Reks

by Cyril Cordor Born and raised in Lawrence, MA, street lyricist Corey Isiah Christie, better known as just Reks, started out as a breakdancer 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, Reks had built a reputation for himself in the local Boston rap scene, but then 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. A cult favorite in Beantown rap circles, the album earned Reks nominations for Hip-Hop Album and Artist of the Year by the Boston Music Awards. Even with all the accolades as well as press features running in Source, XXL, Vibe, and URB, Reks' career didn't ascend to the national stage. In fact, he self-released his second album, Rekless (2003), and had no distribution other than from the trunk of his car. In 2004, he turned to the mixtape circuit, releasing Happy Holidays (2005) and the Rash Music series, the latter of which was under his new group, M Diesel (which included Lucky Dice and Chi Knox). In this time period, he also hooked up with fellow Lawrence, MA, native and national mixtape guru Statik Selektah, eventually signing on to the DJ's ShowOff Records imprint. Reks made several appearances on Selektah's Spell My Name Right (2007) LP as well as on material by the DJ's up-and-coming protégé Termanology. Executive produced by Selektah, Reks' ShowOff debut, Grey Hairs, arrived in 2008.