Mr. Probz

Biography

Dennis Princewell Stehr (born May 15, 1984), known professionally as Mr. Probz, is a Dutch record producer, singer and rapper.
He became known for the songs "Drivin'", "Sukkel voor de liefde", "Nothing Really Matters×Nothing Really Matters29 September 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nothing Really Matters3:42", and his collaborations with American hip-hop acts. He made his mainstream breakthrough with his 2013 guitar ballad "Waves×Waves22 November 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Waves2:54", which was remixed by German DJ Robin Schulz the following year. The remix peaked at number one in the charts of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Norway. Mr. Probz became the first Dutch artist to achieve one billion streams on Spotify. He has collaborated with Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Anderson .Paak, Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Galantis and Dolly Parton, among others. In addition, Probz has been involved in real estate, and founded the record label Left Lane Recordings.

2008–2013

Mr. Probz began expressing himself creatively as a graffiti artist and later incorporated his daily activities into lyrics. In the first Dutch hip-hop film Bolletjes Blues (2006), he played the lead role of Jimmy. In 2010, Mr. Probz was nominated for a BNN/State Award in the 'Best Artist' category. On August 7, 2010, Mr. Probz and another rapper were shot in Amsterdam. This incident received a lot of media attention.

2013–present

At the end of 2013, a fire erupted in Mr. Probz's studio and home in which he lost all his possessions except a box of important documents and a laptop with some of his compositions. Shortly after the fire, he achieved success with his first official single "Waves×Waves22 November 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Waves2:54".
On September 16, 2013, Mr. Probz released his hip-hop solo album titled The Treatment×The Treatment16 September 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Intro0:332The Treatment1:393Drivin’3:164Hard on Yourself3:005Interlude1:106I’m Right Here3:377Turning Tables2:528Look at Us Now2:389Don’t Fuck With Me3:1810Gold Days3:3311Runnin’3:3512Do It All Again2:5713Hurdles3:34. He decided to release his album for free in gratitude for all the support he received from his fans after the fire. With "Waves", Mr. Probz won several awards, including an Edison, national and international Buma Awards, 'Best Vocal' and 'Best Single' at the FunX Music Awards and 'Best Single' at the 3FM Awards. The multi-platinum single "Waves" still ranks the highest of all the singles on the Dutch charts since 1956. In April 2014, Mr. Probz released a remix of "Waves" by German DJ Robin Schulz. The single earned a Grammy nomination in the "Best Remixed Recording" category in 2015. He featured on 50 Cent's single "Twisted", which was released in May 2014.
In September 2014, Mr. Probz released the single "Nothing Really Matters×Nothing Really Matters29 September 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nothing Really Matters3:42". In October, "Nothing Really Matters" rose to first place in the charts in several European countries. In the Dutch Top 100 for singles, the song ranked first place for six weeks. In 2015, the single by Mr. Probz and DJ Armin van Buuren "Another You" reached the top of the Billboard dance chart. Following this success, it was announced in 2016 that Mr. Probz was participating in Armin van Buuren's world tour. In 2017, a documentary about Mr. Probz's life was released. This documentary, titled Against the Stream, was released through Red Bull TV and RTL5. Mr. Probz scored a hit with "Faith" in 2019. He created this song in collaboration with the Swedish DJ duo Galantis and Dolly Parton.
In 2020, Mr. Probz and his label Left Lane Recordings sued the record company Sony Music for allegedly failing to comply with the licensing agreement and paying royalties in a timely manner. In the summary proceedings, the court ruled in favor of Mr. Probz and his label Left Lane Recordings. According to the ruling, Sony Music defaulted on its contractual obligations, this allowed Mr. Probz to regain control of the exploitation of his music. In 2022, Mr. Probz again filed legal proceedings against Sony Music, accusing Sony Music of deliberately failing to calculate his cut of any income on an 'at source' basis and of withholding bookkeeping files that his accountants need to see to effectively audit the money he is due.
Mr. Probz is among the best-earning Dutch artists along with Martin Garrix, Afrojack, Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Giorgio Tuinfort and André Rieu.