Tonee Hayes (born January 11, 1995), better known by his stage name Nef the Pharaoh, is an American rapper from

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to th ...

. In 2014 he was selected by fans as the "Bay Area Freshman of the Year" in a yearly contest held by Thizzler.com. In early 2015, his track "Big Tymin'" became a regional hit, with a music video released shortly after Nef the Pharaoh signed with

Sick Wid It Records Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

. "Big Tymin'" was remixed by YG and

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

in July 2015, and his self-titled debut EP was released on Sick Wid It on November 6, 2015. He released his full-length debut album titled ''The Chang Project'' on April 27, 2017.

Early life

Tonee Hayes was born on January 11, 1995 in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

. He was featured on the cover of the '' Vallejo Times-Herald'' at the age of 17. Hayes has cited Vallejo rappers like

Mac Dre Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy, a cultural movement in the Bay Area hip hop scene ...

and

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

as significant influences on his style. He was given the nickname Nef (short for nephew) from his uncle, which he incorporated into part of his stage name. He went to Inderkum High School and later transferred to Discovery High School.

Music career

Early releases

Starting his music career as an "internet freestyler," in 2014 Nef the Pharaoh had what

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...

referred to as a "local hit" with the single "Bitch I'm From Vallejo." In 2014,

contacted Giggles about Bay Cookies, and Nef the Pharaoh was subsequently featured on E-40's ''Sharp On All 4 Corners'' album. In 2014 he was selected by fans as the "Bay Area Freshman of the Year" held by Thizzler.com. Early on he performed at the last held "Bay Area Freshman" concert. His single "I'm From Vallejo" was remixed with features from E-40 and Willie Joe of Vallejo. As of copyright, Nef the Pharaoh was working on his new album.

''"Big Tymin'"'' single (2015)

In July 2015 Nef the Pharaoh released his track "Big Tymin'" which featured lyrics paying tribute to

Big Tymers Big Tymers (stylized as Big Tymer$) was an American musical duo active from 1997 to 2005 and again in 2018-2018 from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Cash Money Records co-founder Baby and former Cash Money in-house producer Mannie Fresh.B ...

members Birdman and

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

. The song is "an homage to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

bounce music Bounce music is a style of New Orleans hip hop music that is said to have originated as early as the late 1980s in the city's housing projects. Popular bounce artists have included DJ Jubilee, Partners-N-Crime, Magnolia Shorty and Big Freedi ...

." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' called "Big Tymin'" a "major hit," writing "its lyrics are loosely structured and almost free-associative." ''

Complex Magazine Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular ...

'' wrote in May 2015 that "Big Tymin'" is "a Bay-style tribute to classic Cash Money... compared with Bankroll Fresh, whose 'Hot Boy' flipped a similar trick, 'Big Tymin" is bright, upbeat fun—much closer in spirit to its inspiration than the ATLien's dour repetition." The

site

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Med ...

wrote about the track that "with 'Big Tymin',' he has another clap on his hands. Paying homage to Cash Money’s Big Tymers, Nef goes in on a minimal beat...."

Remixes and performances (2015-present)

The music websites

and Thizzler on the Roof included "Big Tymin'" on their ''On the Roof Vol. 2: Mob Forever,'' dedicated to

The Jacka Dominick Newton (August 12, 1977 – February 2, 2015), better known by his stage name The Jacka, was an American rapper from Pittsburg, California. The Jacka began his career as part of the rap group Mob Figaz. He was killed in a shooting in ...

in May 2015. After "Big Tymin" had become known regionally, Nef the Pharaoh signed with E-40's

Sick Wid It Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

label in early 2015, and they re-released the track. "Big Tymin'" was remixed by YG and

in July 2015, with the remix premiering on sites such as Hotnewhiphop.com on July 25 and RapUp.com. In October 2015, Nef the Pharaoh freestyled live on the radio station

Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studi ...

, and he has also performed live on

KMEL-FM KMEL (106.1 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station that is licensed to San Francisco, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. KMEL has studios located in the SoMa district, and broadcasts ...

. His self-titled debut EP was released on

on November 6, 2015.''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' was one of the websites to stream the EP live and give it a positive review, with

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

also streaming it. He performed a release show in downtown Oakland for the EP. As of 2015, he was working on a collection of pre-rolled joints to sell at Bay Area cannabis clubs, with plans to launch an apparel line and his own music label KILFMB. He released his debut album, ''The Chang Project.'' In August 2018, Nef the Pharaoh released ''Blow up Bed'', a song which featured Los Angeles rapper 03 Greedo. The song was chosen as "Best new Music" by Pitchfork.com.

Personal life

Hayes' son was born in 2014. He has an older sister and two younger brothers.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''The Chang Project'' (2017) * ''The Big Chang Theory'' (2018) * ''Mushrooms & Coloring Books'' (2019) * ''HearYEE HearYEE'' (2020) * ''SINsational'' (2021) * ''The Tonight Show With Nef The Pharaoh'' (2021) with DJ.Fresh

Extended plays

* ''Nef the Pharaoh'' (2015) * ''Porter 2 Grape'' (2018) with

03 Greedo Jason Jamal Jackson (born July 26, 1987), known professionally as 03 Greedo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer from the Watts neighborhood of the county of Los Angeles, California. He began to gain recognition for his ''Pur ...

* ''Vice Versa'' (2018) with ShooterGang Kony * ''CHANGSZN'' (2020) * ''CHANGSZN 2'' (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Rich by 25 Two'' (2014) * ''Neffy Got Wings'' (2015) with

Cardo (record producer) Ronald Nathan LaTour Jr. (born September 24, 1984), professionally known as Cardo Got Wings or simply Cardo, is an American record producer and rapper. Early life and career Cardo was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. He then moved to F ...

* ''The Lost Tapes'' (2016) * ''Fresh Outta Space 3'' (2016)

Singles

as Featured artist

War With Me - Kt Foreign ft. Yhung TO, Nef The Pharaoh Bully Tha Bullie$ - Lynne Tracy, Kent Kern

Guest appearances

References

External links

Nef the Pharaoh
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...