His afrorave, his “perception” of afrobeats, conquered the planet. Rema, who has started an international tour, is expected on the Solidays stage on June 25.
“Another Banger”, the rallying cry of Nigerian artist Rema will be heard on the stage of the Solidays festival on June 25. The “Prince of Afrobeats”, as he is nicknamed, has become a worldwide sensation. From the Netherlands to India via his native land and the United States, the singer ignites concert halls and other musical arenas. His Parisian stage is one of the many dates of the international tour around his first album, Rave & Roses. “I want to take afrobeats to the next level”, affirms often the young artist. The bet is already successful.
1 The church, his first scene
Divine Ikubor, alias Rema, is above all a rapper who studied… at the church. Originally from Benin City (city in southern Nigeria) where he was born in 2000, he wrote his first song at the age of 13, he revealed to the African-American media BET *. He will adapt his texts to the religious context by drawing inspiration from the gospel. The artist, who is a believer, found in the church the perfect stage to develop his talent. It is thanks to another Nigerian musician, D’Prince, boss of the label Jonzing World (Mavin Records), that his career was launched. He discovers it thanks to a freestyle. “Without D’prince, there would be no (Rema)”, he confided on social networks. It was his mentor who convinced him to give up rap to do afrobeats (distinct from the afrobeat invented by the Nigerian Fela Kuti). musical genre in which he launches with Dumebi, his first success recorded in 2018.
2Afroravian creator
Within the large Afrobeats family, Rema found his way and called it “Afrorave”, a variation of Afrobeats which he defines as his “perception” of the musical current. “It’s the way I digest afrobeats”he indicated in an interview granted to Belgian public television in 2022. A year earlier, he formalized his musical style which he unfolds in Rave & Roses, his first album released in March 2022.
3 On Barack Obama’s playlist
The former American presidential couple, the Obamas, can claim to have spotted Rema’s talent very early on. In 2019, his title Iron Man is on their summer playlist. The young man said to himself “surprised (And) excited”, glad his music traveled so much around the world when he found out he was on this list. Three years later, in 2022, it is calm down which is found in favorite titles of Barack Obama for the year.
4 “Calm Down”: his planetary hit
calm down tells the story of a young man who falls in love with a girl in yellow. What Rema really went through. The song is the second single from the album Rave & Roses. It is now the title of all superlativess. The song entered the Guinness Book of Records by becoming, at the end of 2022, the first number 1 in the newly created Official Mena Chart. He is “the first regional streaming music chart in the world and the first official ranking in the Middle East and North Africa”, explains on the website of the IFPI, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The success of calm down has been reinforced by its remixed version, made with Selena Gomez, available since August 2022.
5 A remix with Selena Gomez
Rema considers his collaboration with American artist Selena Gomez to be “A blessing”. The idea for the remix came to him with the success of the title, he explained to Billboard Magazine. “ I wanted a female voice on this song (Who) was already very popular, so I felt we needed someone who could (push her more). After our discussions, given our schedule, our contacts and our friendship, Selena was the best option.” She will respond favorably to the Nigerian artist’s request for collaboration.
The remixed version is a hit all over the world, including in France where it received a diamond disc. The song currently occupies the first place of the Pop Airplay (ranking of the most listened to songs on the radio carried out by the magazine Billboard) and Billboard US Afrobeats Songs. Moreover, according to the American magazine, the calm down by Rema and Selena Gomez “became the most popular hit in Billboard Hot 100 history produced by an afrobeats artist”.
6 His music, the choice of young Iranian women to claim their freedom
In Iran, where women have been revolting since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and where they are forbidden to dance in public, five young girls published on March 8 a video of a choreography performed on the version of calm down sung in duet with Selena Gomez. The video of these women with their hair flying in Tehran has gone viral. They will be arrested for their performance. “To all the beautiful women who fight for a better world, you are an inspiration, I sing for you and I dream with you”, wrote Rema, sharing the video on his Twitter account.
*Most of the links in this article are in English