Anees

Anees Mokhiber (Arabic: أنيس مخيبر, born July 30, 1992), known mononymously as Anees (stylized in small caps), is a Palestinian-American singer, rapper, and songwriter known for his hit song, "Sun and Moon", the first international artist on top Billboard Philippines Songs chart.

Life and career

1992–2024: Early life Anees Mokhiber was born on July 30, 1992, in the suburbs of Washington D.C. He was raised and has resided in Northern Virginia. Anees studied at George Mason University, majoring in philosophy and sociology in 2014. His courses became pivotal to his growth as a "deep thinker and conscious lyricist." While attending summer camp, Anees performed bomber freestyling: "You would, on the fly, come up with a four-bar rhyme to go back-and-forth with someone. I always felt very alive doing it." His degree allowed him "to maneuver business dealings and the legal side of the music business without being taken advantage of as an independent artist," attesting how his legal acumen became significant to his growth.

2019–2021: Breakthrough and Slip Anees posted an early version of "Drunk on Myself" on Instagram in 2019, showing off his flow and rap style publicly. A year later, he uploaded a snippet of his first composition for "Slip" to TikTok.

2021–2023: Sun and Moon

In November 2021, Anees previewed the chorus of "Sun and Moon" to his social media accounts to positive response, leaning into R&B and a departure from his rap sound.

To promote the song, Anees launched an open verse challenge on TikTok upon its official release. On April 11, former Ex Battalion member JRoa uploaded his version to the site, gaining massive popularity locally, reaching 14 million plays as of May 2022. "Sun and Moon" rose to number-one on the Billboard Philippines Songs chart dated May 7, making it the first English song to reach the summit and Anees as the first international artist to top the list. As of May 2022, the track has gained 20 million streams on Spotify and 5 million views on its music video on YouTube, becoming Anees' most streamed song.

2024: Summer Camp Anees released the Summer Camp album and started the tour promoting the album. The tour included many major cities, a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, SunFest, and Lovin’ Life Music Fest.

Artistry and influences Anees described his sound as genre-defying, ranging from hip-hop, pop, rock, R&B, and soul. He cites Eminem, J. Cole, Immortal Technique, and Kanye West as his main musical inspirations, as well as Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran as his reference for his writing style.

Discography

Singles +List of singles, with year released and album name shownTitleYearPeak chart positionAlbum NZ Hot PHL 2024 — — "—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that region.