A-Reece
Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge (born 27 March 1997), known professionally as A-Reece, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer. He was raised in Arridgeville, Pretoria, Gauteng.
A-Reece | |
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 A-Reece In 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge |
| Also known as |
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| Born | 27 March 1997 Pretoria, South Africa |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | babyboy1606 |
A-Reece was under Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2015 , but with no paper work signed yet . After disputes with management , he left to become an independent artist. He gained popularity in 2015 following the release of his single , "Couldn't" , which featured the rapper Emtee.[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, He then released music video of Feelings which features Flvme his former colleague. 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 2019, he released Reece Effect.[3] He also released several EPs notably being Gwan Big Up Urself, Cutaways EP And I'm Only 21. In 2021 he released his mix tape titled "Today'sTragedy Tomorrow's Memory" the mixtape. He then later that year released an album with his brother Jay Jody as Blue Tape titled "heaVeN cAn wAiT the narrow door:vool1".On 20th of April 2022 A-Reece released his 9 tracks project titled "The Burning Tree" which featured 6 artists including 3 based Pretoria rappers 25K , Imp Da Don & Jay Jody his older brother.
Following a financial squabble with Ambitiouz Entertainment , The Wrecking Crew (TWC) was formed with Mashbeatz. The Wrecking Crew consisted of MashBeatz , Ex Global , Wordz and other former members , Flvme , Ecco and Mellow. The Wrecking Crew changed names to Rubberband Records after the departure of Flvme, Ecco and Mellow.[4][5]
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.[6]
Early life and career
Lehlogonolo Mataboge was born on 27 March 1997, and came from 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] He went on to release his second studio album From Me To You And Only You to celebrate the anniversary of his debut album. In 2019 he released a soundtrack with Mashbeatz titled Reece Effect.
In 2021, he released his second mixtape Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory containing 13 tracks.[10]
Ambitiouz Entertainment controversy
Ambitiouz Entertainment went under much scrutiny after artists Fifi Cooper, B3nchMarQ, A-Reece and Flame 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
| Album title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Paradise |
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| From Me to You And Only You |
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Mixtape
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Forever King |
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| Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape |
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Collaborative albums
| Album title | Album details |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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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As lead artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "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 |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Category | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South African Hip Hop Awards | 2016 | Himself | Lyricist of the year | Won | [16][17] |
| "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 | [18][19] | |
| 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 | [20][21] |
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.
- "A Reece Explains Why He Left Ambitiouz Entertainment". People Magazine.
- "Chit Chat with A-Reece &.The Wrecking Crew #AwesomeFoursome". Zkhipani. 31 January 2018.
- "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.
- "A-Reece battles remorse on Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory". PAM - Pan African Music. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- "Fifi Cooper, B3nchmarq and A Reece Leave Ambitiouz | People Magazine". www.peoplemagazine.co.za. 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.
- "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.