Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 2000s, making his mark by winning many battle competitions within New York and interstate and displaying rare skills of what many called true MCing.
Feast or Famine was released in 2005 again to positive critical reception, as well as his side project, The Torture Papers, being part of the rap/hip-hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs in 2006.
Having spent a great deal of his childhood acting in plays and performing, Reef fell in love with Hip Hop at the age of eight and has been rhyming ever since.
In 2000, despite obtaining a scholarship, Reef dropped out of college where he was studying film school only at the age 19 to focus on his music realizing that he had found his true calling as a hip-hop artist.
He finally landed an album deal jointly with Eastern Conference and Good Hands, the former owned by New York underground MC/DJ pair the High & Mighty.
Early in 2004, Reef continued to freestyle, with a rousing performance at the Beat Society production competition in New York, and a win in the Riddle Records/Music & Strength Mic Control 3 battle taking home $10,000 in cash.
He was also the End Of The Weak Challenge Champion at the Rock Steady Crew 27th Anniversary in July 2004, and went on to take the EOW Grand Championship title in 2005.
The less well-rounded effort Feast or Famine arrived in 2005, boasting the DJ Mighty Mi-produced "Fair One," which also featured Boot Camp Clik's top MC Sean Price, as the lead 12" single.
He was invited into the Philadelphia crew JuJu Mob, who released their 2005 album Black Candles on Eastern Conference, as well as the underground super-collective Army of the Pharaohs, led by Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz, in 2006.