Corey Isiah Christie (born August 24, 1977), better known by his stage name Reks (styled in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

as REKS), is an American rapper. Reks emerged from Lawrence,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

underground rap Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

scene. His debut underground album, ''

Along Came The Chosen Corey Isiah Christie (born August 24, 1977), better known by his stage name Reks (styled in all caps as REKS), is an American rapper. Reks emerged from Lawrence, Massachusetts' underground rap scene. His debut underground album, '' Along Came ...

'', was released on Brick Records in 2001. Reks has released eight additional albums and has appeared on various albums and

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

Early career

Reks was a

breakdancer Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consists mainly of ...

in his teens and was part of a local B-boy crew called Funk Town Connection. By the time he entered college at

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

, Reks had built a reputation for himself in the local

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

rap scene, and eventually quit school to begin recording for Brick Records. A few 12" singles, "I Could Have Done More" and "Fearless," arrived first in early 2001, before Brick issued his debut LP, ''Along Came the Chosen'', later that year. This earned Reks nominations for Hip-Hop Album and Artist of the Year by the

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston (band), ...

. Reks worked with

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...

Alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

Hi-Tek Tony Louis Cottrell (born May 5, 1976), better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and music producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, ...

, and many others on his 2011 album

Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme is the fifth studio album by rapper Reks. The album was released on March 8, 2011, under ShowOff and Brick Records. The album received favorable reviews from most music critics. The album was nominated for Hip-H ...

. On October 14, 2016 he released the critically acclaimed album "

The Greatest X ''The Greatest X'' (pronounced as "The Greatest Unknown") is the tenth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Reks. It was released on September 9, 2016, by Brick Records. The album features guest appearances from artists such as Te ...

Discography

Albums

*2001: ''Along Came the Chosen'' *2003: ''Rekless'' *2005: ''Happy Holidays'' *2008: ''

Grey Hairs Grey Hairs is the third studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, ...

'' *2009: ''

More Grey Hairs More Grey Hairs is a compilation album by the American rapper Reks, released on March 10, 2009, by ShowOff Records. The album contains previously unreleased songs that were cut from Reks' previous album, ''Grey Hairs Grey Hairs is the third s ...

'' *2011: ''

'' *2012: '' Straight, No Chaser'' *2012: ''

REBELutionary ''REBELutionary'' is the seventh studio album by Massachusetts rapper Reks. It was released on July 23, 2012 by Gracie Productions. The album is the follow-up to '' Straight, No Chaser''. The album was entirely produced by Numonics. It features ...

'' *2013: ''Revolution Cocktail'' *2014: ''Eyes Watching God'' *2016: ''

'' *2018: ''Order In Chaos'' *2020: ''T.H.I.N.G.S. (The Hunger Inside Never Gets Satisfied)''

EPs

*''Skills 101 / Science of Life / Final Four'' (Brick Records 2000) *''DJ Shame / Dead Prez / Reks & Virtuoso – No More Re-Mixes Vol 1: Behind Enemy Lines / The Setup'' (Raptivism 2000) *''I Could Have Done More / In Who We Trust / Healthy Habitat'' (Raptivism 2000) *''Fearless/ Skills 201 / My City'' (Brick Records 2001) *''Easy / Easy (remix) / Beantown to Cali'' (Brick Records 2001) *''Soul Supreme /Reks – Queen (Hip-Hop)/Still Searchin'' (Grit 2002) *''Say Goodnight / Big Dreamers (Lawtown Remix)'' (Showoff Records/Brick Records 2008)

Guest appearances

*"Drunk & High" with

Termanology Daniel Domingo Carrillo (born October 8, 1982), better known by his stage name Termanology, is an American rapper and record producer. He first gained major attention with the 2006 single "Watch How It Go Down". A solo album, '' Politics as Usua ...

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage name, stage names N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Nigga On the Run Eating) and Noreaga, is an American rapper, singer and podcaster. Santiago first rose to prominence as one ...

on ''

Cameo King III This is the discography of Termanology. Albums Studio albums Collaborative albums Extended plays Mixtapes Guest appearances Production 2012 Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch - ''Wu Block'' * 08. "Drivin' Round" (feat. Masta Killa, ...

'' *"Way It Goes" with Mr. Green & Lucky Dice (2017, single) *"Red or Blue Pill" with Rec Riddles on ''Brilliant but Disturbed'' (2016) *"C.T.D." with Finnish rap duo ''JXO'' (2018) *"Daddy's Guitar" with TooBusy on ''Red Tape'' (2020) *"Written in Stone (feat. Suave-Ski)" with Fuzzy Ed on ''Mythology'' (2022) *"Longevity (feat. Edo. G)" with V Knuckles on ''The Next Chapter'' (2023)

Mixtapes

*2010: ''In Between the Lines'' *2011: ''In Between the Lines 2'' *2014: ''All Eyes on Reks''

Awards

*2011 Best Indie Album MA

Nominations

*''Album of the Year 2011'' (Boston Music Awards) *''Hip Hop Artist of the Year 2011'' (Boston Music Awards) *''The UMA Male Artist of the Year 2011'' *''Indie Album of the Year 2011''

References

External links

* Rappers from Massachusetts African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Living people People from Lawrence, Massachusetts Songwriters from Massachusetts 1977 births Indie rappers Underground rappers East Coast hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters {{US-hiphop-bio-stub