A-Reece
A-Reece | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge March 27, 1997 Danville, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Known for | South African hip hop music, albums Paradise (2016), From Me to You & Only You (2017), P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy (2023) |
Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge (born 27 March 1997), professionally known as A-Reece, is a rapper, songwriter, and record producer hailing from Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
At the age of 16, A-Reece was signed by producer pH Raw X under the Raw X Productions label. He rose to national prominence in 2015 after joining Ambitiouz Entertainment and releasing the single "Couldn't," which featured Emtee. His first studio album, Paradise (2016), included singles like "Couldn't" and "Mgani." Due to disagreements over management, he departed from Ambitiouz in late 2016 to pursue an independent path.
In 2017, A-Reece co-established The Wrecking Crew alongside producer Mashbeatz and launched his sophomore album, From Me to You & Only You. The following year, he teamed up with Ecco the Beast and Wordz for the collaborative album Long Lost Letters (L3), highlighted by the single "Welcome to My Life." October 2018 saw the release of his fifth EP, And I'm Only 21. He continued his output in 2019 with the project Reece Effect.
In 2021, A-Reece entered into a distribution agreement with Platoon, Apple Music’s A&R division that nurtures emerging talent prior to major label signings. His mixtape Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape garnered attention from media outlets such as Forbes, Clash, and Flaunt magazines.
His third full-length album, P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy (2023), debuted at number one on South African charts.
Early life and career
Lehlogonolo was born on 27 March 1997 in Danville, Pretoria, Gauteng. He began composing music during his primary school years, drawing inspiration from his older brother Phologo Jody Mataboge (known as Jay Jody of the hip hop duo B3nchMarQ). His stage name A-Reece is derived from his Aries zodiac sign.
2014-16
In 2014, A-Reece released the Browniez EP. He signed with Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2015 and introduced his debut single "Couldn't" featuring Emtee. On 29 September 2016, he dropped the Cutaways EP, which contained tracks omitted from his debut album Paradise. His first album was officially released on 21 October 2016 and reached number one on iTunes within a day.
2017
Following financial disagreements with Ambitiouz Entertainment, A-Reece established The Wrecking Crew (TWC) in 2017 alongside MashBeatz, Flvme, and B3nchMarQ. This collective also featured artists such as Ex Global and Ecco the Beast. Early that year, he released the single "Meanwhile in Honeydew". On 21 October, he unveiled his second album From Me to You & Only You, which included FLVME on the track "Feelings".
2018
In 2018, A-Reece put out "A Real N*gga Tale" featuring 1000 Degreez and released a joint album with Ecco the Beast and Wordz titled Long Lost Letters (L3), led by the track "Welcome to My Life". Additionally, he issued two EPs: Gwan Big Up Urself 2 in March and And I'm Only 21 in October. Earlier that year, Flvme, Ecco the Beast, and Mellow Don Picasso exited The Wrecking Crew due to financial conflicts.
2019
In response to tensions with Flvme, A-Reece released the single "Carele$$" in 2019. He then followed up with a second collaborative project alongside MashBeatz entitled Reece Effect. Afterwards, The Wrecking Crew rebranded itself as Rvbberband Records.
2020
During 2020, A-Reece ended his professional relationship with producer MashBeatz and initiated collaborations with his elder sibling, Jay Jody. He put out multiple singles, such as "$elfish [Exp.2]", which preceded the release of his mixtape Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory.
2021
In the year 2021, A-Reece unveiled his second mixtape titled Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory, comprising 13 tracks. Additionally, he launched his third joint album with Jay Jody named Heaven Can Wait: The Narrow Door, Vol. 1. This project featured the track "The Confrontation," where he addressed his conflict with MashBeatz. In December 2022, he took part in the Africa Cypher (Hennessy Cypher) held in Nigeria, performing alongside prominent artists including Vector, M.I Abaga, M.anifest, and Octopizzo.
2023–present: P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy
On 20 October 2023, A-Reece released his third studio album, P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy. The album was promoted through singles like "Bruce Wayne" and "Ving Rhames" and debuted at number one on the iTunes All Genres Top 200 Chart, marking his inaugural chart-topping release.
The single "Ving Rhames" achieved a position of No. 47 on the International Top 200 and No. 16 on the Local Top 100 charts. Meanwhile, "God Laughs" reached No. 17 locally and No. 16 internationally.
On 13 September 2024, A-Reece collaborated with PistolWhipPapi to release the studio mixtape Kill The King: the mixtape. This project debuted at number one on iTunes and accumulated three million streams on Spotify within its first week.
Endorsement
A-Reece is noted for his partnership with the apparel company Vans and sparked rumors in 2019 regarding a possible endorsement deal with Nike.
Ambitiouz Entertainment controversy
Ambitiouz Entertainment encountered public criticism following the departure of artists Fifi Cooper, B3nchMarQ, A-Reece, and Flvme amid financial disputes. Fifi Cooper revealed that she had been signed for over two years without receiving any payments or royalties. After these exits, the label removed A-Reece’s music videos from their YouTube channel and deleted his presence on Facebook. Responding to his exit, A-Reece released the track "Loyal," which took aim at former associate Emtee for remaining with the label. Emtee countered with a diss track titled "Crown" on his album Manando, labeling A-Reece as "whack" and "emotional."
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZA | |||||||
| Paradise |
|
1 | |||||
| From Me to You and Only You |
|
— | |||||
| P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy |
|
1 | |||||
| "—" indicates a release that did not chart or was unavailable in that region. | |||||||
Mixtapes
| Title | Information |
|---|---|
| Forever King |
|
| Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape |
|
| Kill The King: the mixtape |
|
Collaborative albums
| Title | Information |
|---|---|
| L3 (Long Lost Letters) (with Ecco & Wordz) |
|
| Reece Effect (with MashBeatz) |
|
| Heaven Can Wait (The Narrow Door vol. 1) (with Jay Jody & Blue Tape) |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Information |
|---|---|
| Browniez |
|
| 1997/03/27 (The Best Things in Life Are Free) |
|
| CUTaways |
|
| Gwan Big Up Urself 2 (You Should've Taken Me Seriously) |
|
| And I'm Only 21 |
|
| The Burning Tree |
|
| Deadlines: Free P2 |
|
| Business As Usual |
|
As lead artist
| Title | Year Released | Album Name |
|---|---|---|
| "Come Up" | 2014 | Template:Non-album single |
| "Couldn't" (featuring Emtee) |
2015 | Paradise |
| "Mgani" | ||
| "?" | 2017 | rowspan="4" Template: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 | rowspan="2" Template:Non-album singles |
| "Amber Rose" | ||
| "Welcome 2 My Life" (with Ecco and Wordz) |
2019 | Long Lost Letters (L3) |
| "A Message From Reece" | rowspan="3" Template: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 | Template:Non-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" | 2022 | Template:Non-album single |
| "Bruce Wayne" | 2023 | P2: The Big Hearted Bad Guy |
| "Ving Rhames" | ||
| Str8 to hell | 2024 | "Kill The King: the mixtape" |
| Mad | 2024 |
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Collaborating artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Waters | 2024 | 25K | Loyal To The Plug : The Life & Death Of Don Kilograms |
| "Got the Feeling (Interlude)" | 2024 | Kelvin Momo | Sewe |
| Dilemma | 2025 | K.Keed | Bite The Bullet |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Nominee(s) and recipient(s) | Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South African Hip Hop Awards | 2016 | Himself | Lyricist of the year | Template:Won |
| "Couldn't" (featuring Emtee) | Best video | Template:Nom | ||
| "Ameni" (with Miss Pru, Fifi Cooper, Emtee, B3nchmarq, Saudi and Sjava) | Template:Won | |||
| Song of the year | Template:Nom | |||
| Best Collabo | Template:Won | |||
| 2021 | Himself | Lyricist of the year | Template:Won | |
| Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape | Mixtape of the year | Template:Won | ||
| Himself | Artist of the decade | Template:Lost | ||
| "The 5 Year Plan" (feat. Wordz) Directed by (SXMZX for Poison Cure Productions) | Best video | Template:Lost | ||
| "Hustlers Prayer" (with 25K) Directed by (Nate Thomas for Uprooted Media) | Template:Nom | |||
| Best Collaboration | Template:Lost | |||
| MTV Africa Music Awards | 2021 | Himself | Best Fanbase | Template:Cancelled |
| South African Music Awards | 2022 | Himself | Artist of the year | Template:Lost |
| Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory: The Mixtape | Best Hip Hop Album | Template:Lost |