of Converse All-Stars, Extreme, and Jack Albertson, from Chico and the Man.
In May 2000, Keith performed naked onstage with his band at the world-renowned Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. Supposedly for charity.
Spike Lee purchased an original piece Keith did about his film Do the Right Thing.
Find out when Keef is coming to your town in the calendar section.
