Reaper is a rapper and songwriter based in Brooklyn, NY; growing up with a prodigious penchant for storytelling, he became an avid writer at a very young age, jotting down verses in his composition books religiously beginning when he was in the third grade; he spent a huge part of his youth breathing music into these words, but often for his own private listening; it wasn’t until 2019 that he broke into the scene via collaborations with other Brooklyn-based artists like Young Santi and Salamander; in the summer of 2020 he finally decided to ease out of the collab format and do solo work, essentially redeeming himself from being boxed in by the trappings of frat rap, and that year saw him releasing “Masterpiece” and “Half On It,” two singles that would lay the foundation for his signature sound; his archive of composition books became an arsenal from which he could fetch ideas and writtens to interweave with new verses, and this allowed him to churn out song after song after song, which is why this year (2021) is proving to be his most prolific yet—as of this summer he has dropped five joints so far, including the incredibly catchy “Problems” (released end of July, 2021) and the truncated yet meaningful “Composition” (released just this past month), his paean to his trusty old composition books…all while delivering freestyles in between; he primarily records at home where he’s free from the strictures of a professional studio, giving him room to improvise with controlled abandon; his latest releases demonstrate what this kind of creative freedom can achieve, featuring swaggering, aggressively expressive lyrics that showcase his dexterity as a rapper, set against wavy productions streaked with Latin-tinged instrumentation (a tribute to his Puerto Rican heritage); visit his Spotify page to listen to his latest releases, or his YouTube channel to watch his music video for “Problems;” follow @reaper_er on Instagram for updates on upcoming releases

Photographed by Angelo Kangleon in New York, NY, on July 11, 2021 (with social distancing precautions in place); some of these photos were taken using Bergger Pancro 400 35mm film; “Love Hurts” jersey from Kings Jersey X Massive Action