Reef the Lost Cauze: Honesty, Empathy & Aging in Hip-Hop

Reef the Lost Cauze has been a force in the Philly and national underground rap since for almost two decades, regularly touring the East Coast and Europe. He’s been a mentor to countless up-and-coming artists and brings a unique blend of passion, empathy and raw emotional honesty to a genre of music where toughness is the norm. Reef sat down with us in Fishtown at Johnny Brenda’s for episode 10. Reef, also a co-host of the Philly Blunt, released his latest album, The Majestic, on December 29, 2018.We find out how Reef’s musical career came to fruition. Oddly, a punishment that his mother regularly administered sparked Reef’s interest in the arts. Reef discusses growing up in West Philly during Philly’s violent 1990’s and the help he regularly received from older friends and family to keep him on the right path.As a college drop-out, Reef talks about the importance that elder members of the local rap scene played in getting his career started.We explore how Reef’s music and view of the world has changed as he’s grown older and wiser, as well as the impact of having a child diagnosed with autism.Reef survived the Philly Blunt segment like a seasoned veteran. Among the things we learned about Reef during the Philly Blunt is his favorite character on HBO’s Girls and the four MC’s on his Mt. Rushmore. He also educates Greg on Trap Music.Reef chose Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown for this episode. Johnny Brenda’s spurred the Fishtown revival and remains one of the better venues in the city for live music. They also make a hell of an old fashioned for only $9LINKS:Johnny Brenda’s: Facebook, Instagram, TwitterReef the Lost Cauze: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp, Spotify