Tragedy Khadafi “Mental Journey” Intro To The Millennium Gem

Artist BIO: Percy Chapman, (born August 18, 1971, in Queens, New York, USA) known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, and formerly known as Intelligent Hoodlum, is an American hip hop artist who hails from the Queensbridge housing projects in Queens, New York,[1] which has hailed other hip hop artists such as Nas, Cormega, Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, and many others. His name is a reference to Libyan head of state Muammar al-Gaddafi, also known as Omar Qaddafi.

He began his career as half of the duo Super Kids, along with DJ Hot Day, who also had worked with rapper Blaq Poet as PHD, releasing the single “Go, Queensbridge” in 1985.[3] It was this output that caught the attention of Marley Marl, who produced in 1986 the duo’s next single “The Tragedy (Dont Do It)”,[4] with Chapman also being made a junior member of the Juice Crew[1][3] alongside artists such as Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and MC Shan.

In 1987, he appeared as MC Percy in the B side of the 12″ “Juice Crew All Stars”[5] and also on the last Super Kids single, “Hot Day Master Mix”.[6] After a conviction for robbery followed by time in a correctional facility, Chapman became a Five Percenter and began working under the alias Intelligent Hoodlum.[3] His self-titled debut, Intelligent Hoodlum, released in 1990 and produced by Marley Marl, was full of political commentary, Five-Percenter rhetoric, and controversial messages in tracks such as “Arrest the President” and “Black and Proud.” He returned in 1993, releasing his second album, Tragedy: Saga of a Hoodlum, which would be his last album under that moniker.

Published on Nov 11, 2012. Tragedy Khadafi “Mental Journey” Directed By D. Gomez Films.

BIO Continued: Chapman continued to record throughout the remainder of the 1990s. One of his last recordings as Intelligent Hoodlum was the title cut for the motion picture soundtrack of Posse, a Hollywood Western that told the story of an African-American gunslinger posse. This song marked the end of Chapman’s overt focus on Black history and political commentary in his verses. Working with Capone, Noreaga and Mobb Deep, recording “L.A L.A” a response to Tha Dogg Pound’s “New York, New York”, Intelligent Hoodlum then began working under the name Tragedy Khadafi.[3] He also worked on Capone-N-Noreaga’s debut album, The War Report, on which he actually appears more on the album than Capone. When the latter returned to prison, Noreaga severed ties with Tragedy.

In 1998, Tragedy formed the group the Iron Sheiks along with his lifelong friend, Michael Butler a.k.a. Imam T.H.U.G. who was also from the Queensbridge Housing Projects. On an EP, Tragedy dissed Noreaga and accused him of stealing his style.[3] Noreaga kept the animosity going with “Halfway Thugs Pt. II.”[3] Khadafi’s third album, Against All Odds, was scheduled for release in 1999, but conflict with his label stalled the release, finally being released in 2001, which was also the first appearance of emcee HeadRush Napoleon, who continued to work with Tragedy on future recordings. This was followed by Still Reportin’… in 2003. In 2005, he released Thug Matrix independently and also released an album as a member of the group Black Market Militia. Khadafi’s latest releases, Blood Ballads and Thug Matrix 2, were both released in 2006.

He also starred in a documentary known as Tragedy: The Story of Queensbridge about his life and his struggles, growing up, his being a junior member of the Juice Crew, the numerous times he was incarcerated, and the toll a hard life has on a poor African-American child growing up without a father and with a mother addicted to heroin.[7] Immersed in well-suited beats and melodies that accent the tone of the situations described, he was trying to articulate the lesson he learned through experience as a disadvantaged child. Political perceptions are also expressed as he implied that he is a skeptic about 9/11 and the veracity of the federal statements regarding the issue.