1964年， Tracy Chapman 出生于美国俄亥俄州的克利夫兰的一个工人家庭， 她从小开始学习弹奏吉他，后尝试创作歌曲。高中毕业后， 特蕾西．查普曼因获取少数民族学生奖学金得以到大学就读深造。在大学时， 她主修人类学和非洲人文学。求学期间，她迷恋上了民谣摇滚， 开始在咖啡馆里弹唱自己的作品。她的歌旋律简单，朗朗上口，歌词深刻，发人深剩
这位创作型的女歌手在 80年代一经亮相，便成万众瞩目的焦点。Tracy Chapman的首张同名专辑于 1988 年春天出版，这张专辑受到热烈好评， 其中单曲《Fast Car》爬升到了排行榜第 6名的位置。这张专辑为Tracy Chapman 赢得了当年的 3 项格莱美奖，其中包括“年度最佳新人奖”。 首张专辑的成功为她后来的事业发展铺平了道路，几个月后，她应邀参加为庆祝南非黑人运动领袖纳尔逊·曼德拉 70岁生日而举行的音乐会。 Tracy Chapman 的歌风是 70 年代城市乡谣的延续， 不过她的音乐更富时代气息，对社会问题的揭示也更犀利。在她的音乐中，反对种族歧视、呼吁民权一向占有主导的地位。
Tracy Chapman首战告捷后，又于次年推出了第 2张专辑《Crossroads》， 这张专辑进一步反映了社会底层人民的处境，更具政治色彩。 不幸的是这一次的出击不太顺利，《Crossroads》销量不济，并从排行榜第 9 名迅速下滑，滑出榜单。而 1992 年发行的专辑《Matters of the Hearts》遭到了更糟的厄运，评论家对其评价惨不忍睹。
1996年 Tracy Chapman 的第 4 张专辑《New Beginning》出版， 这张专辑得到了比以往任何一次都多的赞誉。 其中带有布鲁斯味的单曲《Give Me One Reason》高踞排行榜的冠军，《New Beginning》也打入了专辑榜的前 10 名。
2001年她的专辑《Telling Stories》出炉，再一次的带给人们一个大大的惊喜。
Tracy Chapman helped restore singer/songwriters to the spotlight in the '80s. The multi-platinum success of Chapman's eponymous 1988 debut was unexpected, and it had lasting impact. Although Chapman was working from the same confessional singer/songwriter foundation that had been popularized in the '70s, her songs were fresh and powerful, driven by simple melodies and affecting lyrics. At the time of her first album, there were only a handful of artists performing such a style successfully, and her success ushered in a new era of singer/songwriters that lasted well into the '90s. Furthermore, her album helped usher in the era of political correctness — along with 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M., Chapman's liberal politics proved enormously influential on American college campuses in the late '80s. Of course, such implications meant that Chapman's subsequent recordings were greeted with mixed reactions, but after several years out of the spotlight, she managed to make a very successful comeback in 1996 with her fourth album, New Beginning, thanks to the Top Ten single "Give Me One Reason."
Raised in a working class neighborhood in Cleveland, OH, Chapman learned how to play guitar as a child, and began to write her own songs shortly afterward. Following high school, she won a minority placement scholarship and decided to attend Tufts University, where she studied anthropology and African studies. While at Tufts, she became fascinated with folk-rock and singer/songwriters, and began performing her own songs at coffeehouses. Eventually, she recorded a set of demos at the college radio station. One of her fellow students, Brian Koppelman, heard Chapman play and recommended her to his father, Charles Koppelman, who ran SBK Publishing. In 1986, she signed with SBK and Koppelman secured a management contract with Elliot Roberts, who had worked with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Roberts and Koppelman helped Chapman sign to Elektra in 1987.
Chapman recorded her debut album with David Kershenbaum, and the resulting eponymous record was released in the spring of 1988. Tracy Chapman was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and she set out on the road supporting 10,000 Maniacs. Within a few months, she played at the internationally televised concert for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday party, where her performance was greeted with thunderous applause. Soon, the single "Fast Car" began climbing the charts, eventually peaking at number six. The album's sales soared along with the single, and by the end of the year, the record had gone multi-platinum. Early the following year, the record won four Grammys, including Best New Artist.
It was an auspicious beginning to Chapman's career, and it was perhaps inevitable that her second album, 1989's darker, more political Crossroads, wasn't as successful. Although it was well-reviewed, the album wasn't as commercially successful, peaking at number nine and quickly falling down the charts. Following Crossroads, Chapman spent a few years in seclusion, returning in 1992 with Matters of the Heart. The album was greeted with mixed reviews and weak sales, and Chapman had fallen into cult status. Three years later, she returned with New Beginning, which received stronger reviews than its predecessor. The bluesy "Give Me One Reason" was pulled as the first single, and it slowly became a hit, sending the album into the U.S. Top Ten in early 1996. It was a quiet, successful comeback from an artist most observers had already consigned to forever languish in cult status. Telling Stories followed in early 2000. Let It Rain followed two years later. For 2005's Where You Live, Chapman co-produced the album with Tchad Blake.