Omar Sterling
Hip Hop
Omar Sterling is the rap alias of Faisal Hakeem, better known for years as Paedae, one half of the Tema duo R2Bees. He grew up in…
Biography
Omar Sterling is the rap alias of Faisal Hakeem, better known for years as Paedae, one half of the Tema duo R2Bees. He grew up in Tema alongside his cousin Rashid Mugeez, went to primary, junior and secondary school there, and formed R2Bees with him in 2007. The name comes from the group’s motto, “Refuse to be broke”.
R2Bees put out their first single, “Yawa Gal”, in August 2008, then the albums Da Revolution (2009), Refuse to Be Broke (2013), Site 15 (2019) and Back 2 Basics (2021). Their 2013 run brought Artiste of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards and a BET nomination for Best International Act: Africa.
Omar Sterling is where he raps hardest. He has said he recorded the Victory Through Harmony mixtape (2017) after being left off a radio list of Ghana’s top 10 rappers, to show people who only knew him from R2Bees what he could do. The 20-track Same Earth Different Worlds followed in June 2021 with M.anifest, Kwesi Arthur, Efya and Mugeez, then the Paedae Drop a Flow EP in 2022 and “Boom Boom” with Reggie, Jay Bahd and O’Kenneth in 2024.
His latest album, VTH 2, came out on 7 October 2025: 17 tracks, with Kweku Smoke, King Promise and Mugeez the only guests.
Latest Release
