Reef the Lost Cauze

Underground hip-hop extraordinaire, Reef the Lost Cauze sat down with me to speak about the effects of the city on his music. Yes, that's Cauze with a 'z' but don't let this spelling glitch fool you; Reef is one of the most intellectual rappers out there. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he has toured the world, spitting his unique rhymes, but still resides in South Philadelphia. Already four albums into the game, with a fifth to be released this year, there is no stopping this hip-hop monster.

What part of the city were you born in?
I was born and raised in West Philadelphia.

Me too- what part?
Oh, word! 60th and Landsdowne…we’re close by you. There was a period from like age eight or nine to twelve where I lived in State College, Pennsylvania…Near Penn State…up in the Boonies. It was a good education. And now I can maneuver between the urban and rural.


Would you say that who you are comes from a combination of living in Philly and State College?
I would say it’s a little bit of the two. I am coming from an urban environment to literally, there’s a corn field across the street and cows. And I’m the only minority up there. And it taught me a lot about racism and it also taught me a lot about self racism because I know a lot of African American people who live in that town…and it was very rare to see unity-those people were always very catty to each other. I never understood that mentality until I got older. It’s just that a lot of African Americans in situations like that- they’re so set on trying to fit in, that you have a whole lot of white washing. I mean I used to ride on a skateboard and be like “Dude,” but I came back to the city for high school and that dude died right away and it had to because otherwise, I wouldn’t survive. Those three or four years up here shaped me because I can sit down and have a conversation with a red neck and I can sit down and have a conversation with a dude from the hood because I lived around both of them. We’re not different, really- that’s the fucked up thing about it. We’re all poor, we all have guns, we don’t trust the government-it’s all the same. What you learn, is the color that counts the most is green- the money. That’s what separates people- the color of money. Poor folks are poor folks. When I lived up there, I was middle class and when I moved back to Philly, was middle class. Those people are just the same as me.

Do you think that comes through in your music? The fact that you got a little bit of both worlds?
Absolutely. If you listen to my stuff, there’s a lot of references to pop culture and 80’s rock and cartoons and my sense of humor comes out. I was just allowed to be a kid when I lived up there so I think that shaped me musically because I always allow my imagination to run free. I feel like a lot of artists in Philly are so scared to step outside of that box of slangin and bangin because they didn’t have the opportunity to see the things that I saw. I was blessed. I had a two parent household. You know, different things- they just shape who you are. That’s why when people attack hip hop, it really pisses me off that they don’t understand that they’re attacking someone’s life when you say that they can’t talk about this when that’s all they saw. Otherwise they would have to lie. The flip side is that a lot of people glorify that shit.

What aspects of the city would you say contribute to your music ?
The violence, the feeling of desperation, all the negative things. But also the beauty of it- this is such a scrappy, fighting town…the never give up attitude. The fact that we’re the most loyal people- when you love someone., you ride with them till the end. So the loyalty, the architecture, the food, the sports, the women…did I say women? The colleges. You’re living in an urban city. It all touches you- it all affects you. The graffiti on the walls, the smell of the subway, the sound of the subway, the sound of a train coming to you. The city, as an organism, is alive, it’s breathing- it’s a living breathing thing. Wherever you live affects you. Me, Rhyming in a dimly lit school yard till two in the morning with my friends prepared me for battle on stages all over the world. Battling in those school yards was ten times more intense than the battles that happen now. I always go others places but I don’t know if I could live anywhere else. And I know, most people talk about getting out of Philly as quick as they possibly can but for me, I go to New York and I go to other places and I just can’t wait to get home. It’s my little city. It’s not as big as New York- but that’s a good thing. This is the only city where on one corner you have an Irish pub the other you got a Mexican place, the Brothers are chillin over here, the Italians are up the street. I mean, South Philly alone, I had so many different flavors of neighbors as far as their races and backgrounds. You get to pick from those experiences. Like tonight, if I want Italian, I can have Italian. If I wan Japanese, I can get that. If I want some steaks, If I want the soul food, it’s all around the corner from me. I love that about my city. We don’t really like each other. But I like that too. That shit is dope. The racism- I’ll be with one my white homies from the North East and one of his homies will be like ‘yeah that fuckin’ nigger..’ and it will roll off my back and the next day someone will be like ‘yeah, I smacked the shit out of a white boy.” We go back and fourth. Racism is such a part of our culture, people wear it on their sleeves. Like, if you go to an Eagles game, you’ll hear the most racist shit you ever heard in your life, and you’re sitting right next to the person saying it- that’s your friend for life- ya’ll drinkin.

How would you define hip hop?
Right now, the state of hip hop? I think it’s actually dope. I mean, a lot of people are like ‘yo hip hop’s dead, hip hop this, hip hop that,’ Last year, if you had asked me that question, I would have given you a whole rant about how hip hop is dead and how the MC’s that are out today- they ain’t shit- but then I realized, when I say that, I just look old. Cause I talk to some young boys about why they love “Superman” and if you think about it, it’s the same as “The Humpty Hump” for us. There were old heads looking at us like ‘that shits garbage.” Once you start downing what the kids are loving, you’re not a kid no more. And I’m not a kid no more. I am twenty- five about to be twenty-six and I know what good hip hop sounds like. But that’s my generations version of hip hop. The generation before us, KRS-One, was ten times better than Biggie. ‘I can’t listen to Biggie- He ain’t LL COOL J’ But you say that to people of our generation and they snap. You say that about Lil’ Wayne and you get ‘Lil Wayne ain’t better than Nas.” For me hip hop is great because I can still find the type of hip hop that I like and even though it ain’t on the radio, even though it ain’t on videos, I wouldn’t expect it- because those things have passed. Will it ever go back to the kind of hip hop that I like? I think so because it all goes in cycles but we’re in a different time right now, we’re in a different generation and these kids are saying ‘these are the songs that we like.” And yes, there’s not a lot of substance but I still listen to the stuff that I like so for me, hip hop is always gonna be dope cause no matter what, I can always pop in a CD from ’96. That’s hip hop- that’s gonna be there forever. I still listen to BB King or Led Zepplin and I’m like ‘damn…these dudes make great music.’ It’s not like I’m like ‘this isn’t what’s hot right now.’ Hip hop is the only musical form that does that. Led Zepplin would still sell out an arena. I just don’t understand. In hip hop, it’s like, the times have changed and if you don’t change with them, you’re irrelevant. The music that you made before the times changed, that was so powerful, that’s not enough to get you the respect and love forever. We don’t know how to evolve. So to me, hip hop will always be alive because I can always go back to the stuff that I dig. I don’ know what’s going on right now.

Who are some of your influences either musically or socially?
Musically, Big Daddy Kane, first and foremost, because he was like the ultimate. That dude could do tracks about the hood, about women, about just his personality. My mom was my biggest influence growing up- she guided me and showed me how to do things. I had my grandparents. I come from a really tight knit family. Community is what socially influences me cause these people shape me. If I didn’t have them, I would probably rhyme a little differently because I wouldn’t have had that education and guidance from them. A lot of dudes that rap today, they didn’t have the older people in the community to shape their world view but I was lucky enough to still be young enough to have that. I don’t think the generation after us has that. But I have old heads around me and the way they dress, and they way they speak- that influences me.


How does the Philadelphia audience compare to other audiences?
Anyone who has been performing in the city can tell you that when you go somewhere else it’s a different environment, different people. Usually when you do a show in Philly, you almost know who is going to be there. For the most part, it’s going to be friends a family, and the few supporters that you do have, and the people in the scene every Friday night- it doesn’t matter who is performing, they’ll be there anyway. It’s almost like, if you’re not doing shit outside of Philly…People from Philly don’t really respect you. So you almost have to advertise that you’re doing different things. When I go to New York, LA, down South, or Overseas, it’s a different experience for me because in the back of my mind it’s like ‘these are people who have never seen me.’ In Philly, I still give it my all but it’s a little more laid back because it’s my people in the audience. It gives me a boost to give people something they’ve never seen before. The negative is that Philly will show you love but you’re really really going to have to earn that shit. If you ain’t dope, you’re not gonna get any respect or love. Other places, give it up a little better. But the local rapper from LA will be more excited about playing a show in Philly just like the local rapper from Philly will be more excited about playing a show in LA.

Is there a primary message that you try to present in your music?
I’m weary of that word because there are so many who use the tag ‘rapper with a message.’ I make music that I love. My music is human music. It runs the gamut from me on some violent angry shit to, me on some emotional ‘I’m gonna cry’ shit ,to me on some romantic ‘I wanna love you’ shit. Real life is emotional. Real life is not ‘we need to change the world’ and real life is not just guns. I’m just trying to speak my heart.

What would you say is the demographic of your audience?
For the most part, my age group. I have a lot of thirteen and fourteen year old kids but that’s just because of the internet. My demographic definitely isn’t he street crowd. It’s the more conscious, backpack crowd- which I hate even saying because it’s not like there’s a difference between us but the media has done a good job painting that picture that there are two separate worlds and people fall right in line with that. But it bothers me because there’s music that I make that I hope can appeal to all sides but it’s a matter of people being so stubborn. I do a show with Little Brother and then I do a show with Freeway.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I just want to be making a living off of music. Taking care of my family and traveling. The dreams of the yacht and the mansion, it’s a beautiful dream but your world view of what you want, changes.


The Sound of Philadelphia