A-Reece
Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge (born March 27, 1997), known professionally as A-Reece, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer. He was raised in Pretoria, Gauteng.
A-Reece | |
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Birth name | Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge |
Also known as |
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Born | Danville, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa | March 27, 1997
Origin | Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 2013–present |
Labels |
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Website | babyboy1606 |
A-Reece release music under the Ambitiouz Entertainment Label in 2015, but with no paper work signed yet. He gained popularity in 2015 following the release of his single, "Couldn't", which featured the rapper Emtee. After disputes with management of the label, he left to become an independent artist late 2016.[1]
A-Reece released his debut studio album, Paradise (2016) which produced the singles, "Couldn't" and "Mgani".[2] In 2017, A-Reece released his second album From Me to You & Only You. In 2018, he released a collaborative album with Ecco and Wordz titled "Long Lost Letters" (L3), the lead single was "Welcome To My Life". In October that year he released his 5th Extended Play, And I'm Only 21. In 2019, he released Reece Effect.[3]
In 2021, A-Reece signed a distribution deal with Apple Music owned A&R company Platoon, which specializes in packaging emerging artists before they get a major-label contract, and his mixtape Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: the mixtape was publicised on Forbes, Clash and Flaunt magazines.[4]
A-Reece's third studio album P2: THE BIG HEARTED BAD GUY ( 2023), debuted number one in South Africa.
Early life and career
Lehlogonolo Mataboge was born on the 27th of March 1997 and came from Danville, Pretoria, Gauteng. He started writing music in primary school following the footsteps of his older brother Phologo Jody Mataboge, known as Jay Jody from the hip hop duo B3nchMarQ. He got his stage name "A-Reece" from his star sign Aries.[5]
In 2014, A-Reece released an EP titled Browniez EP. In 2015, A-Reece signed to Ambitiouz Entertainment and released his first single "Couldn't" under the label, featuring Emtee. He released Cutaways, an EP, on 29 September 2016, which consists of songs that did not make the cut for his debut album Paradise.[6] His debut album was later released on October 21, 2016, and topped the No.1 spot on iTunes just under 24 hours after its release.[7]
Following a financial squabble with Ambitiouz Entertainment, he formed The Wrecking Crew (TWC) in 2017 with Mashbeatz, FLVME & B3nchmarq. The Wrecking Crew consisted of Him (A-Reece), MashBeatz, IMP THA DON, EX Global, Wordz, Ghoust, Ecco the beast, Enkei, Louw, Kri$h, Tyga Bankz, Mellow,Olu Cakata and some 1000 Degreez members. He released a single "Meanwhile in Honeydew" in 2017. On the 21st of October, he released his second album From Me to You & Only You which included Feelings featuring Flvme.
In 2018, he released a collaborative album with Ecco the beast and Wordz titled Long Lost Letters (L3), the lead single was Welcome To My Life. Mataboge then released 2 Extended Plays, Gwan Big Up Urself 2 in March and in October he released his 5th EP, And I'm Only 21. In late 2018 Flvme, Ecco the beast and Mellow left The Wrecking Crew due to financial disputes.[8]
In 2019, A-Reece released a single, Carele$$, to address his squabble with Flvme. He then released his second collaborative album with MashBeatz titled Reece Effect. The Wrecking Crew changed names to Rvbberband Records.
In 2020, A-Reece had a fallout with Mashbeatz and this led to him collaborating with his older brother Jay Jody. He also released a number of singles, including $elfish [Exp.2], which were leading to his highly anticipated mixtape Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory.[9]
In 2021, he released his second mixtape Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory containing 13 tracks. He also released his third collaborative album, heaveN caN waiT: thE narroW dooR, vol.1, with Jay Jody. The album included "the confrontation" which is a song that addresses his beef with his former producer MashBeatz.[10] In December 2022 A-Reece was featured in Africa Cypher (Hennessy Cypher) that happened in Nigeria, the Cypher also featured artists such as Vector, M.I Abaga, M.anifest and Octopizzo.
Ambitiouz Entertainment controversy
Ambitiouz Entertainment went under much scrutiny after artists Fifi Cooper, B3nchMarQ, A-Reece and Flvme left the label in a very public and ugly fight.[11][12] Artists claimed that they decided to part ways with the record label because of financial disagreements. Fifi Cooper went on to say that she had been signed for over two years to the label yet had not received a single cent from her performances, as well as royalties.[13][14] The record label also went on to remove all of A-Reece's music videos from their YouTube channel and his Facebook page was also deleted. A-Reece Released "Loyal" where he addressed his reason for leaving Ambitious Entertainment. In the song A-Reece slammed his former colleague Emtee for staying in the record label. 7 months later on his album Manando, Emtee responded with a diss track called "Crown" calling A-Reece whack and emotional on songs.[15]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
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ZA | |||||||
Paradise[16] |
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— | |||||
From Me to You And Only You[17] |
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— | |||||
P2: THE BIG HEARTED BAD GUY[18] |
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1[19] | |||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Mixtape
Title | Mixtape details |
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Forever King |
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Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape |
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Collaborative albums
Album title | Album details |
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L3 (Long Lost Letters) (with Ecco & Wordz) |
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Reece Effect (with Mashbeatz) |
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heaveN caN waiT(thE narroW dooR vol. 1) (with Jay Jody) |
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Extended plays
Extended play title | Extended play details |
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BROWNIEZ |
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1997/03/27 [The Best Things in Life are Free] |
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CUTaways |
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Gwan Big Up Urself 2 (You Should've Taken Me Seriously) |
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And I'm only 21 |
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The Burning Tree |
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DEADLINES: FREE P2 |
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As lead artist
Title | Year | Album |
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"Come Up" | 2014 | Non-album singles |
"Couldn't "
(featuring Emtee) |
2015 | Paradise |
"Mgani" | ||
"?" | 2017 | Non-album singles |
"Sloppy" | ||
"Meanwhile In Honeydew | ||
"FourTwenty 4:20"
(featuring Flame, Ecco and Ex-Global) | ||
"Feelings"
(featuring Flame) |
From Me To You And Only You | |
"Kim Kardashian"
(featuring Ex-Global and Wordz) |
2018 | Non-album singles |
"Amber Rose" | ||
"Welcome 2 My Life"
(with Ecco and Wordz) |
2019 | Long Lost Letters (L3) |
"A Message From Reece" | Non-album singles | |
"Blood In Blood Out" | ||
"Carele$" | ||
"In Hi$ Image [Exp.1]" | 2020 | The Exp$ |
"$elfish [Exp.2]" | ||
"Formula [Exp.3]" | ||
"John Doe [Last Exp.] | ||
"$trictly for my Bitch" | 2021 | Non-album singles |
"Re$idual Self-Image"
(featuring Ayanda Jiya) |
Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape | |
"The 5 Year Plan"
(featuring Wordz) | ||
"Morning Peace"
(featuring Jay Jody) | ||
tufF LucK | heaveN caN waiT(thE narroW dooR vol. 1) (with Jay Jody) | |
"ridiculou$"
(with Jay Jody) | ||
"Couldn't have said it better part 3" | 2022 | |
"Sneaky" (Blxckie featuring. A-Reece) | 4luv deluxe | |
"Ving Rhames" | Paradise 2: the big hearted bad guy |
Awards and nominations
Award | Year | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Category | Results | Ref. | |
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South African Hip Hop Awards | 2016 | Himself | Lyricist of the year | Won | [20][21] | |
"Couldn't" (featuring Emtee) | Best video | Nominated | ||||
"Ameni" (with Miss Pru, Fifi Cooper, Emtee, B3nchmarq, Saudi and Sjava) | Won | |||||
Song of the year | Nominated | |||||
Best Collabo | Won | |||||
2021 | Himself | Lyricist of the year | Won | [22][23] | ||
Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape | Mixtape of the year | Won | ||||
Himself | Artist of the decade | Nominated | ||||
"The 5 Year Plan" (feat. Wordz) Directed by (SXMZX for Poison Cure Productions) | Best video | Nominated | ||||
"Hustlers Prayer" (with 25K) Directed by (Nate Thomas for Uprooted Media) | Nominated | |||||
Best Collaboration | Nominated | |||||
MTV Africa Music Awards | 2021 | Himself | Best Fanbase | Pending | [24][25] | |
South African Music Awards | 2022 | Himself | Artist of the year |
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South African Music Awards | 2022 | Himself | Best HipHop Album |
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References
- "A-Reece Biography". Cut FM.
- "A-Reece RELEASES Paradise!". Zkhipani. 21 October 2016.
- "REVIEW:A-Reece-From Me To You & the world". Zkhipani. 23 October 2017.
- "5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About A-Reece". Youth Village. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- "A-Reece Releases CUTaways EP". Zkhipani. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- "A-Reece's Album Goes Straight To Number ONE". Zkhipani. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- Journalist, The (31 January 2018). "Chit Chat with A-Reece & The Wrecking Crew #AwesomeFoursome". Zkhiphani. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- Jabulani, John (24 January 2023). "MashBeatz Says He And A-Reece Will Never Patch Things Up". Ubetoo. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- "A-Reece battles remorse on Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory". Pan African Music. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- "Fifi Cooper, B3nchmarq and A Reece Leave Ambitiouz | People Magazine". www.peoplemagazine.co.za. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "The leaving of Ambitiouz Entertainment artists shouldn't come as a surprise". ZAlebs. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "Shocker! Top rappers Fifi Cooper, B3nchmarq and A Reece Leave Ambitiouz". The Citizen. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- "Breaking!!! Fifi Cooper, B3nchMarQ And A -Reece Leaves Ambitiouz Ent… Fifi Unveils Own Record Label". Hiphopza. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- "A-Reece Hits Back At Ambitiouz For Removing His Videos From YouTube". Youth Village. March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- "A-REECE reveals Tracklist & Album Cover for debut album 'Paradise'". YoMzansi. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- "Cop @reece_youngking From Me To You & Only You Today". SlikourOnLife. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- "Blxckie, Sjava, Shekhinah featured on long-awaited new A-Reece album". Independent Online. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Sjava Reacts To A-Reece's New Album Debuting #1 On iTunes All Genres Top 200 Chart - SA Hip Hop Mag". South African Hip Hop Magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Here's the Full List of South African Hip Hop Awards 2016 Nominees". OkayAfrica. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- "2016 WINNERS". SA HIP HOP AWARDS. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- "SA Hip Hop Awards 2021: All the nominees". Music In Africa. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- "SA Hip Hop Awards 2021: All The Winners". nydjlive.com. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- "Here Are the 2021 MTV Africa Music Awards Nominees". OkayAfrica. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- "MTV Africa Music Awards 2021: All the nominees". Music In Africa. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.