Video: Nef The Pharaoh – “That Was God” ft. Jay Brown & Lesia Brown

The Vallejo Wave Leader Says His Prayers in a Noisey-Premiered Clip for the Big Chang Theory Closing Track

9.27.2018

Critical Praise:

“It’s been nearly three years since Nef The Pharaoh took the Bay Area by storm with his breakout hit ‘Big Tymin’.’ Since then, under the tutelage of E-40, the South Vallejo rapper has become an ambassador of the region in his own right, championing artists like SOB X RBE, OMB Peezy, and others.” – The FADER

20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2016 – Neffy Got Wings (#3) – FACT

2016 was the West Coast’s time to shine, and few rappers shined as brightly as Nef – FACT

“Neffy Got Wings is the album of the week” – Stereogum

“…the best rapper from Vallejo since the last great rapper from Vallejo” – Jeff Weiss

“…as a rapper, [Nef the Pharaoh] lets the energy lead and the bars follow, boasting and flexing with the kinds of memorable banalities that make up some of hip-hop’s best yet least-celebrated moments.” –Pitchfork

“Nef The Pharaoh is the Bay Area’s next up.” – HotNewHipHop

“Nef the Pharaoh runs neck-and-neck with Kodak Black as the most promising up-and-coming rapper who can’t yet rent a car.” – SPIN

“There may be no rapper working right now who brings more good cheer and positive vibes than Vallejo’s Nef the Pharaoh” – Noisey

The Video:

Graduating from an upstart to a respected member of his Bay Area community, Nef The Pharaoh made strides as an artist and a human being in the past year. In his latest video “That Was God,” Nef gives thanks for his numerous successes and equally numerous lucky breaks: “None of my n****s got killed last night/N**** that was God, my n**** that was god/Made it home safe from a six-hour flight/N**** that was God, my n**** that was god/I just had a baby and it changed my life/N**** that was God, my n**** that was god.” Trading bars over a triumphant piano-laden instrumental with Toronto emcee Jay Brown, Nef moves from the church, to the cemetery, to his living room, gathering the people he cares about most in a benedictory celebration. Premiered by Noisey, who said “while the church can be a somber site, Nef’s energy throughout the video turns it into a site where we can all get high off the Lord’s spiritual healing,” “That Was God” is the fitting closing track from The Big Chang Theory, Nef’s debut studio album, which released in August, and the latest video from the project following the playalistic and HYPEBEAST-premiered “Boostin ‘.“

Showing off his skills over glistening Bay Area beats, Nef flexes on his success, stunts on lesser emcees, and brags about his rhyming prowess on The Big Chang Theory, but also finds the time to reflect on his past, to ruminate on social issues such as police violence. Praised by Noisey, who raved “it’s a joyous, melodic project with the old school, timeless feel we’ve come to expect from Nef the Pharaoh. Do yourself a favor and play this in a car as soon as physically possible,” and Pitchfork, who said “Nef is the rare rapper who whose music feels free—free of narrative cohesion, outside interference, or any sense of pressure.” Featuring appearances from Dej Loaf, OMB Peezy, ALLBLACK, JT The 4th and more, The Big Chang Theory arrived via KILFMB / Sick Wid It / EMPIRE.

Breaking through with his self-titled 2015 EP and its hit single “Big Tymin‘,” the 23-year-old Nef The Pharaoh quickly established himself as one of the most unique and popular emcees in the Bay. Signed to E-40’s Sick Wid It Records, the charismatic emcee is a fixture on regional radio, releasing an acclaimed collaborative EP with Cardo Got Wingz (Kendrick Lamar, Drake) in 2016 and hitting in 2017 with the single “Bling Blaow,” which features Slimmy B of SOB x RBE. Earlier this summer, Nef shared Porter2Grape, an action-packed 5-track collaborative EP with L.A. rapper 03 Greedo. Featuring appearances from ALLBLACK and singer Chris O’Bannon, the blistering EP, featuring the single “Ball Out” and the Pitchfork Best New Track “Blow-Up Bed,“ is currently available for stream and purchase via EMPIRE.

Watch “That Was God”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmfB0T6ahUc

Check out the Noisey premiere: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/j54j87/nef-the-pharoah-gives-it-up-for-our-lord-saviour-on-that-was-god

Buy/Stream The Big Chang Theory:
SmartURL: https://Empire.lnk.to/TheBigChangTheory
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-big-chang-theory/1415129927?ls=1&app=itunes
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nefidelaphante/sets/the-big-chang-theory/

The Big Chang Theory tracklist:
1. Heads Up (ft. OMB Peezy)
2. Lefty
3. A (ft. JT The 4th)
4. Boostin
5. Big Boss Chang
6. 86 (ft. ALLBLACK & Cuban Doll)
7. Huh (ft. Yakki)
8. Knock Down A Fan
9. What We Have (ft. Dej Loaf)
10. Tokyo Driftin (ft. Raymond McMahon)
11. Bsisso
12. Totally Different
13. That Was God (ft. Jay Brown & Lesia Brown)

Please contact Michelle for more info.

The Background:

Praised by Jeff Weiss as “the best rapper from Vallejo since the last great rapper from Vallejo,” the legend Mac Dre being his predecessor, 21 -year-old Nef The Pharaoh is one of the Bay Area’s most exciting young emcees. Signed to E-40‘s Sick Wid It Records, Nef The Pharaoh delivered his debut retail release, a self-titled EP, in November 2015 to high critical praise. Featuring the breakthrough radio hit “Big Tymin’,” which charted at #34 on San Francisco’s 106 KMEL‘s Top 106 Songs of 2015 and earned more than 7.7 million views on YouTube, the Nef The Pharaoh EP firmly established the rapper on the national scene. Nef followed his breakthrough project by joining producer Cardo for Neffy Got Wings, a collaborative EP which released in January, and by accompanying G-Eazy, A$AP Ferg, and Marc E. Bassy on the national When It’s Dark Out Tour. Nef followed up the EP with Fresh Outta Space 3, a “very Bay Area-y” mixtape that turned heads with its synthesis of regional sounds. In 2017, Nef released The Chang Project, featuring the hit single “Bling Blaow,” performed at Rolling Loud Bay Area and Rolling Loud Southern California and collaborated with OMB Peezy, SOB x RBE, and many more. His next project, The Boss Chang Theory, releases in 2018.