anees | |
---|---|
Born | Anees Mokhiber July 30, 1992 Washington D.C., U.S. |
Other names | anees |
Occupations |
|
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) |
|
Years active | 2017–present |
Website | aneesofficial |
Anees Mokhiber (born July 30, 1992), known mononymously as Anees (stylized in small caps), is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter known for his hit song, "Sun and Moon", becoming the first international artist to top Billboard Philippines Songs chart.
Anees Mokhiber was born on July 30, 1992, in the suburbs of Washington D.C. [1] He was raised and has resided in Northern Virginia. [2] Anees is an Arab American with Lebanese and Palestinian ancestry. [3] Anees studied at George Mason University, majoring in philosophy and sociology in 2014. [2] His courses became pivotal to his growth as a "deep thinker and conscious lyricist." [2] Being a minority, Anees felt accessibility and opportunity in the school, "falling in love with my time on campus, whether it was going to office hours or walking around campus during sunset." [2] He worked as a pizza delivery man to save up for his studies. [4] While attending summer camp, Anees performed bomber freestyling: "You would, on the fly, come up with a four-bar rhyme to go back-and-forth with someone. I always felt very alive doing it." [2]
Anees attained a Juris Doctor degree in 2017 from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia before deciding to pursue a music career. [2] He entered a state of depression, confiding to freestyling as his therapy. [3] [5] His degree allowed him "to maneuver business dealings and the legal side of the music business without being taken advantage of as an independent artist," attesting how his legal acumen became significant to his growth. [2] His Ford Focus became his personal practice space and recording studio, developing his sounds and styles. [6] [7]
Anees posted an early version of "Drunk on Myself" on Instagram in 2019, showing off his flow and rap style publicly. [8] A year later, he uploaded a snippet of his first composition for "Slip" to TikTok. [8]
On April 14, 2020, Anees made his official debut single with "Neverland Fly", a rap song opening up about his battle with depression and the volatility of mental health. [5] [6] [8] On June 21, he collaborated with Arab producer Thanks Joey and Puerto Rican producer El Bles on the high-octane track "Brown Kid", envisioning it as an anthem for minorities. [8] The following month, he released the song "Maybe" and continued to upload snippets of his upcoming work to promote his brand. [8]
"Slip" made its public release as Anees' next single on April 1, 2021, across music platforms, a love song he dedicated to his wife and his vulnerability. [7] While performing the song on his Instagram Live on April 10, Canadian artist Justin Bieber joined his livestream, increasing his viewership to a total of 60,000 people. [2] [7] [8] Bieber praised his musicality and started an open discussion with Anees, lasting for 45 minutes that resulted to an uptick in his Instagram following to 10,000 followers within the hour. [1] [7] The encounter garnered positive press, especially from the Arab community of musicians, including Narcy, Massari, and Big Hass. [4]
The success of "Slip" led to the overlapping release of the songs "Love Is Crazy", a romantic track requested by his fans, and "Drunk on Myself", an ode to self-love. [2] [4] [7] He also published a performance video for "What Lovers Do", an emotive and provocative rap track that featured his signature flow. [9]
In November 2021, Anees previewed the chorus of "Sun and Moon" to his social media accounts to positive response, leaning into R&B and a departure from his rap sound. [7] He released "Too Good to Be True" featuring Kevin Spears as a follow-up to this new style, with Spears producing both tracks. [7] Anees continued to preview snippets of the track before being released officially to streaming platforms on April 6, 2022, and confirming it as his lead single for his debut album, Summer Camp. [10]
To promote the song, Anees launched an open verse challenge on TikTok upon its official release. [11] On April 11, former Ex Battalion member JRoa uploaded his version to the site, gaining massive popularity locally, reaching 14 million plays as of May 2022. [11] Anees reached out to JRoa to record a full duet to the song, releasing the official "Sun and Moon" remix on April 14 with an accompanying live performance video of both acts performing from different locations. [11] [12] "Sun and Moon" rose to number-one on the Billboard Philippines Songs chart dated May 7, making it the first English song to reach the summit and Anees as the first international artist to top the list. [12] [13] As of May 2022, the track has gained 20 million streams on Spotify and 5 million views on its music video on YouTube, becoming Anees' most streamed song. [12]
In October 2023, Anees signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, President of the United States, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. [14]
Anees released the Summer Camp album and started the tour promoting the album. The tour included many major cities, a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, SunFest, and Lovin’ Life Music Fest. [15]
Anees described his sound as genre-defying, ranging from hip-hop, pop, rock, R&B, and soul. [16] He cites Eminem, J. Cole, Immortal Technique, and Kanye West as his main musical inspirations, as well as Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran as his reference for his writing style. [6] Among the Arab community, he listed Omar Offendum, Narcy, and DAM as his influences. [6] His other influences include Chance the Rapper, King Los, John Mayer, India Arie, and Marlon Craft. [3] With his newfound success over his evolution in sound, Anees mentioned DMX, Lauryn Hill, Ed Sheeran, and Rex Orange County as being integral in his growth. [17]
Title | Year | Peak chart position | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NZ Hot [18] | PHL Songs [19] | |||
"Neverland Fly" | 2020 | — | — | Non-album singles |
"Brown Kid" (with Thanks Joey & El Bles) | — | — | ||
"Maybe" | — | — | ||
"Slip" | 2021 | — | — | |
"Love Is Crazy" | — | — | ||
"Drunk on Myself" | — | — | ||
"What Lovers Do" (with Kevin Spears) | — | — | ||
"Sun and Moon" | 2022 | 17 | 1 | Summer Camp |
"Leave Me" | 36 | — | ||
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that region. | ||||
Benjamin Joseph Levin, known professionally as Benny Blanco, is an American record producer, songwriter, record executive, author and actor. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also won the BMI Songwriter of the Year Award five non-consecutive times, and won the 2017 iHeartRadio Producer of the Year Award.
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to American singer Usher, both of whom formed the record label RBMG Records to sign Bieber in October of that year. He gained recognition following the release of his debut extended play (EP) My World (2009), which was quickly met with international commercial success and led to his establishment as a prominent teen idol.
The discography of Canadian singer Justin Bieber consists of six studio albums, three remix albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays, 76 singles, and 10 promotional singles. Bieber has attained eight number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eight number-one albums on the US Billboard 200 charts. As of June 2019, Bieber has sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he has sold 24 million albums and 121 million digital singles units as a lead artist, in the United States. Bieber was named the "Greatest Pop Star of 2016" by Billboard. He was also named the Billboard Year-End Top Male Artist for 2016 and placed number seven on the magazine's Decade-End Top Artists Chart for the 2010s.
"Boyfriend" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, taken from his third studio album, Believe (2012). Bieber explained that the track would surprise people in different ways, since it is a musical departure from his previous material. A snippet of "Boyfriend" was previewed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on March 1, 2012, Bieber's 18th birthday. The song was announced as a single on the same day, and was released on March 26, 2012. The cover art was revealed on March 19, 2012.
"Beauty and a Beat" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber from his third studio album Believe (2012). It features rapper Nicki Minaj, who co-wrote it with Savan Kotecha, Max Martin and Zedd. It was also produced by the latter two with a heavy drum machine and "rushing" synthesizers. Lyrically, it speaks about Bieber wanting to take his love interest to a club, where they can "party like it's 3012". It is the only song from Believe that Bieber did not co-write. The song became the third official single from the album.
"Confident" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, featuring vocals from American rapper Chance the Rapper. The song is taken from Bieber's second compilation Journals (2013). Written by Bieber in addition to Kenneth Coby, Maurice "Verse" Simmonds, Chancelor Bennett and produced by Soundz, "Confident" was released as a single on December 9, 2013, by Island Records, as the tenth and last song from a ten-week digital download campaign entitled Music Mondays, in which one new song was released every Monday night, held from October 7, 2013 to December 9, 2013.
"Company" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber from his fourth studio album Purpose (2015). Written by Bieber, Poo Bear, James Abrahart, Andreas Schuller, Thomas Troelsen, James Wong and Leroy Clampitt, the song was produced by Axident, Gladius, Big Taste and co-produced by Boyd. It was released to American rhythmic contemporary and contemporary hit radio stations on March 8, 2016, as the album's fourth and final single. It is an electropop and R&B song, with bass guitar, guitar and percussion in its instrumentation. Lyrically, "Company" talks about looking forward to getting to know someone attractive, but also sets some healthy boundaries for doing so.
Jason Paul Douglas Boyd, known professionally as Poo Bear, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his songwriting work for Canadian singer Justin Bieber, having been credited on each of his albums since his compilation, Journals (2013). Boyd has written four Billboard Hot 100-number one singles with Bieber's performances on "Despacito (Remix)" and "I'm the One", and his singles "Where Are Ü Now" and "What Do You Mean?". Furthermore, Boyd has written Bieber's top 40 singles "Intentions", "Forever", "I Don't Care", and "All That Matters". Prior, Boyd was credited on albums for R&B group 112, and co-wrote Usher's 2004 single "Caught Up", which peaked within the chart's top ten. He often writes for Scott Storch productions and co-writes in tandem with Sasha Sirota.
Michael Tucker, known professionally as BloodPop, is an American musician, record producer, songwriter, and gaming executive.
"I'm the One" is a song by American disc jockey DJ Khaled featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber and American rappers Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne. The song was released on April 28, 2017, by We the Best and Epic Records as the second single from Khaled's tenth studio album Grateful. On July 27, 2018, all artists, with the exception of Lil Wayne, were featured on Khaled's "No Brainer" from his eleventh studio album, Father of Asahd (2019). On October 19, 2020, the song surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.
"Taking a Walk" is a song by American rapper Trippie Redd, released as the third single from his debut studio album Life's a Trip on August 6, 2018. Produced by co-songwriters Scott Storch and Avedon, it is Redd's second highest-charting song to date.
Indigo is the ninth studio album by American singer Chris Brown, released on June 28, 2019, by RCA Records. The album is his second double album as well as a follow-up to his eighth album Heartbreak on a Full Moon (2017). Brown enlisted and worked with several producers, including Smash David, Soundz, Hitmaka, Boi-1da, Scott Storch, OG Parker and many others. The album features various guest appearances by urban and pop artists, including Nicki Minaj, G-Eazy, Tory Lanez, Tyga, Justin Bieber, Juicy J, Juvenile, H.E.R, Tank, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Joyner Lucas, Gunna, Trey Songz and Drake.
Breezy is the tenth studio album by American singer Chris Brown, released on June 24, 2022, as the follow-up to his 2019 album Indigo. The artists featured on the album are Lil Wayne, Anderson .Paak, Blxst, Lil Baby, H.E.R., EST Gee, Wizkid, Jack Harlow, Tory Lanez, Fivio Foreign, Ella Mai, Yung Bleu, Capella Grey, Lil Durk, Davido and Bryson Tiller. The album marks his first studio album not being a double-disc since his 2015 album Royalty.
Justice is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Khalid, Chance the Rapper, the Kid Laroi, Dominic Fike, Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Beam, Burna Boy, and Benny Blanco. The "Triple Chucks" deluxe edition of the album was released on March 26, 2021, exactly a week after the standard version. It features additional guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert, Jaden, Quavo, DaBaby, and Tori Kelly. The complete edition was released on October 8, 2021, and includes the tracks on store versions of the album that did not make the regular album. It features additional guest appearances from TroyBoi and Poo Bear. The album includes production from Benny Blanco himself, Virtual Riot, Andrew Watt, Skrillex, Finneas, Jon Bellion, the Monsters & Strangerz, and numerous others. It serves as the follow-up to Bieber's previous album, Changes (2020). Justice is a pop, R&B, and dream pop album.
"Peaches" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber featuring fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar and American singer-songwriter Giveon. It was released through Def Jam Recordings on March 19, 2021, as the fifth single from the former's sixth studio album, Justice, which was released the same day. First-time collaborators, the artists wrote the song with producers Harv and Shndo, alongside Andrew Watt, Louis Bell, Sean Leon, Harv's wife Felisha King-Harvey of Cherish, Vincent Massi, and Keavan Yazdani. There are two remixes of the song: one that features American musicians Ludacris, Usher, & Snoop Dogg, and the other of which features Nigerian musicians Alpha P, Omah Lay, and Masterkraft.
"Don't Go" is a song by American record producer Skrillex, Canadian singer Justin Bieber, and American rapper and singer Don Toliver. It was released as a single through Atlantic Records and Owsla on August 20, 2021. Production was handled by Skrillex and Harv, while the vocals were handled by Bieber and Toliver. All four wrote the song alongside Poo Bear, Beam, Aldae, Carlton McDowell, Jr., Jordan Douglas, and Drew Gold.
"Wandered to LA" is a song by American rapper Juice WRLD and Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on December 3, 2021, under Interscope Records and Grade A Productions as the second single from Juice's fourth studio album Fighting Demons, which was released posthumously. Juice and Bieber wrote the song with American record producers Louis Bell and Harv and Israeli songwriter and producer Omer Fedi; Juice had first previewed the song in September 2018, before Bieber was added to it.
Philippines Songs is a music record chart in the Philippines, compiled by Billboard since February 2022. Updated every Tuesday on Billboard's website, the chart was announced on February 14, 2022 as part of Billboard's Hits of the World chart collection, ranking the top 25 songs weekly in more than 40 countries around the globe. This is the first local Billboard chart in the Philippines since the discontinuation of the Philippine Hot 100 and four other charts after Billboard Philippines halted its operation for an undisclosed reason on January 15, 2018.
"Honest" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, featuring vocals from American rapper and singer Don Toliver. It was released as a single through Def Jam Recordings on April 29, 2022. Bieber and Toliver wrote the song with producers Beam, Sonni, and Azul Wynter, alongside Donny Flores, Simon Plummer, and Alecia Gibson. It marks the second collaboration between the two artists, following their 2021 joint collaborative single with American record producer Skrillex titled "Don't Go".
"Sun and Moon" is a song by American artist Anees. It was released on April 6, 2022 as the lead single from his debut album, Summer Camp. The song was written by Anees alongside songwriters Kevin Spears, Sekko, and Zach Matari.