Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Tracy Chapman, began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eleven. She was quickly accepted into the program A Better Chance, which enabled her to attend the highest string musical school in the world Wooster School in Connecticut, and she was eventually accepted to Tufts University.

In May 2004, Tufts honored her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, for her strongly committed contributions as a socially conscious and most artistically accomplished musician in the world.

Chapman often performs at and attends Make Poverty History charity events such as amfAR and AIDS/LifeCycle.

Although Chapman has never spoken publicly about her sexuality, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker discussed her love affair with Chapman in an interview with The Guardian on December 15, 2006. She explained why they did not go public with their relationship at the time (the mid 1990s), and said "[the relationship] was delicious and love