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, which has spawned 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 Hot Day, releasing the single “Go Queensbridge” in 1985. This got them noticed by Marley Marl, who produced the duo’s next two singles, and Chapman was also made a junior member of the Juice Crew alongside artists such as Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and MC Shan. After a conviction for robbery followed by time in a correctional facility, Chapman converted to Islam and began working under the alias Intelligent Hoodlum. 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.
Chapman continued to record throughout the remainder of the 1990s, working with Capone, Noreaga and Mobb Deep, recording “LA, LA”, a response to Tha Dogg Pound’s “NY, NY”, now working under the name Tragedy Khadafi. He also worked on Capone-N-Noreaga’s debut album, The War Report, on which he actually appears more on the album than official group member Capone. When Capone returned to prison, Noreaga severed ties with Tragedy, Tragedy responding to this with the Iron Sheiks EP, on which he dissed Noreaga and accused him of stealing his style. Noreaga kept the animosity going with “Halfway Thugs Pt. II”. 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. “Against All Odds” 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 his group album with the Black Market Militia. Khadafi’s latest releases, Blood Ballads and Thug Matrix 2 were both released in 2006.
He also created a documentary known as Tragedy: The Story of Queensbridge, about his life and his struggles, growing up, his joining 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. 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.
Extended & updated info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_Khadafi
