Richie Mensah

Richie Mensah
Richie Mensah
Background information
Birth name	Richard Mensah
Born	(1986-05-17) May 17, 1986
Origin	Accra, Ghana
Genres	R&B, Hiplife
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	2007 – present
Labels	Lynx Entertainment
Website	richiemensahgh.com

Richie Mensah (born 17 May 1986), better known by his stage name Richie, is an award-winning Ghanaian singer-songwriter and record producer. After producing records for several artists, Richie set up Lynx Entertainment record label^[1][2] and released his debut album All of Me on the label in 2008.^[3] He has since then gone on to win several awards both as a singer and record producer and is fast establishing himself as one of the biggest names in the Ghanaian music industry.

Early life

Richie was born in Accra, Ghana, and started performing at the age of six with his brother and sister at local variety shows. He decided to embark on a career in music while studying science at Achimota Senior High School, Accra. Richie graduated from Achimota Senior High School in 2003 and started producing records while studying computer software engineering at NIIT, Accra.

Music career

Establishing Lynx Entertainment

Richie set up Lynx Entertainment in 2006 and became the first artist signed to the record label. He went on to sign ASEM, OJ Blaq, Irene Logan, Eazzy, Zigi and MzVee as well as producing for and collaborating with Tinny, Okyeame Kwame, VIP, Praye, Bradez, Irene and Jane, Obour, Becca and several other big names in the Ghanaian music industry. He also worked on Originality the third album of Nigerian R&B star Faze. The artistes on the record label have had critical and commercial success with songs such as "Frema", "Pigaro", "Runaway", "Wengeze", "No More Kpayor", "You Say Wey Tin" and "One Gal" with the label winning the "record label of the year" award at the Ghana Music Awards in 2009.^[4] In 2010, the artistes on the Lynx Entertainment record label Richie, ASEM, OJ Blaq, Eazzy and Zigi collaborated on Africa’s Moment, which was featured on Hello Afrika, Sony Music’s release in conjunction with the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.^[5] The song was also featured in the Vodafone advert that staged the first ever flashmob in West Africa.^[6] Lynx Entertainment released Back 2 Zero in July 2011.^[7] The album featured all the artistes on the record label as well as several renowned Ghanaian musicians such as Gyedu Blay-Ambolley, Tinny, V.I.P, Okyeame Kwame, Efya, Trigmatic, Sonni Balli, EL, Jael Wiafe, Ayigbe Edem and Iwan.

2008 – present: producer and recording artiste

After producing songs for several African artistes, Richie released his debut album All of Me in 2008. The album featured hit singles "Frema", "When I Get You" and "Dirty Dance". The release of this album established Richie as one of the hottest R&B stars on the Ghanaian music scene and led to award nominations at the 2009 Ghana Music Awards for "Discovery of the Year", "Best Male Vocal", "Hip Hop Song of the Year", "Afro Pop Song of the Year" and "Collaboration of the Year".^[8] He won the award for ‘Producer of the Year’ at the ceremony, his record label Lynx Entertainment won "Record Label of the Year" and "Woso", a song by Okyeame Kwame, which he produced and featured on won "Hip Hop Song of the Year" and "Video of the Year".^[9] He also won "Male Music Star of the Year" award at the 2009 Joy FM’s Nite with the Stars.^[10][11] Richie again won the award for "Producer of the Year" at the 2010 Ghana Music Awards^[12] and "Simple", a song he produced for the Ghanaian music duo Bradez, won "Most Popular Song of the Year" at the Ghana Music Awards in 2010 and "West African Song of the Year" at the 2010 Museke Online African Music Awards.^[13] His sophomore album UKNR was released in May 2010^[14][15] and featured hit singles "Yaaro", "Asa Fofro" featuring SK Blinks, "Ma Nim Ton" featuring Tinny and ‘Intoxicated’ featuring Sway which was nominated for "Hip Hop Song of the Year" at the 2011 Ghana Music Awards.^[16] In February 2012, Richie released "Changing Faces", the first single from his third album also titled Changing Faces.^[17]

Richie continues to nurture young talent and has established "Lynx School of Arts", a performing arts school in Ghana for talented people looking to enter the entertainment business^[18]

In 2012, he signed an all female group called D3 to his Lynx Entertainment record label.^[19] The group, released hit singles such as 'Good Girls Gone Bad' and 'Gyani Gyani' before splitting at the end of 2013 due to educational commitments of the young group members.^[20] The lead singer of the group, MzVee was subsequently signed to the record label as a solo artiste and has gone on to release two albums, Reveelation in 2014^[21] and Verified in 2015,^[22] to commercial and critical acclaim.

Richie is also a mentor on MTN's Hitmaker, Ghana's largest music talent show^[23][24] The show which launched in 2012 is now in its fifth season.^[25]

In January 2017, Richie was appointed Director of Music and Industry Standards by the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA)^[26] to work with MUSIGA's newly established Membership and Business Development Office and lead on their industry standardization efforts.^[27]

Discography

• All of Me (2008)
• UKNR (2010)

Awards & Nominations

References

External links

• Official website