Still Reportin’
From MC Jade to the Super Kids to MC Percy to Tragedy to Intelligent Hoodlum to Tragedy Khadafi, this guy has seen some shit in the evolution and gradual rotting away of this thing known as Queensbridge Rap. There may be a follow-up focusing on his work with Capone-N-Noreaga, Killa Sha and others, since Trag…
Continuing from Part 1, Trag discusses dealing with depression, mentoring MC’s and the origin of his military state of mind. Robbie: Can you tell me more about the fall-out from your second album? Tragedy Khadafi: I’ve been rhyming since I was nine and I started writing songs when I was eleven, so I’ve been rhyming…
Photo: ARMEN Tragedy Khadafi is considered to be the blueprint of the Queensbridge style of rhyming, which has become world-renowned thanks to artists like Nas, Mobb Deep and Cormega. Even though he never achieved the commercial acclaim of some of those who followed in his footsteps – due to a variety of personal and professional…
If you caught the Special Edition of Marley Marl‘s In Control Vol. 1 then you would have caught the commentary from the man himself introducing each track. According to Marley, Tragedy’s second verse on ‘Live Motivator’ was the official birth of the QB style: Marley Marl – ‘Live Motivator Intro’
If you’re not checking The Meaning of Dope you’re missing out on the best source of original rap footage out there right now. This in particular caught my attention – vintage footage of the ever-elusive Joe Fatal, who also appeared in Main Source‘s “Just Hangin’ Out” and Kool G Rap‘s “Erase Racism” videos.
Here’s my interview with Pete from Hip-Hop Connection magazine for anybody who may have missed it. Even though he proved to be one of my more challenging interview subjects, I think you’ll enjoy this a little more than the million other Q&A’s he did to promote the NY’s Finest album. Robbie: You worked with Marley…
For the final in my series of Tragedy Specials, I’ve got an unreleased burner and a brand new joint for ya. A lost jewel from Khadafi‘s catalogue is a short track known as “Leviathan”, which appeared on a 25 Ta Life test-pressing that was later bootlegged on a double 12″, along with a random selection…
Trag has had a few different kids join him on songs at various stages, but one of the best combinations was when he teamed-up with Iman Thug for some outstanding efforts such as “The Bridge 2000”, “Allumniti” and “True Confessions”. Despite the fact that a lot of people thought that “Confessions” was a Raekwon and…
Jumping ahead from the War Report era (which I’ll return to in a minute), 2003 saw the release of Still Reportin’, which was a strong return to form that managed to generate a nice buzz with an “XL” rating in Elliot Wilson‘s mag amongst other things. As you know by now, Trag got locked up…
Following Saga of A Hoodlum, it would be a few more years before we heard from Trag again. Having become frustrated with the struggles that come from being an artist on a clueless major label, plus an unforseen “up north trip”, he soon focused his attention on the bigger picture, and pieced together a project…
1993 was not a good year for rap. Shitty Onyx and Das-Efx clones clogged record shelves, and major labels began their attempt to kill off vinyl by limiting many albums to small promotional runs on wax. Sure, we had quality releases such as Midnight Marauders, Enter The 36 Chambers and Enter The Stage to keep…
The b-side to the forgettable “Back To Reality” single (which, as previously mentioned, featured a large chunk of Soul II Soul as payback for Jazzie B‘s bite) featured an ill cut that teamed-up Tragedy with Craig G, for what turned-out to be one of the most under-appreciated team-ups amongst Marley’s stable of vocal talent. Over…