After kicking off 2021 with “$trictly For My B\*tch” and “The 5 Year Plan,” both of which quickly combined for over a million plays in a few weeks, award-winning South African rap artist and producer A-REECE is going 3-for-3 with his infectious new hip-hop single titled “MORNING PEACE.” Along with dropping off his new soulful sing-along bop, the Mzansi rap star is also proud to announce the upcoming release of his long-awaited and highly anticipated mixtape _Today’s Tragedy, Tomorrow’s Memory_, which will be released on March 26th in partnership with Platoon.
_Flaunt_ caught up with him to talk about “Morning Peace,” his upcoming project, and staying independent.
**For our readers who are just getting to know you, what’s one thing about A-Reece should we know about?**
I’m an independent rapper/producer from South Africa, Pretoria West. I’m 23 years old turning 24 on the 27th of March.
**How did you get started in music, what’s the backstory there?**
Music’s always been a part of my life. There was never a day music wasn’t played through the sound system in my household. My father played a lot of Kem, Jimmy Dludlu, Maceo Parker, and Michael Franks to name a few… mainly jazz. My mother would cook and clean to Joyous Celebration, Judith Sephuma, Mariah Carey, Aaliyah and a few more gospel, R&B and Soul legends. But what captured my attention the most was when my older brother would play hip-hop. From underground to commercial, he played everything. I was already listening to Mos Def, 50 cent, Immortal Technique, Pharoahe Monch, Jay-Z, The Last Emperor, Eminem, and Talib Kweli in 2004, and I was only in the first grade then.
When my brother started rapping around ‘06/‘07, it was only then I was influenced to write my own music from watching my brother battle in high school and record songs at his friend’s bedroom studio. My first time attempting to write a verse, I had to ask my brother to ghostwrite the opening lines because I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. He wrote the first 4 bars and told me to take off from there. When he heard the full 16 bar verse his reaction was: “go and write another one.” Ever since then, I never stopped writing.
**And why do you make music now?**
I make music because it’s a God-given talent, thanks to my brother for making me realize that. I enjoy making music as much as I enjoy listening to it. It’s the only way I know how to express myself. I make music because it has now put me in a position to be the voice of the future, it’s gotten bigger than me.
**What inspired your new single “Morning Peace?”**
When I heard the beat, I knew I wanted to be melodic on it and have spaces between my lines to make the production shine too. The beat’s so amazing I decided not to write the entire thing and improvise. The concept of wanting to start your day by making love to your partner, instead having a heated, awkward argument over something irrelevant just fell on my lap. I’m in a relationship myself, and it’s something I can relate to because it’s my reality. We all know it’s impossible to have a perfect relationship. We all have our flaws and mistakes, but that’s the beauty of it. It makes it all real.
**You have a new album, _Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory_, coming at the end of March. What can you share about it?**
It’s a mixtape I’ve been putting together the whole of 2020. The last time I released an album was 2017 after leaving my former record label. A year prior to that, I released my debut titled _Paradise_ that most of my fans still consider a classic. Early 2020, I made it official on social media that I’ll be making a sequel to the record and it caused a frenzy. I figured maybe I should get in pre-game mode and give them a mixtape first. Something to hold them as I craft the highly anticipated sequel. Initially I wanted to title it _Man In The Sky_ then _Inside A Troubled Mind,_ but as the year went by and so much was happening, I eventually changed it to fit how I was feeling at that current time. It’s 13 songs concise and straightforward as I intended it to be.
**What was the songwriting process for this new project and was it different to your other records?**
The process was a little bit more intense than my previous works because it took me the whole year to make it. Usually I’d take a maximum of two months or even a week to put together a body of work because it was all spontaneous. But for this specific tape, I decided to be more hands on with the production as well. I had to shift my focus from wanting to make a killer grimy rap loop to writing lyrics that match it. It was a learning curve for me.
**What do you hope your fans/listeners take away with them when they listen to your new project?**
I just want my fans to understand they’ll never be alone. I know there’s kids out there that relate to my story, ideas and have the same perspective as I do on certain aspects of life and I want them to know that. I want to give them hope.
**Which artists and musicians influenced you the most and why?**
For this specific project, I was inspired by Kanye West. Simply because of how musically brave he is. A music rebel, he’s known for being unconventional and being crucially involved in production. That’s my approach for this project, I want to express myself in my own way the best way I can.
**Which artists are you listening to right now that the world needs to know about?**
It’s a long list but to name a few I’m currently listening to Nick Kurosawa, Smino, Joey Fatts, Flee and Mick Jenkins.
**How have you been handling the Coronavirus situation?**
The safest way: complying, sanitizing my hands, social distancing, wearing my mask when I’m traveling. Other than that I’ve been keeping myself busy in the studio crafting.
**Looking to the future, what’s next for A-REECE?**
Releasing more music as usual. I plan on remaining independent.
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