works
Tragedy, the story of Queensbridge
[video]
After documenting a host of global conflicts, JuJu co-founders Booker Sim and Malcolm Hearn turned to the war zone in New York’s infamous Queensbridge Houses, the world’s largest housing projects.
But beyond violence, they discovered the richest legacy in hip-hop, telling the story of The Juice Crew, Nas, Mobb Deep, CNN and the realest rapper of them all: TRAGEDY.
featuring TRAGEDY KHADAFI, CNN, MOBB DEEP, MARLEY MARL, POET, KILLA SHA, POPPA MOBB, UNCLE LA and THE QUEENSBRIDGE PROJECTS
photos by BOOGIE editor MALCOLM HEARN
executive producers PERCY CHAPMAN and MALCOLM HEARN
produced by MALCOLM HEARN, POPPA MOBB and UNCLE LA
written, directed and produced by BOOKER SIM
While still in his mother’s womb, Tragedy’s dad is shot dead. Thirteen years later, with his mom hooked on smack, Trag hustles to survive. But the kid’s a rap genius, and is signed to the world famous Juice Crew…till he’s busted, sent to Riker’s Island at 16!
Trag emerges political…releasing his INTELLIGENT HOODLUM album, featuring the controversial track “Arrest the President.” ‘Nuff respect, but he’s eclipsed by young Queensbridge rapper Nas with a style borrowed from his own.
Trag falls prey to the streets…where he discovers teen rappers Capone-N-Noreaga – CNN. And after gaining notoriety as the first to stand up for New York during the East-Coast/West-Coast beef, they get a record deal. Trag is hailed as a genius for masterminding CNN’s geo-political WAR REPORT album.
Capone is busted and Noreaga finds stardom, leaving Trag to starve. Then Trag’s mom overdoses on heroin. Trag once again turns to the streets for inspiration, transforming pain to beauty on autobiographical underground album STILL REPORTING, with spine tingling odes to his mother’s memory.
Trag meets Noreaga to talk about a movie deal they’ve been offered…but cops pull up on ‘em, throwing Trag in jail. Out on bail, Trag is still reporting from the hood, still keeping it real in Queensbridge.
Tragedy’s story is unique, in that he lived every great Queensbridge moment. So in telling his story, he’s telling the story of his hood. Sure, Tragedy’s life IS a tragedy. But through hip-hop, he triumphs.
TRAGEDY: THE STORY OF QUEENSBRIDGE has captured the imagination of viewers of all ages and backgrounds at prestigious festivals like Slamdance, NXNE and H2O, and is being distributed internationally by Vision Films.
DVD
NOT CURRENTLY FOR SALE
Includes: trailer, music videos ”L.A. L.A.” and ”T.O.N.Y.,” and outtakes: the story behind "T.O.N.Y.,” the beef over Killa Black's death, the history of QB’s Dunn Language.-
Format
DVD-Video
1-NTSC -
Language
English
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Subtitles
None
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Region
Region 1
(U.S. and Canada only.) -
Run Time
73 minutes
