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The Do List

Nef the Pharaoh's Psychedelic Rhymes Come to Berkeley's Cornerstone

Nastia Voynovskaya
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Nef the Pharaoh at his ranch in Vacaville on August 1, 2018. (Estefany Gonzalez)

A Bay Area treasure, Nef the Pharaoh is carrying the torch of E-40 and Mac Dre with rhymes that are streetwise, politically aware, raunchy and occasionally psychedelic.

The Vallejo native raps with the momentum of a bouncy ball, moving quickly between ideas and sometimes going in unpredictable directions. His breakout hit “Big Tymin” put him on the map in 2015, and since then he hasn’t slowed down with releases that have earned him a cult following—most recently, 2021’s SINsational.

Nef the Pharaoh performs at Cornerstone in Berkeley on Oct. 23.

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