Pro
Chuck Lightning
Biography
One half of Atlanta duo Deep Cotton, Chuck Lightning is also a co-founder and the creative director of the Wondaland Arts Society, a collective that’s probably best known for launching the likes of Janelle Monáe into orbit. Lightning, an intellectual who’s been known to eloquently speak on everything from Afro-futurism to race relations to the history of rock’n’roll, attended Morehouse College, and it was there that he met Nate “Rocket” Wonder, his eventual partner in both Deep Cotton and Wondaland. The two have been instrumental in producing Monáe’s music, as the three artists have formed an incredibly strong bond, both in and out of the studio. Advancing the notion that music should no longer be segregated—even subtly—by genre or race, Deep Cotton combines elements of funk, soul, R&B and rock in its music, although Lightning and Wonder remain firmly focused on the future, even if they mine the past for inspiration. In 2015, the group made waves with the song “Let’s Get Caught,” which appeared on a Wondaland compilation, and continues to work toward a debut album of its own.