Reason the Citizen

Reason the Citizen is an American hip-hop artist based in Denver, CO. Born and raised in southern California, his musical style is heavily influenced by the cultural landscape of his hometown, Oceanside. The San Diego hip-hop environment, specifically the North County independent scene, significantly shaped his musical foundation. A sharp and linguistically skilled performer, his live set has been critically acclaimed and he has shared the stage with a number of notable hip-hop acts.

His 2006 debut album, Survival Plus, is widely considered an underground classic among early "internet hip-hop" releases. The independent effort gained him local credibility and resulted in tour performances throughout California and the southwestern US. Thematically, it tackled the up and coming rappers difficulties with adapting to a quickly changing environment, spoken truthfully over sample-heavy production. Survival Plus is the definitive starting point of a promising emcee's career.

Broke For Free, his 2009 sophomore album, quickly became a fan favorite and landed him on Denver based hip hop collective Fameless Entertainment. The duality of witty self realization and somber self deprecation throughout the album deals with themes that range from disastrous tour experiences, to balancing a professional identity with a growing family. Its success lead Reason the Citizen to performance opportunities at X-Games, and opening spots for acts like Macklemore, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon.

In 2011, shortly after releasing World Hunger Volume One, a 19 track free mixtape, Reason the Citizen teamed up with San Diego rapper Ch@ng3 to develop a unique live performance that blended live hip-hop with off-kilter vaudevillian style stage antics. Unofficially dubbed The Greatest Shit Show On Earth, their live set routinely featured burlesque dancers and unruly food fights, which earned the duo a loyal San Diego fanbase. They would go on to share the stage with artists like Mac Miller, Dizzy Wright, Action Bronson, Wax, and Chief Keef.

Not long after moving to Denver in 2013, Reason the Citizen released a 6 track mixtape entitled The Adventure Continues. It featured the song Unlikely, which would eventually become the up and coming emcee's debut music video produced by The Other Guys Films. Since his relocation, Reason the Citizen, along with his dj and regular collaborator Almighty IZ, have been regular live performers at the legendary Denver hip-hop venue Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, and have landed performances with the likes of Nas, MGK, Curren$y, Hopsin, Deltron 3030, Grouch & Eligh, Grieves, Hieroglyphics and more.

After a breakout year that included a tour with Brother Ali and appearances on TED Talks, Vans Warped Tour, and A3C Festival, Reason the Citizen is set to release his 3rd studio album, Finding Success Through Failure in 2016. It features production from UK super producer Handbook, notable for his uncanny style as well as his contributions to Rootnote Collective, a worldwide group of diverse and unique musicians. FSTF focuses heavily on the repercussions of failure, and reveals its necessity in a creatively hazardous environment. Ranging in intensity, it stands out as a testament to the ever improving emcee's ability to combine razor sharp double-time, with thought provoking perspective and insight.