Reef the Lost Cauze

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Reef The Lost Cauze


Background = solo_singer
Born = December 30th, 1981 (age 26)
Birth_name = Sharif Talib Lacey
Origin = Philadelphia, PA
Genre = Hip Hop
Label = Independent Free Agent

Reef The Lost Cauze, born Sharif Talib Lacey, is a prominent underground hip-hop artist based in Philadelphia. Aside from being a solo artist, Reef is a member of the hip-hop group The JuJu Mob as well as the hip-hop collective, Army of the Pharaohs.

Career

Reef started battling other rappers in high school and earned a reputation as one of the best battle mc's in Philadelphia. He received a film scholarship to the Philadelphia University of the Arts where he began to visualize a serious career as a recording artist. Realizing his true calling, Reef dropped out of college at the age of 19 and teamed up with Philadelphia-based producer Sleep E to begin working on his first solo project. The 10 track album, "The High Life", was released in 2001 and opened doors for Reef as he began performing at area clubs and generating praise from both fans and local media.

In February 2003, Reef released his second solo album, "Invisible Empire". He distributed the album himself by way of a national schedule of shows during which he won the Mic Check Battle in Philadelphia and took second place in the Blaze Freestyle Battle in Oakland, California.

Reef took his freestyle skills to another level early in 2004 with an arousing performance at the Beat Society production competition in New York, and a fierce win in the Riddle Records Mic Control Battle. He was also the End Of The Weak (EOW) Challenge Champion at the Rock Steady Crew 27th Anniversary in July 2004, and went on to take the EOW Grand Championship title in 2005. Mindful of his stunning battle prowess, Reef places a determined emphasis on balance with his songwriting and performance abilities. "Feast Or Famine", Reef's third solo album, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim. Also in 2005, Reef was a member of The JuJu Mob whose debut album, Black Candles, was lead by fellow Army of the Pharaohs rapper Chief Kamachi. The debut album from Army of the Pharaohs entitled "The Torture Papers", was released in 2006 and featured two songs with Reef as a featured member.

Reef kicked off 2007 as the featured artist on the song "Never", the lead single by The Snowgoons; a four-man german-based production team. The Snowgoons' album, German Lugers, was released February 27th on Babygrande Records. The single and its accompanying video can be heard and seen on Reef's myspace page.

"A Vicious Cycle", Reef's follow-up to "Feast Or Famine", is currently slated for an October 21st, 2008 release. It is rumored that Reef will release "A Vicious Cycle" through Well Done Entertainment Corporation in association with his imprint, Fuck You Pay Me Records. Additional rumors include the inclusion of Termanology among other potential collaborators on the album.

Reef also has a cameo in the new Frank Henenlotter film Bad Biology produced and co-written by R.A. the Rugged Man.

Discography

Albums

Collaborations

External links

*MySpace|reefthelostcauze
* [http://artofrhyme.com/AORTV.php?id=111 Reef the Lost Cauze performing live at the Philly Flava Fest 2007]
* [http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/searchresults.asp?searchby=Artist&keywords=Reef+The+Lost+Cauze Purchase Albums by Reef the Lost Cauze @ UndergroundHipHop.com]
* [http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/columns-editorials/id.698/title.fuck-what-you-heard-hip-hop-is-dead Reef the Lost Cauze on HipHopDX.com discussing "Hip Hop Being Dead"]
* [http://www.allhiphop.com/BreedingGround/?ID=54 Reef The Lost Cauze featured on allhiphop.com's Breeding Ground]
* [http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1206 Reef The Lost Cauze interviewed on allhiphop.com]
* [http://www.allhiphop.com/reviews/?ID=730 Feast Or Famine reviewed on allhiphop.com]
* [http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/index.php/weblog/more/feast_or_famine/ Feast Or Famine reviewed on okayplayer.com]