NorCal Rhymers Nef The Pharaoh and ShooterGang Kony Trade Bars on the Vice Versa EP, Releasing November 9th

The Vallejo Wave Leader and the Buzzing Mozzy Protégé Mob by an Old Movie Theater in “Ludacris,” Their New HYPEBEAST-Premiered Video

10.19.2018

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 Announcement + Video:

Polishing off a busy 2018 that boasted his debut album, a collab EP, and a tour with mentor E-40, Vallejo’s Nef The Pharaoh looks to put an exclamation mark on the year with a strong finish. Today, Nef The Pharaoh announces Vice Versa, his upcoming joint EP with ShooterGang Kony, a 17-year-old rising star in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento with an endorsement from Mozzy and rabid viewership on YouTube. Two of Northern California’s most accomplished young lyricists, Nef and Kony display an easy chemistry throughout Vice Versa, as Nef’s twisting flows and flights of fancy complement Kony’s aggressive, clever, and realistic bars. Spanning six tracks, Vice Versa finds the two emcees dancing above an electro-funk sample on “Sig n a Draky,” asserting their street bonafides on “Where I’m From,” and flexing their lyrical muscles in service of a lush for-the-ladies jam on the EP’s title track.

“The project is called Vice Versa because we from different places, we have different stories, but it’s the same thing,” explains ShooterGang Kony. “On the street level, we’re the same.”

To accompany the announcement of the EP, Nef & Kony share the video for “Ludacris,” a highlight from the tape. Featuring an energetic, lo-fi, HYPEBEAST-premiered video with a star-making cameo from Nef’s son, “Ludacris” finds the two rappers trading bars, tag-teaming a mob instrumental with rock-solid lines: “I remember days I ain’t have it at all/Kony Sherman, I’m a pick him if I’m playin the ball/I’m on that cash rush, hit stick him if he pass rush/N**** bump into me, hit his helmet when the mac bust,” rhymes Kony. Featuring appearances from Sage The Gemini and Raymond McMahon, plus a spoken word cameo from OMB Peezy, Vice Versa EP releases on November 9th via KILFMB / Sick Wid It / EMPIRE.

Explains Kony about “Ludacris,”: “Life always gon be crazy. I live life fast. I basically went straight to Nef’s house to record when I got out of jail. And life is ludicrous. So now you get out of the streets. What do you do? You can never really get away from your past. The system makes sure that you keep tripping up and end up back in the system.”

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. In April 2018, Nef shared his debut album The Big Chang Theory, which earned praise from 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.” This summer, Nef shared Porter2Grape, an action-packed 5-track collaborative EP with L.A. rapper 03 Greedo. The blistering EP, with the single “Ball Out,” featuring ALLBLACK, and the Pitchfork Best New Track “Blow-Up Bed,“ is currently available for stream and purchase via EMPIRE.

Watch “Ludacris”: https://youtu.be/zF9SxQ9UCYg

Pre-order Vice Versa EP: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vice-versa-ep/1439128854?app=itunes

Check out the HYPEBEAST premiere: https://hypebeast.com/2018/10/shootergang-kony-nef-the-pharaoh-ludacris-video-stream-vice-versa-ep

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/

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.