Reez 9.4

Reez 9.4, real name Arold Hermann Gnakpa, is an Ivorian artist, producer, entrepreneur and creator, born in Bouaké and originally from Cocody, Abidjan. His passion for the arts began in his childhood, first with drawing, before he turned to music, particularly rap. He was exposed to the rich musical culture of Côte d'Ivoire, with its catchy rhythms and poetic lyrics. Very early on, he was inspired by the great figures of rap, such as Booba, Lil Wayne, Akon, T.I., and other artists such as Corneille, Singuila, La Fouine, as well as local influences such as coupé-décalé and afrobeat. In 2008, Reez 9.4 met Big Bog, with whom he co-founded the collective Ghetto Sal. This collective, composed of artists such as Fireman and Guyzo le Choco, quickly gained influence on the Abidjan music scene. Together, they produced hits such as "Tous les jours la galère" and "Dealer de rap". In 2011, Reez 9.4 won the title of best producer at the 6th edition of Faya Flow, the largest rap competition in Côte d'Ivoire. This success marked a turning point in his career. After the dissolution of the Ghetto Sal collective in 2012, he joined the group 25H30 with artists such as Ken Gohan, Stel Air, D14, and collaborators such as designer Jean Luc Gosse and director Alexis Ayite. In 2013, Reez 9.4 moved to Paris, where he focused on perfecting his music production skills and released his first music video for the track "Blackberry". In 2015, he returned to Abidjan and finalized the "Fan d1 Fan" project with Ken Gohan. In 2016, he invested in production equipment, marking the beginning of his project "Longue vie au Reez". The following year, he opened his own recording studio and co-founded the Genesis Legion label with Big Bog, continuing the spirit of the Ghetto Sal collective.
In 2018, Reez 9.4 released his first mixtape, Longue vie au Reez, which was a huge success, with over 100,000 streams on YouTube and Apple Music and over 200,000 on Spotify.
Reez 9.4 has conquered the world with his music, ranking in 44 separate charts across 29 countries on Apple Music, totaling over 1.4 million streams. This global success, driven by tracks like "Zeze Pop", marks a major milestone in his career. In 2019, he directed his second music video for the track "Cocktail Explosif", filmed in Istanbul.
The tragic death of Big Bog at the end of 2020 shook Reez 9.4, but did not stop him from moving forward. In 2021, he founded his own label, Base Records, with Le Couteau as its flagship artist. The label quickly achieved great success, notably thanks to Le Couteau's "Niggabro 2" projects, with hits like "WA" and "Talouaklaman", as well as collaborations with artists such as Le Juiice, the first French rapper of Ivorian origin nominated for the 2022 BET Awards. In 2024, with the success of Le Couteau, Reez 9.4 consolidated the know-how of Base Records. He now became the sole active artist on the label,...