Today In Hip Hop History: Intelligent Hoodlum’s Self Titled Debut Album Turns 30 Years Old!

On this day in 1990, original Juice Crew member and Queensbridge Projects native Percy Chapman aka the Intelligent Hoodlum, released his debut album, also entitled Intelligent Hoodlum, on the A&M Records label.

Produced primarily by the QB behind the boards legend Marley Marl and Large Professor, this album was one of the most socio-political projects of its time, which could be easily categorized among the ranks of the Poor Righteous Teachers and Brand Nubian with its Islamic/5% Nation overtones. With the reception of The Juice Crew’s “The Symphony” as one of the best Hip Hop tracks of all time, it was very easy to overlook the members of the crew that didn’t appear on the song. As the youngest member of the crew, this album was necessary for Tragedy to prove himself as artist in his own right.

Some of the most memorable track from this project include the James Brown-powered “Black And Proud”, the George H.W. Bush-inspired “Arrest The President” and the Soul II Soul-sampled “Back To Reality”. Almost three decades ago, albums were more exclusive, so a 12-track album was an unspoken maximum for the number of songs on a full length project.

Salute to the Intelligent Hoodlum(Tragedy Khadafi) Marley Marl, Large Professot and everyone at A&M Records that helped make this album a Hip Hop classic!