A-Reece

Last updated

A-Reece
Birth nameLehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge
Also known as
  • The Boy Doing Things
  • Baby Boy
  • Young King
  • The Big Hearted Bad Guy
Born (1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 27)
Danville, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Origin Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • record producer
  • songwriter
Years active2013–present
Labels
Website babyboy1606.com

Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge (born 27 March 1997), known professionally as A-Reece, is a South African Hip-Hop artist, songwriter, record producer and record label executive. He was raised in Pretoria, Gauteng.

Contents

At 16 years old, A-Reece was signed under Raw X Productions by South African Hip-Hop DJ, pH. A-Reece gained national prominence under Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2015, following the release of his single, "Couldn't", which featured Emtee. A-Reece released his debut studio album, Paradise (2016) which produced the singles, "Couldn't" and "Mgani". [1] After disputes with management of the label, A-Reece left Ambitiouz to become an independent artist late 2016. [2]

In 2017, A-Reece collaborated with his friends and producer Mashbeatz to establish The Wrecking Crew. In those studio sessions, he released his second album From Me to You & Only You. 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". In October that year he released his fifth EP, 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 at number one in South Africa.He is well know for his collaboration with a clothing brand Xstaccy

Early life and career

Lehlogonolo Mataboge was born on 27 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 21 October 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, MashBeatz, Imp Tha Don, EX Global, Wordz, Ghoust, Ecco the Beast, Enkei, Louw, Kri$h, Tyga Bankz, Mellow Don Picasso and Thando Nje. He released a single "Meanwhile in Honeydew" early in 2017. On 21 October, he released his second album From Me to You & Only You, which included Feelings featuring Flvme.

In 2018, he released "A Real N*gga Tale", which featured 1000 Degreez, and then 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 two EPs, Gwan Big Up Urself 2 in March and in October his fifth EP, And I'm Only 21. Early in 2018 Flvme, Ecco the Beast and Mellow Don Picasso 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 lead up to the release of his 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 came under scrutiny after artists Fifi Cooper, B3nchMarQ, A-Reece and Flvme left the label in a public dispute. [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 any payment for 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 with the record label. Seven 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

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
TitleDetailsPeak chart positions
ZA
Paradise [16] 1
From Me to You and Only You [17]
  • Released: 21 October 2017
  • Label: The Wrecking Crew
  • Format: Digital download
P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy [18]
  • Released: 20 October 2023
  • Label: Revenge Club Records
  • Format: Digital download
1 [19]
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

TitleDetails
Forever King
  • Released: 11 May 2013
  • Label: XLR Media
  • Format: digital download
Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape
  • Released: 26 March 2021
  • Label: A-Reece
  • Format: digital download

Collaborative albums

TitleDetails
L3 (Long Lost Letters) (with Ecco & Wordz)
  • Released: 15 June 2018
  • Label: The Wrecking Crew
  • Format: digital download
Reece Effect (with MashBeatz)
  • Released: 1 April 2019
  • Label: The Wrecking Crew
  • Format: digital download
Heaven Can Wait (The Narrow Door vol. 1) (with Jay Jody & Blue Tape)
  • Released: 10 December 2021
  • Label: Revenge Club
  • Format: Digital download

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Browniez
  • Released: 31 October 2014
  • Label: MyThron, Raw X
  • Format: digital download
1997/03/27 (The Best Things in Life Are Free)
  • Released: 27 March 2015
  • Label: A-Reece
  • Format: digital download
CUTaways
Gwan Big Up Urself 2 (You Should've Taken Me Seriously)
  • Released: 26 March 2018
  • Label: The Wrecking Crew
  • Format: digital download
And I'm Only 21
  • Released: 21 October 2018
  • Label: The Wrecking Crew
  • Format: digital download
The Burning Tree
  • Released: 20 April 2022
  • Label: The Revenge Club
  • Format: Digital download
Deadlines: Free P2
  • Released: 21 October 2022
  • Label: Revenge Club
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with certifications, showing year released and album name
TitleYearAlbum
"Come Up"2014Non-album single
"Couldn't"
(featuring Emtee)
2015 Paradise
"Mgani"
"?"2017Non-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)
2018Non-album singles
"Amber Rose"
"Welcome 2 My Life"
(with Ecco and Wordz)
2019Long Lost Letters (L3)
"A Message From Reece"Non-album singles
"Blood in Blood Out"
"Carele$$"
"In Hi$ Image [Exp.1]"2020The Exp$
"$elfish [Exp.2]"
"Formula [Exp.3]"
"John Doe [Last Exp.]"
"$trictly for My Bitch"2021Non-album single
"Re$idual Self-Image"
(featuring Ayanda Jiya)
Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape
"The 5 Year Plan"
(featuring Wordz)
"Morning Peace"
(featuring Jay Jody)
"Tuff Luck"
(with Jay Jody & Blue Tape)
Heaven Can Wait (The Narrow Door vol. 1)
"Ridiculou$"
(with Jay Jody & Blue Tape)
"Couldn't Have Said It Better Part 3"2022Non-album single
"Bruce Wayne"2023 P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy
"Ving Rhames"

Awards and nominations

AwardYearRecipient(s) and nominee(s)CategoryResultsRef.
South African Hip Hop Awards 2016HimselfLyricist of the yearWon [20] [21]
"Couldn't" (featuring Emtee)Best videoNominated
"Ameni" (with Miss Pru, Fifi Cooper, Emtee, B3nchmarq, Saudi and Sjava)Won
Song of the yearNominated
Best CollaboWon
2021 HimselfLyricist of the yearWon [22] [23]
Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape Mixtape of the yearWon
HimselfArtist of the decadeLost
"The 5 Year Plan" (feat. Wordz) Directed by (SXMZX for Poison Cure Productions)Best videoLost
"Hustlers Prayer" (with 25K) Directed by (Nate Thomas for  Uprooted Media)Nominated
Best CollaborationLost
MTV Africa Music Awards 2021 HimselfBest FanbaseCancelled cross.svgCancelled [24] [25] [26]
South African Music Awards 2022 HimselfArtist of the yearLost [27] [28]
Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape Best Hip Hop AlbumLost

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References

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