Percy Chapman's second album, last under the name of Intelligent Hoodlum, before finally changing the moniker to Tragedy Khadafi.
The production is mainly performed by Marley Marl and K-Def, two rhythms are left to Kool Tee & Shake City Productions, while The Epitome of Scratch and Mr. Freaknasti have one beat each. The soundscape of the record is rough, dirty and dusty, mostly made up of funky-jazzy boom bap beats, slow drums and dark and gloomy samples: with the exception of Kool G Rap, to which, like Rakim, KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane, almost everything can be credited in retrospect, this is one of the first records to feature a noir rap-like sound, ahead of the times of a few years. Havoc, one of the artists who will popularize this sub-genre in a few seasons, is present as the only guest, uncredited, in "Pass the Teck": the rapper rides on a funky boom bap provided by K-Def, with Christmas bells looped in the background, however, his performance isn't memorable.
On this hard and pure, but sometimes also relaxed and calm musical carpet, the Juice Crew affiliated MC, delivers socio-conscious and braggadocio bars, with some sublime political excerpt ("At Large"), trying to lift himself out of poverty, crime, corruption and ghetto life that surrounded his existence. Gifted with a good narrative talent and outlined metric schemes, he delivers the lyrics in a cold and lucid style, slow and smoothness, boasting an excellent flow, calm and hardcore, often fit with the production chosen by the beatmakers. His pen weighs, the rhythms rest on solid foundations, and the album as a whole is a robust sequel to the debut that took place three years earlier. Distributed by A&M Records, a subsidiary of PolyGram, the album enters the hip-hop record chart, but it doesn't go far: Hoodlum proves that he's not a mainstream rapper, but a force to be reckoned with in the underground circuit.
Highlights: "Funk Mode", "Grand Groove", "At Large", "Death Row", "Mad Brothers Know His Name", "Grand Groove (Mix)".
Rating: 8/10.
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