| el Mafrex | |
|---|---|
 el Mafrex at the 2012 Scottish New Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mfreke Obong Ibanga |
| Born | (1984-05-14) 14 May 1984 (age 40) Nigeria |
| Origin | Nigeria; Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Afrobeat, Christian hip hop, R&B, ragga, urban contemporary gospel |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, drums and keyboard |
| Years active | Since 2004; 20 years ago (2004) |
| Labels | 316 Muzik Factory |
| Website | elmafrex |
El Mafrex (born Mfreke Obong Ibanga; 14 May 1984) is a Nigerian-born, urban gospel singer-songwriter, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He was nominated for Best Gospel Act consecutively at the 2012 and 2013 editions of the (MOBO) Music of Black Origin Awards. He won Artiste of the year and Urban Recording of the year at the 2012 Scottish New Music Awards, making him the first black man to win the SNMA.
His song, "Jehovah", which features Christian rock band Royal Foundlings had more than 500,000 hits in the first five months of its release on YouTube. He released "That Man from Galilee" in the first quarter of 2013, which debuted at no 49 on the iTunes UK Chart for Gospel and had over a million hits on YouTube in its first 6 months.
On 30 September 2012, he was featured in the Sunday Mail.
He was nominated for the Season 8 of The Future Awards Africa on 10 July 2013.
Early life and education
He was born in Nigeria and educated at the Nigerian Military School in Zaria, Kaduna State.
He graduated in 2006 from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he studied physics and majored in electronics. In 2010, he obtained a master's degree in information-systems development from the Edinburgh Napier University.
Career
In 2001, El Mafrex started a boy band, M.O.D. (Men of Destiny), and was the lead vocalist of the five-man group. The band toured and played shows in Nigeria, especially in its south-south region before later expanding from a boy band to a family project. The family project gave birth to the Destiny Kids and MOD dancers.
While in the University of Uyo, he formed another boy band, Da Grooves, made up of Louis and GeePee. Together they played gigs on campus and its environs.
At the end of 2004, he left the band to start his own solo career, which he called the "el MAFREX" project. He was voted Artiste of the year in 2005 by the SUG of University of Uyo, and his songs "Rhythm in the Air" and "Esio Mkpo" were played on radio and television stations in Nigeria. "Rhythm in the Air" won song of the month, on the then Cosmo FM Enugu.
On 21 December 2013, el Mafrex headlined the Sixth edition of the Akwa Ibom State Government Christmas Carol (9999 Carol SIngers) night with other International gospel artists like Israel Houghton, South African gospel legend Lionel Peterson and Nigerian Gospel acts like Frank Edwards, Aity Dennis, Freke' and Nathaniel Bassey. He led a Reggae praise session in the Guinness book of world records listed event at the Uyo Township Stadium.
STV interview
In November 2012, he was interviewed by Scottish television news STV, where he talked about his music and recent MOBO Awards nomination.
Business interest
El Mafrex has other interests besides music as he prepares to launch his own line of designers eyeglasses. He told The Scotsman that he had his own personal sunglasses customized specially for himself and has since received compliments from many people who are interested in acquiring them, which has propelled him towards the direction of having a line for his sunglasses. The name of the line would be 3:16 derived from the Bible verse, John 3:16.
Singles
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2006 | "Rhythm in the Air" |
| 2010 | "Ibagaba" |
| 2011 | "Thank You" |
| 2012 | "Jehovah" |
| 2012 | "No Denying" |
| 2012 | "Bounce" |
| 2012 | "Your Word" |
| 2013 | "Since I be Pikin" |
| 2013 | "Oh that men will praise the Lord" |
| 2013 | "That Man from Galilee" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Category | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Scottish New Music Awards | Artiste of the Year | Won |
| 2012 | Scottish New Music Awards | Urban Recording of the Year | Won |
| 2012 | Scottish New Music Awards | Video of the year | Nominated |
| 2012 | MOBO Awards | Best Gospel Act 2012 | Nominated |
| 2013 | The Future Awards Africa | Entertainment Talent | Nominated |
| 2013 | MOBO Awards | Best Gospel Act 2013 | Nominated |
| 2016 | Scepters Award | Best Album | Pending |
See also
- List of Christian hip hop and rap artists
- List of Nigerian gospel musicians
- List of Edinburgh people
- List of gospel musicians
- List of Nigerians
- List of R&B musicians
- List of reggae musicians
- List of Scottish musicians
- List of singer-songwriters
- Music of Nigeria
- Music of Scotland
References
- ^ "MOBO Awards 2012 – nominees shortlist revealed | MOBO Awards". Mobo.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "MOBO Awards 2013 – Nominations List Revealed!". Mobo.com. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ Steve Alexander Smith. "Best Gospel 2012: Ram1 Rachel Kerr V9 Collective El Mafrex Ni-Cola profile | MOBO Awards". Mobo.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Scottish music awards and Scottish music industry awards for the music of Scotland". Scotmusicawards.co.uk. 25 March 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- "Archived copy". www.music-chart.info. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "el Mafrex – THAT MAN FROM GALILEE ft. Dave Brackenridge [HD]". YouTube. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- Sunday Mail – page 27. 30 September 2012.
- "Rap star pays tribute to new homeland and says he'll make bagpipes hip again". Daily Record. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Meet the class of 2013! See superstar list of 75 inspiring young nominees for the future awards Africa season 8". The Future Awards Africa. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- "About el Mafrex". el Mafrex Online. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- "elmafrex.com" "About el Mafrex". elmafrex.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- "PulseNg" Published on Monday 2 (23 December 2013). "Akwa Ibom State Shuts Down Uyo With 9,999 Carol Night – Latest news". pulse.ng. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "9999 Carol Singers". 9999carolaingers.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- "STV News at Six – Edinburgh – Thursday, November 01 | STV Player". Player.stv.tv. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Published on Tuesday (6 November 2012). "Edinburgh gospel singer to launch range of eyewear – Latest news". Scotsman.com. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- "Scottish New Music Awards 2012 – vote now! | Celtic Music Radio 1530 AM". Celticmusicradio.net. 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- "MOBO Awards 2012: Full list of nominated artists | Music | Entertainment | STV". Entertainment. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- "The Scepters Award 2016 – scepters global voting platform! | The Scepters". Scepters.net. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
External links
Categories:- Living people
- 1984 births
- 21st-century Black British male singers
- 21st-century Nigerian male singers
- Alumni of Edinburgh Napier University
- British gospel singers
- Black British male rappers
- British performers of Christian hip-hop
- British reggae musicians
- British contemporary R&B singers
- Nigerian hip-hop singers
- Nigerian expatriates in Scotland
- Nigerian singer-songwriters
- Nigerian Military School alumni
- Scottish singer-songwriters
- Urban contemporary gospel musicians
- University of Uyo alumni
- 21st-century Scottish male singers
- British male singer-songwriters