Ref (song)

"Ref"
Song by OsamaSon
from the album Jump Out
ReleasedJanuary 24, 2025 (2025-01-24)
GenreHip-hop
Length1:29
LabelAtlantic
Songwriters
  • Amari Middleton
  • William Minnix III
ProducerJay Trench
Music video
"Ref" on YouTube

"Ref" is a song by American rapper OsamaSon from his 2025 album Jump Out. It was released through Atlantic Records on January 24, 2025, as the sixteenth track on the standard edition of the project. Pitchfork named it a highlight of the project and noted a sample of Future's 2015 song "I Serve the Base" buried in its production. A music video directed by Walker Andrews was released on April 28, 2025.

Background and release

OsamaSon's music had been repeatedly leaked online before Jump Out was released. The album itself leaked on December 24, 2024, which led him to revise its track list, and it leaked again in January 2025. Paper reported that he released the project a few weeks ahead of schedule after the second leak. "Ref" appears on the standard edition between "Mufasa" and "The Whole World Is Free".

Composition

"Ref" runs for 1 minute and 29 seconds. It was written by OsamaSon, whose legal name is Amari Middleton, and William Minnix III, better known as "Ok", and produced by Jay Trench. Kieran Press-Reynolds of Pitchfork described the song as pushing rap closer to pure noise, built on dense, hazy production. He observed that fragments of Future's "I Serve the Base" from DS2 can be heard beneath the song's layered sound.

Reception

Press-Reynolds singled out "Ref" as a highlight of Jump Out. In an interview with Paper, OsamaSon named it, along with "Frontin", among the songs he was most confident had connected with listeners.

Music video

The music video for "Ref" was directed by Walker Andrews and premiered on April 28, 2025. It was described as a "surrealist action visual" that brings the song and the album's cover art "to life". It features women lit in red crawling toward OsamaSon on a bed, as well as shots of him rapping inside a ring of lights and in front of a "vertical sports car".

Live performances

OsamaSon performed "Ref" as part of an 18-song setlist at First Class Fest in Toronto on August 29, 2026.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 OsamaSon (January 24, 2025). "Jump Out". Apple Music. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Atlantic Records and Motion Music (2025). Jump Out (Vinyl liner notes). OsamaSon. Atlantic Records and Motion Music. 075678600678.
  3. 1 2 3 Press-Reynolds, Kieran (February 12, 2025). "OsamaSon, Bass-Boosted to the Big Leagues". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Corcoran, Nina (April 28, 2025). "OsamaSon Shares New Video for "Ref": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  5. ↑ Paul, Bryson (January 25, 2025). "OsamaSon Rushes 2025 With Aniticpated 'Jump Out' Album". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Norris, John (March 7, 2025). "OsamaSon Is Riding High on Rap's New Wave". Paper. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  7. ↑ Green, Walden (August 31, 2026). "OsamaSon Played an All-Leaks Set Over the Weekend". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2026.