Reef the Lost Cauze | still from video
Reef the Lost Cauze will rap you out of the city in the video for “The Majestic”
I wouldn’t exactly describe Philly MC Reef the Lost Cauze as an old school rapper of the 90s vanguard; he came of age in the 21st century, after all, and just last month released what might be his most essential work — a full-length project called The Majestic. His sound doesn’t follow trends in either direction; some of the beats and textures he works with sound decidedly current, some are way futuristic, and some reach back to that classic boom-bap sound.
Reef the Lost Cauze has never been one to be pigeonholed, but what we can say is he takes a defiant us-v-them stance towards the modern rap industry, taking it to task for putting too much emphasis on fashion and branding and not enough on, like, just being a good rapper. “Y’all book studio time to take selfies there,” he spits on the title track of The Majestic, later scoffing at the idea that this new school has leaders. “I got clowns claiming they runnin’ my city / listen, I’ll make it so you can’t come to my city.”
In the brand new music video for the song, directed by Lawrence Arnell, Reef is menacing (but kindly so), pacing an empty lot by an empty warehouse with DJ Caliph-NOW, brandishing a baseball bat. In lesser hands, this could come off as curmudgeonly, a “get off my lawn” dad rap sort of perspective; but with Reef, it just feels like he’s aware of his undeniable skill and not shy about flaunting it as the Soundcloud generation brings entirely different ideas to the rap game. As a sample of Nas’ “Halftime” spins into the chorus, we feel that confidence: “Behold: I, the majestic.”
Watch the video below, check out Reef the Lost Cauze’s incredible appearance on The Key Studio Sessions here, get your hands on The Majestichere, and see Reef live tomorrow night at MilkBoy; tickets and more information can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar.