Rashid Abdul Mugeez, professionally known as Mugeez, is a Ghanaian singer and songwriter. Born in Bimbila (Northern region, Ghana), he became known through the influential Afrobeat/Hiplife duo R2Bees (Refuse To Be Broke), which he formed with his cousin Faisal Hakeem (aka Omar Sterling) in 2007. The last album by R2Bees, Site 15,[1] from 2019, made it into the top 10 on the Billboard Chart.[2] He has also worked with Ed Sheeran on Boa Me. In April 2019, Mugeez founded his own record label, Extrial Music,[3] to promote his solo projects as well as up-and-coming artists.[4]
Mugeez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rashid Abdul Mugeez |
| Born | Tema, Ghana |
| Origin | Tema, Ghana |
| Genres | Hip hop, Afrobeats, Highlife and Dancehall |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocal |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Extrial Music |
Early life
Rashid Abdul Mugeez developed his love for rap while attending school, which led to him and his cousin forming R2Bees in 2007.[citation needed]The duo released their debut album, Da Revolution, in 2009.[5] A follow-up, Da Revolution II, came in 2012, before the pair were nominated for Best International Act at the 2013 BET Awards.[6] Various R2Bees singles appeared over the next few years, while Mugeez also struck out on his own, featuring on singles with the likes of Criss Waddle, Mr. Eazi, and DJ Breezy.[citation needed] In 2017, he was featured on Fuse ODG's single "Boa Me," alongside Ed Sheeran.[7] The two cousins lived in the same house and also attended the same primary, junior, and senior secondary schools in Tema.[citation needed] Beginning their career early, they started off representing their school in school music contests.[citation needed] This led them to participating in the popular radio competition Kasahare, which they won. Their continuous performance gained them popularity within their community.[8]
Career
2007–2012: Foundation of R2Bees and "Da Revolution" – First Album R2Bees
In 2007, the two cousins officially formed the music duo R2Bees in Ghana. Mugeez is the lead vocalist of R2Bees, while Omar Sterling is the rapper and the CEO of R2Bees Entertainment and KillBeatz's Joseph Addison is R2Bees’ official producer. R2Bees’ lyrics are in Twi and Ghanaian Pidgin English languages and their music is a mixture of Afrobeat and Hiplife, a Ghanaian music style that fuses Ghanaian culture and Hip Hop.
2019: Foundation of Extrial Music
After the Site 15 album featuring Afrobeat artists Wizkid, Burna Boy, King Promise and Kwesi Arthur with tracks like "Over", "Sunshine", "Yesterday" and "My Baby". Mugeez founded his own record label, Extrial Music to promote his own solo projects as well as support up-and-coming artists. Kicking things off, Mugeez released the singles "Regular" with Sarkodie and "Your Number" with Juls and King Promise. Mugeez also signed Tecknikal,[4] an artist from Ghana, as the first artist under his record label. After the foundation of Extrial in April 2019, Mugeez teamed up with DJ Mic Smith and Kwesi Arthur to release the single "Dripping".[9] "Chihuahua"[10] is Mugeez's first solo single in 2020 and was released on March 27th after an exclusive pre-release on Audiomack.[11] On May 8th, 2020, "Six In Da Morning" was released.
Awards and nominations
BET Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BET Awards 2013 | R2Bees | Best International Act: Africa | Nominated[12] |
Ghana Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | R2Bees | Group of the Year[13] | Nominated |
| Lobi | Highlife Song of the Year[13] | Nominated | |
| Killing me softly | Afro Pop Song of the Year[13] | Nominated | |
| 2014 | R2Bees | Group of the Year[14] | Won |
| Hiplife/ Hip Hop Artist of the Year[15] | Nominated | ||
| Artist of the Year[15] | Nominated | ||
| "Slow down" | Best Collaboration of the Year[14] | Nominated | |
| Vodafone Song of the Year[14] | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | R2Bees | Artist of the Year[16] | Won |
| Hiplife/ Hip Hop Artist of the Year[16] | Won | ||
| Group of the Year[16] | Won | ||
| Slow down | Best Collaboration of the Year[16] | Won | |
| Life | Vodafone Song of the Year[16] | Won | |
| "Odo" | Highlife Song of the Year[16] | Won | |
| Bayla Trap | Hip Life/Hip Hop Song of the Year[16] | Nominated | |
| Odo | Male Vocal Performance[16] | Nominated | |
| Mugeez | Song Writer of the Year[16] | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Kiss your hand | Afro Pop Song of the year[17] | Won |
| Collaboration of the Year[18] | Won | ||
| R2Bees | Hip pop/Hiplife Artist of the Year[18] | Nominated |
The Headies
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | R2Bees | Best African Artist[19] | — |
| 2014 | Nominated |
Nigeria Entertainment Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | R2Bees | Western African Artist or Group of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | African Artist of the Year (Non-Nigerian) | Nominated |
Selected videography
| Year | Title | Director | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Makoma | Nana Asihene | [20] |
| 2015 | Gboza Featuring Davido | Justin Campos of Gorilla Films | [21] |
| 2016 | Tonight Featuring Wizkid | Sesan Ogunro | [22] |
| 2017 | Plantain Chips | ThisIsbutta | [23] |
| 2017 | Over | Unknown | [24] |
| 2018 | Could This Be Love Featuring Efya | Babs Direction | [25] |
| 2018 | WE DA VIBE | Justin Campos | [26] |
| 2018 | SUPA Featuring Wizkid | Babs Direction | [27] |
| 2018 | Beautiful | Justin Campos | [28] |
| 2019 | Yesterday | Unknown | [29] |
| 2019 | Site 13 | David Duncan | [30] |
| 2019 | Picture Featuring King Promise | Justin Campos | [31] |
| 2019 | Sunshine | Justin Campos | [32] |
| 2020 | Yawa Featuring Sarkodie | Jay | [33] |
| 2020 | Dripping Featuring DJ MicSmith and Kwesi Arthur | Lex McCarthy | [34] |
| 2020 | Chihuahua | David Duncan | [35] |
| 2021 | Fine Wine Featuring King Promise and Joeboy | Century Films | [36] |
| 2021 | Eboso | Six & Jags | [37] |
| 2022 | Need Your Love Featuring Gyakie | Nimi Hendrix | [38] |
| 2022 | Another One Featuring Stonebwoy | Justin Campos | [39] |
| 2022 | Sure Banker | David Duncan | [40] |