R2Bees is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

hiplife Hiplife is a Ghanaian musical style that fuses Ghanaian culture and hip hop. Recorded predominantly in the Ghanaian Akan language, hiplife is rapidly gaining popularity in the 2010s throughout West Africa and abroad, especially in the United Ki ...

duo from

Tema Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most p ...

, comprising two cousins, Faisal Hakeem and Rashid Mugeez. They were nominated for the

2013 BET Awards The 13th BET Awards were held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California on June 30, 2013. The awards ceremony recognized Americans in music, movies, sports and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Comedian and actor ...

. In March 2019, the duo released their third studio album, ''Site 15''.

Career

2007–2012: ''Da Revolution I''

R2BEES's first single, "Yawa Gal", was released in August 2008. They then went on to release "I Dey Mad", which featured Unda melodies. The song topped most Ghanaian Radio Music Charts for weeks. In 2010, R2Bees released "Kiss Your Hand" as their third single. In 2009, R2Bees released a 17-track album ''Da Revolution'', which has already released songs; "Yawa Girl", "I dey Mad", "T.E.M.A", "Kiss Your Hand" with new songs; "Radio", "One more Chance" and "Africa" with production from

KillBeatz Joseph Kwame Addison, popularly known as KillBeatz, is a Ghanaian music producer and sound engineer. He is a member of music group R2Bees, R2bees and is also the CEO oLegacy Life Entertainment which has signed the Ghanaian musician King Promise. ...

(Joseph Addison) as well as guest appearances from

Wande Coal Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Early life Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in Lagos Island, Lagos state, Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omolara ...

, Sarkodie,

Samini Emmanuel Andrews Sammini (born 22 December 1982, in Accra, Ghana), known by his stage name Samini (formerly as Batman Samini), is a Ghanaian reggae and dancehall recording artist from Wa, Ghana. His genre of music is a melodious mixture of hig ...

Kwaw Kese Emmanuel Kofi Botwe , known by his stage name Kwaw Kese and popularly called Abodam (''craziness''), is a Ghanaian hiplife artist. Kwaw Kese is well known for his hit album ''Abodam 2007'', for which he won five awards at the 2008 edition of the ...

and a host of others.

2013–present: ''Da Revolution II: Refuse to be Broke''

Their second studio album, ''Refuse To Be Broke – Da Revolution II'', was released on 29 March 2013. The album had guest appearances from

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobea ...

, Sherifa Gunu,

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian American, Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido was born in Atlanta, U.S, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He made his mus ...

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), better known by his stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo studio albums, '' Star in the Hood'' (2007 ...

and Voicemail. The album's production was handled by KillBeatz. R2Bees released their first official single for 2014, "Lobi". The

highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...

influenced song video was released on 25 September 2014.

Recognition and music style

R2Bees often sing and rap in their native language

Twi Twi (; ) is the common name of the Akan literary language of Asante and Akuapem. Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, but more of a common name used by inland Akans as ...

and

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

. R2Bees is one of the top purveyors of Ghanaian

hip pop Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, pop hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the Rapping, rhythm-based lyricism of hip-hop, hip hop with pop music, pop's preference for Melody, melodic vocals, Catchiness, catc ...

subgenre

, which mixes rap with sounds of highlife (African pop music) and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

. In 2012, R2Bees was featured in the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

list of "African celebrities to watch in 2013". R2Bees have performed on the same stage with international musicians such as American R&B singers

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

and J Holiday.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Da Revolution I'' (2009) *''Da Revolution II: Refuse to be Broke'' (2012) *''Omar Sterling – Victory Through Harmony (2017) *''Site 15'' (2019) *''Back 2 Basics'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

, - ,

BET Awards 2013 The 13th BET Awards were held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California on June 30, 2013. The awards ceremony recognized Americans in music, movies, sports and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Comedian and actor ...

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Ghana Music Awards

, - , rowspan="3", 2015 , rowspan="1", R2Bees , Group of the year , , - , rowspan="1", Lobi , Highlife song of the year , , - , rowspan="1", Killing me softly , Afro pop song of the year , , - , rowspan="5", 2014 , rowspan="3", R2Bees , Group of the year , , - , Hiplife/ Hip Hop Artiste of the Year , , - , Artist of the year , , - , rowspan="2", "Slow down" , Best Collaboration of the Year , , - , Vodafone Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="9", 2013 , rowspan="3", R2Bees , Artiste of the Year , , - , Hiplife/ Hip Hop Artiste of the Year , , - , Group of the Year , , - , ''Slow down'' , Best Collaboration of the Year , , - , ''Life'' , Vodafone song of the Year , , - , "Odo" , Highlife Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="1", Bayla Trap , Hip Life/Hip Hop Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="1", Odo , Male Vocal Performance , , - , rowspan="1", Mugeez , Song Writer of the Year , , - , rowspan="3", 2011 , rowspan="2", Kiss your hand , Afro pop song of the year , , - , Collaboration of the year , , - , rowspan="1", R2Bees , Hip pop/Hiplife artist of the Year ,

The Headies

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2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Nigeria Entertainment Awards

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, African Artist of the Year (Non-Nigerian) ,

Selected videography

References

{{Reflist Dagbani-language singers People from Tema Ghanaian musical groups Ghanaian rappers Ghanaian highlife musicians