Today we’d like to introduce you to George Doman.
Hi George, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Chicago, Illinois; on August 6, 1983, at thirteen, my mother and I moved to Modesto, California. Growing up in the North side of Chicago, moving to Modesto, California, was a major change for me. During my years in junior high, I enjoyed the art of graffiti. One of my older distant cousins gave me the nickname “Tragedy,” pronounced “Tra-G-D” because of my initials (George Doman). I picked up a microphone in 1995 but started recording in a makeshift studio with my original producer Dimel K in 2001. Working up my buzz in my new hometown, I created a wide demographic fan base on homemade mix-tape recordings. In 2002, my first hit single, “Still My Rock, ” produced by Joey-T,” was on rotation at a local Hip-Hop radio station, Hot 104.7. With that single, I became a semi-finalist in Xzibit’s 2005 Hip-Hop Super Star contest. Entering 2005, I was on radio rotation for a local car dealership, every week coming up with a catchy tune for the car dealership until the end of 2007. I have collaborated with platinum recording artist Napoleon (Formally from Tupac’s Outlawz), Macadoshis (Formally known from Tupac’s T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E.), Amaar of Aman, JoJo Simmons, Michaela Shiloh, and many others in the past on features. Hit songs and features like those led me to open up for multiple Bay Area legends such as; Keak Da Sneak and E-40.
In 2007, I won a Myspace contest spot on Sony’s God Of War 2 video game soundtrack, which became the number-one-selling video game soundtrack in the nation that year leading to a feature on Spike TV about how he won the contest, leaving him the only unsigned artist on the soundtrack next to names like legendary composers Junkie-XL, Shadows Fall, and Gerard K. Marino.
In Mid-2007, I flew to Chicago, where I auditioned for MTV’s show, “Making The Band 4”, hosted by Bad Boy Records and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. During the taping of his audition, Michael from R&B’s sensational Pop group, “New Edition” and Bell Biv DeVoe (B.B.D.), along with Bad Boy Records A&R, Slam, became fans of my unreleased taped audition. After I finished my set, I received a standing ovation from Michael Bivins, who said, “Now that’s how you raise the bar for Making the Band!” Later that year, he was among the top five finalists for the movie’s “Step Up 2” film soundtrack. Shortly after, he was invited to B.E.T.’s “Wild Out Wednesday” (W.O.W.) for an audition in New York.
In 2020, during my graduate program at Full Sail University, I recorded a verse for Rising Phoenix, a Netflix documentary about Paralympians. As a result, he was one of several disabled artists to win a 2021 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction. Rising Phoenix tells the story of The Paralympic Games from its early stages. Neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttman began the Paralympics with an extraordinary dream: to help his paraplegic patients. Rising Phoenix is the brainchild of Greg Nugent, and well-known composer Daniel Pemberton and music supervisor Gary Welch teamed together to find disabled hip-hop artists leading them to Krip-Hop Nation, a group of worldwide artists with disabilities. Founded in 2007 by Leroy F. Moore Jr. The soundtrack brought together Toni Hickman, Keith Jones, and myself to watch the film and draw inspiration from the several Paralympic athletes who were followed during the film. We each wrote and produced perspective parts on Daniels’s brilliant composition, which led to our group later establishing itself as a Sport’s Emmy-winning group of disabled defiant hip-hop artists. It feels incredible because the song will forever be an anthem for every televised Paralympic game in the future. I set out long ago to be a voice for the disabled community, and because of this particular track, my voice and poetry will forever be immortalized in those stadiums. Today, concerning my music, I work alongside J. Bristol Beats and my engineer CJMIXEDiT for any recent releases under the alias georgetragic.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. As an Emmy-winning recording artist living with cerebral palsy, I want to bring attention to the talents of my community. While those with disabilities face no talent, we often lack opportunity. That’s why it is especially important to draw attention to the contributions of disabled people to America’s workforce.
“Growing up, I was always looking at the credits on albums, and I was infatuated with who was behind the scenes, reading all the names, knowing all the players behind the stars,” “I always wondered how cool it would it be to work at a record label.” which is why my undergraduate degree was primarily focused on the Music Business degree program at Full Sail University.
“To be an audio engineer, you’ve got to be what’s called a ‘runner,’ and people with my disabilities – cerebral palsy – don’t exist in that world. So, I was getting a lot of discrimination,” recalls the grad. “I love music and the music business, but what if I try to work at other companies? I needed something else. So, I decided to jump into digital marketing.”
Early in my career as an artist in 2014, I faced employment discrimination firsthand. At my first job in a Los Angeles recording studio, I was fired for not moving and for some of my non-disabled colleagues. But, instead of giving up, I doubled down and earned my master’s degree at Full Sail University in digital marketing.
While at Full Sail University, I got the chance to record music for Rising Phoenix, a Netflix documentary about Paralympians. As a result, I was one of several disabled artists to win a 2021 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction. If I’ve learned anything from these experiences, it’s that if you give disabled people a chance to show how talented they are, that’s what they’ll do. Now connected with the International Paralympic Committee, I saw a chance to apply my new skill set in digital marketing to an organization whose mission is to silence discrimination and ableism. “My biggest concern was I have a disability, and it’s really hard to get employment. It’s really hard to work. I was like, ‘Who better to understand me than the freaking Paralympics?'”
Soon after graduating, I was brought to the Paralympics team as a Brand Campaign Assistant for a global campaign called WeThe15. By connecting with disabled and allied influencers and advocates, I built awareness around the campaign and discrimination against the disabled.
Born with cerebral palsy, today, I’m a disability advocate, hip-hop artist, and digital marketing specialist. And currently, I’m a faculty member of Warner Music Group’s Global D.E.I. Institute. Ultimately, since it’s very hard to make it as a hip-hop artist with a disability, I decided to journey into the music business. Warner Music Group has been my dream company since I was 12. Last October, I held a panel at Warner Music Group’s L.A. office on disability and was fortunate to host a live panel! I want to work in the music business, so I reached out to you and wanted to talk about disability and the music industry since the number of people hired is extremely low today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Today, I help drive Warner Music Group D.E.I. Institute’s efforts across 70+ countries as a faculty member and disabled advocate. I help aid disability ERG by raising awareness of workplace issues that affect people with disabilities. As a result, organizations can maximize their outreach to serve persons with disabilities internally and locally.
I assisted by organizing a disability awareness panel on October 20, 2022. As a moderator in a panel event, I led the conversation and won over the audience. I communicated the event schedule and goals, making the live discussions engaging and effective. Together we fostered productive learning relationships among panelists and participants, allowing everyone to reflect and think critically when listening to different perspectives. Facilitating a panel discussion by discussing a specific topic with the panelists and audience. I discovered and invited industry experts who shared trends, insights, and ideas that answered questions from the audience. Our panel resulted in 45 minutes to one hour.
In 2020, I was brought to the Paralympics team as a Brand Campaign Assistant for a global campaign called WeThe15. By connecting with disabled and allied influencers and advocates, I have built awareness around the campaign and discrimination against persons with disabilities. WeThe15 is the sport’s biggest-ever human rights movement to end discrimination. We aim to transform the lives of the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities, representing 15% of the global population.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Using the tool ‘Upfluence,’ I connected directly with disabled and allied influencers and advocates to build awareness around the campaign launch. Researched keywords such as autism, disabled, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and advocate to find relevant contacts. I researched and messaged 3,200+ influencers who could help create awareness of WeThe15.
We targeted different groups depending on their followers.
1. Celebs and Ambassadors
2. Sport Ambassadors
3. Advocates
4. Amplifiers
I found there were limited disabled influencers, so I also manually searched for anyone associated with disabilities online and added them to our lists, and grouped them accordingly. I created multiple email templates alongside The International Paralympic colleagues. With influencers and advocates, I manually messaged assets and relevant links before key launch dates. In addition, I maintained WeThe15’s Instagram and Twitter accounts by responding to important questions asked by supporters and influencers through direct messaging.
I have interned at Hipgnosis Songs Fund, handling many of the department’s general administrative tasks, such as coordinating and maintaining royalty splits, submitting song information, artist’s release orders, organizing tour date data for artists, and gathering and analyzing music-related data.
I believe many media outlets silence stories like mine because ‘disability’ is often left out of many conversations regarding inclusion and D.E.I. Disability is not to be cured or looked at as a problem; rather, it should be a learning experience leading to more conversations to erase the bias and create more accessible opportunities for everyone. I recommend the next generation learn how to research and reach out! Networking and relationships form bridges to near opportunities. Finding what your future company needs, building experience relative to the position you want, and working as if you already have that position are essential to strengthening your candidacy as an employee.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.georgetragic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/georgetragic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgedoman/
- Twitter: twitter.com/georgetragic
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/gtragic
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/fCl0rhuu-6A
- Other: https://www.deiinstitute.wmg.com/institute-faculty
Image Credits
Composite: L.I.L.A. Images, MONHAND, Thaddeus E. Ray
