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Meet Shareef Addo of Reef Boii in Macarthur Park

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Shareef Addo.

Shareef, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and had started playing music at around the age of ten. I started off on drums and then eventually moved on to bass, which ended up becoming my primary instrument. I went to college for music and about halfway through, I got on offer to tour with the group Aer as their live bassist. We had done a few national tours, playing in venues I had dreamed of such as Red Rocks and House of Blues in Boston. One tour of ours included Cody Simpson. Cody and his drummer Adrian had seen my energy while performing and wanted me to join a new band they were forming. I packed my bags and moved to LA shortly after to play and make music with my new friends. Eventually, I started producing more, and with producing I started exploring my own artistry. And on my 2nd EP that just came out, I feel as strongly about my craft than ever before.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Lord knows it’s been a very rough road! The music industry has so many ups and downs. I lost my father as I was going to college and that was very hard on me. I felt like he was just coming around to me being a musician and I started to see him be proud of me before he passed. Touring had also made some friends of mine very jealous and that cost me a couple of valuable friendships. I was also on tour with little money to my name. I was using most of the money I made on tour to pay rent so it was pretty hard to save up as well. I remember being back in NYC for a press tour and talking with my bandmate about how funny it is that we’re getting chauffeured around with a negative account balance.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I am a producer, artist, and musician. I guess if I had to be known for anything, it’d be for being the bassist for Cody Simpson. I specialize in being a great musician. That is something I take pride in because I had to work hard and study hard to get to level of musicianship that I now have. I’m most proud of the touring and producing that I’ve done. I’ve played all size venues from dive bars to amphitheaters, in various countries. I’ve played music in every continent besides Africa and Antarctica. On the producing side, I make bangers. I produced a song thats at about 8 million Spotify streams. What sets me apart from others is my confidence. I genuinely believe in myself and everything that I’m apart of. On top of my musical skill and being a person that tries to be genuine, I feel I have an energy that is appealing but also unmatched. (Humbly!)

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are so many people. My mom and family for supporting me in most things I do! All of my college professors for encouraging me to stay on track and stay focused. Aer – Carter, Dave, Mike, Taylor, Donny, Aaron, Joey – for being some of my favorite people I’ve ever met in the industry and life. They were my first touring crew and we are all brothers that went through it all. They made touring a reality for me, and through that we built an unbreakable bond. Cody and Adrian, for believing in me enough to bring me out to LA to play with them. We’ve gotten so close over the years and they’ve made LA feel like a second home. MZ for encouraging me to take producing more seriously and believing in me on top of being a dope human being. There’s plenty more too but then this would be 600-page essay on who deserves some love.

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Image Credit:
Rosie Ugly, Zameer Bham

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