REKS is performing on the 2DBZ stage on Saturday, Oct 9th
Before the Grey Hairs, REKS was just a teenager who fell in love with the hip-hop movement. Little did he know, one day he would experience working with the legendary DJ Premier and Large Professor. Born Corey Isaiah Christie in Lawrence, Massachusetts, August 24th, 1977, REKS practically grew up with Hip-Hop. He first embraced the hip-hop culture by becoming a break-dancer with Funk Town Connection (FTC), competing all over the city of Lawrence. The legendary Rap styles of KRS-One, Slick Rick, and Ice Cube inspired him to pick up the mic and start writing rhymes at a young age. Not too long after that, REKS gained notoriety in his hometown through cipher battles and memorable stage performances. After high school, REKS enrolled into the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. With the Kanye West drive and mentality, REKS decided to drop out of college after one year to pursue his music career full-time. REKS got his career boost in the state’s hip-hop capital, Boston, Mass. He took the underground hip-hop scene by storm and surprised everyone with his first debut album Along Came the Chosen on Landspeed Records in 2001. The album featured his production from his ex-classmates Soul Searchers, Fakts One, and a then 18-year old Statik Selektah. The album also featured Underground Hip Hop's finest at the time, including Pace-Won & Young Zee of the Outsiderz, 7l & Esoteric, J-Live Shabaam Sahdiq, and MSC group members Lucky Dice and Chi Knox.
The critically acclaimed LP was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Album & Artist of the Year at The Boston Music Awards and was featured in the Source, XXL, Vibe, and URB'S “Next 100”. The album's single “Skills 101” reached 45 on the Billboard Singles chart, putting him on shows and tours with The Clipse, Ghostface Killah, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Redman, De La Soul, Method Man, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Boot Camp Click, JR Writer and one of his idols KRS-One. REKS went on to release the street releases Rekless and Happy Holidays. After several years in the game, REKSREKS spent most of 2007-2008 in the air, flying back and forth to studio sessions in New York and his current residence in Hollywood, Florida. The momentous album features producers DJ Premier, Large Professor, Blaze P, DC The Midi Alien, Soul Theory, DEMOBeatz, 1914 and ten tracks by Statik Selektah. The guestlist includes Lil Fame of MOP, Consequence, Skyzoo, Krumb Snatcha, Termanology, Jon Hope, Paula Campbell, Big Shug and Lucky Dice. Grey Hairs was released on July 22nd 2008 and has since been viewed as an underground classic amongst die hard hiphop fans worldwide. On March 10th 2009 REKS made More Grey Hairs available thru Itunes for Digital Download. More Grey Hairs features leftover material from the Grey Hairs recordings. Be on the lookout for REKS upcoming self titled studio album R.E.K.S. (Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme) scheduled to be released early 2011. The Year of the Showoff continues.....
