Todd Boyd, aka "Notorious Ph.D.", is the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race & Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Boyd is a media commentator, author, producer, consultant and scholar. He is considered an expert on American popular culture and is known for his pioneering work on cinema, media, hip hop culture, fashion, art and sports. Boyd received his Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa in 1991 and began his professorial career at USC in the fall of 1992.
Media appearances
Over the last two decades, Boyd has appeared in numerous documentaries covering a range of topics related to media and popular culture. Some recent appearances include The Last Dance and Vick, as well as The Movies, College Football 150: The American Game, Sammy Davis Jr.: I Gotta Be Me, I Am Richard PryorAmerican Style, DennisRodman: For Better or Worse, Shut Up and Dribble, The Nineties and The History of Comedy among others. Dr. Boyd also appeared in Twenty Feet From Stardom winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. He has also been featured on many news and other programs including: NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, CBS Evening News, ABC World News Tonight, The News Hour, Frontline, Good Morning America, Biography among others.
Books, articles and essays
Boyd is the author/editor of seven books and over 100 articles, essays, reviews, and other forms of commentary. Boyd is the author of The Notorious Ph.D's Guide to the Super Fly 70s: A Connoisseur's Journey Through the Fabulous Flix, Hip Sounds, and Cool Vibes That Defined a Decade, Young Black Rich and Famous: The Rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop Invasion, and the Transformation of American Culture, The New H.N.I.C: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop, which was cited in the 10th Anniversary issue of VIBE Magazine as "one of the most significant books ever written on hip-hop," and Am I Black Enough For You?: Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond. He is also the editor of African Americans and Popular Culture Vol. 1–3, Basketball Jones: America Above the Rim and Out of Bounds: Sports, Media and the Politics of Identity. His written work has also appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, ESPN, and The Root.
Cinema
Boyd was the executive producer for the Netflix documentary, At All Costs. He was writer/producer on the Paramount Pictures cult classic film The Wood. He has also provided voice-over commentary on the DVD edition of the films Stormy Weather, Cabin in the Sky, Super Fly, and Uptown Saturday Night.
Publications
African Americans and Popular Culture, Vol 1–3:
The Notorious Ph.D.'s Guide to the Super Fly 70s:
Young Black Rich and Famous: The Rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop Invasion, and the Transformation of American Culture:
The New H.N.I.C: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop:
Basketball Jones: America Above the Rim:
Out of Bounds: Sports, Media and the Politics of Identity:
Am I Black Enough For You? : Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond:
