Earlier this year, Reef's Philly crew JuJu Mob released the album Black Candles to a wealth of praise from critics. Reef is preparing to release his own mixtape for the streets this August, in conjunction with the release of the first single, Fair One featuring Sean Price, from his upcoming Feast Or Famine LP. Needless to say, Reef The Lost Cauze is on the path to becoming one of Hip Hops true greats.
Having spent a great deal of his childhood acting in plays and performing, Reef fell in love with Hip Hop at the age of eight and has been rhyming ever since. By the time he reached high school, he had earned a reputation as a deadly battle emcee, jumping in any and every cipher he came across. It was not until he was accepted into Philadelphias University of the Arts on a film scholarship that he began to visualize a serious career on the mic. He began to hone his songwriting skills, and worked on perfecting his stage shows.
Realizing that he had found his true calling, Reef dropped out of college at age 19 to focus on his music. He linked up with Philadelphia producer Sleep E early in 2002 to begin recording his first solo project, The High Life. The 10-track album opened doors for Reef, and he began performing at area clubs, generating praise from fans and media alike.
In February 2003 Reef released Invisible Empire, an 18-track album that he distributed himself by way of a national schedule of shows. He won the Mic Check Battle in Philadelphia in 2003, after which he traveled to Oakland, California to take 2nd place in the Blaze Freestyle Battle. Titles and accolades aside, Reef describes the first year of his recording career as a time of growth, both professionally and personally. Life experience really came about in my writing, he says. I was comfortable with reaching beyond being simply an emcee and becoming a musician. I really wanted to take chances and play around with rhythm and flow - I lost all fear. The High Life was very basic as far song concepts, whereas with Invisible Empire I was very aware of the importance of dope, full beats. The second album brought out my thoughts and observations, and it erased a lot of things I had pent up inside.
Reef took his freestyle skills to another level early in 2004 with a rousing performance at the Beat Society production competition in New York, and a fierce win in the Riddle Records Mic Check Battle. He was also the End Of The Weak 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. I love the rush of the crowd, he explains. I love to be on stage and have a place full of strangers be amazed at what Im saying, but battling doesnt excite me as an artist. Its a part of the culture, and it was always a way to get your reputation up and sharpen your skills. If you compare me in a battle to my being on stage at a show, it is two different energies. I'm much more at home and relaxed on stage performing my music.
Reef has put a lot of his life and business experiences into his Feast Or Famine project, and his range of expression will allow fans the opportunity to truly identify with him. This album is me at the top of my game, says Reef. I know who I am as a person, but more importantly as an artist - I feel like a pro this time around. The beats are more sonic, and although the mood is a little darker than my first two projects, the songs have a universal appeal that everyone will be able to relate to.
Reefs talent can easily take him back to his roots of film and acting, and he has plans to forge ahead into career management for the generation of artists after him. As he grows in the world of entertainment, it is certain that Reef The Lost Cauze wont get lost in the shuffle.
Give It Up
Reef The Lost Cauze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (Uh huh)
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (Aight go deep)
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
[Verse 1:]
Aight stop what you're doin, cause I'm about to ruin
Who you foolin I see through you like a tunnel entrance
On wax you gangsta, trouble visits and your gun is missin
You created a rep so now you runnin with it
You feel safe cause you surrounded by a hundred niggaz
All your mans fake, they give you pounds and handshakes
Cause they rhyme too, so y'all each other fanbase
But your just a bit better, you all stole your flow
From Jay-Z, but you was the one who bit better
So you spin tales a how you get cheddar
Bitches, sixes, benzes, but did you forget Septa
Cause that's the only ridin you do
Denyin it's true, let your rhymes design you
And that's a fuckin shame, cause you one half
Of one in a million that sound the fuckin same
You'll never touch the fame, your flow is
Bush Administration ain't nothin changed
And that's the truest words ever spoken dog
Cause they will see you, when the mirrors, weed and smoke is gone
And I hope this song got across, cause you can quote me on the fact you need
To
[Chorus:]
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
[Verse 2:]
Now behold the white, nerdy suburban prototype
Had dough his whole life. overnight he hold mic
No respect for the art of rhyme, all he knows is his
CD collection that he copped off the Art of Rhyme
He's off beat, off kilter, off his rocker even
Unfortunately what he does is just not emceein
You say I'm bein critical, no that's not the reason
He wasn't down with hip-hop when it was not in season
You gotta sew your oats, homeboy not just reap em
And it's somethin I gotta share with you
You're terrible, your songs are downright unbearable
You rap about robots and spaceships
But if I call you on it, then I'm labeled as a racist
Naw, I'm showin love to my culture man, you need to overstand
You shouldn't do this just cause yo a fan (No)
I love you for that, but I don't know who
Told you the fuck you could rap
You gotta stop right now, I mean put that mic down and walk away
Today, Ok, I don't wanna have to tell you no, never, not again
Come back in five years when hip-hop hot again
[Chorus:]
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (Please)
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (Just give it up yo)
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (For real)
[Verse 3:]
This the end of a hectic fable, just cause you
Got a little loot please don't go start a record label
Kick Yo Ass Records, Get Money Entertainment
No matter, it's all the same shit (Same shit)
I get so much promotional junk and most of it sucks
So half a them shits, I don't even open 'em up
I use the case to line up my weed when I'll rollin a dutch
But that's about all, cause it's hard to believe your artist
MC Steve is a fuckin outlaw, and all of his mixtape is about
Raw, guns and gats, it's so bad it needs to be outlawed
How come this crap floods the map
You're to blame Mr. CEO that's enough a that
It's the simple truth, you and your little dudes be gone
Before the world get a chance to forget your tunes, it's pitiful
Just cause crack is dead, all y'all decided
To invest your little dough in rap instead
Don't get me started bout these rich little assholes
Puttin out bullshit wit your dad's dough, you'll never pass go
Bottom line your shit sucks, you need to listen up when, I tell you to
[Chorus:]
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (Give it, Give it, Up)
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up
In “Give it Up,” Reef The Lost Cauze calls out the fakeness and hypocrisy of rappers who have created a false image of themselves in pursuit of fame and money. In the first verse, Reef exposes rappers who pretend to be gangsters and hardcore, but when trouble arises, they are nowhere to be found. He also criticizes rappers who copy other artists' flows and brag about materialistic things like money, women and luxury cars, but in reality, they only ride on Septa (public transportation). Reef says that these types of rappers will never truly achieve fame because their flow is inadequate and lacks originality; they will always sound like a million other rappers who all sound the same. In the second verse, he shifts his focus to white suburban rappers who have no respect for the art of rhyming but have muscled their way into the industry because they have money. He calls them out for rapping about robots, spaceships, and other irrelevant topics without acknowledging the history and culture of hip-hop. He ends his critique of the rap industry by calling out record label CEOs who promote and invest in terrible music just because they want to make a quick buck. Reef is saying that artists who have no passion or talent should give it up and let those who genuinely love hip-hop take over.
Line by Line Meaning
Give It Up, Give It Up, Give It Up (Uh huh)
Reef The Lost Cauze wants the listener to give up their fake persona and embrace their true self.
Aight stop what you're doin, cause I'm about to ruin
The image and the style ya all been pursuin
Reef The Lost Cauze is going to call out those who are phonies and expose them for who they really are.
You created a rep so now you runnin with it
You feel safe cause you surrounded by a hundred niggaz
All your mans fake, they give you pounds and handshakes
People who pretend to be someone they're not attract fake friends who only like them for their image and reputation.
But your just a bit better, you all stole your flow
From Jay-Z, but you was the one who bit better
So you spin tales of how you get cheddar
Copying someone else's style and acting like you're better than them is not original and will eventually catch up to you.
And that's a fuckin shame, cause you one half
Of one in a million that sound the fuckin same
You'll never touch the fame, your flow is
Bush Administration ain't nothin changed
And that's the truest words ever spoken dog
Being unoriginal and trying to copy other people's styles will not lead to success or fame. You need to be yourself and stand out from the crowd.
Now behold the white, nerdy suburban prototype
Had dough his whole life. overnight he hold mic
No respect for the art of rhyme, all he knows is his
CD collection that he copped off the Art of Rhyme
Reef The Lost Cauze is calling out the rich, suburban kids who try to act like they are from the hood and know about hip-hop culture, but in reality, they have no idea what they're talking about.
You say I'm bein critical, no that's not the reason
He wasn't down with hip-hop when it was not in season
Reef The Lost Cauze is not just being critical, but he is pointing out that these suburban kids only got into hip-hop when it became popular and are not true fans of the culture.
Come back in five years when hip-hop hot again
Reef The Lost Cauze is telling these wannabe rappers to quit now and come back in the future when hip-hop is popular again, showing that they're not dedicated enough to make a true impact in the industry.
You're to blame Mr. CEO that's enough a that
It's the simple truth, you and your little dudes be gone
Before the world get a chance to forget your tunes, it's pitiful
Reef The Lost Cauze is holding the CEOs responsible for promoting and allowing terrible music to flood the industry and become popular. He is encouraging these people to leave before they become forgotten and irrelevant.
Bottom line your shit sucks, you need to listen up when, I tell you to
Reef The Lost Cauze wants these terrible rappers to listen to him when he tells them their music is trash and they need to improve or stop altogether.
Contributed by Blake N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
HolidayStyles
Feast or Famine, arguably one of the best albums ever in any genre and this hasn't cracked 200 views, god I hate people, are their any intelligent people int the world????
JonnyLimbo
what a beat ...
Alex Ventura
Much love from Colorado
Lonewolf
Dope album AOTP.
MITTEL.PUNKT
Germany loves this
Cursed Kennedy
Love this music, check out how it inspired me view my channel.
Chris B
2005’s hater’s anthem!
Reef always been nice but was a HUGE HATER!
Charles Malowsky
damn, I'm the first one who liked this...
Michael Dance
Truth
FrankieFrederick
broo,album sucked this was only good song off it