Benin City lies 40 kilometres north of the sun-pierced Benin River. Standing as the fourth largest city in Nigeria, the city is a living, breathing cultural monument, and ancient stomping ground of pre-imperial monarchs.
Enter, Rema. On the cusp of sharing his debut album ‘Rave & Roses’ (due March 25) with the world, the 21-year-old artist – who was born in Benin City – has already amassed an international legion of fans. Armed with the support of Don Jazzy – the Nigerian music scene’s resident tastemaker, producer and founder of Mavin Records [Ayra Starr, Tiwa Savage] – Rema has embarked on his musical ascent.
Rema (born Divine Ikubor) made his formal introduction to the music world with his 2019 self-titled EP, which housed the choppy, piano-led afropop jams ‘Iron Man’ and viral hit ‘Dumebi’. Following with the trap-leaning ‘Rema Freestyle’ EP and afrobeat-adjacent ‘Bad Commando’ EP later that year, Rema announced that he had created a new genre, which he dubbed ‘afrorave’.
Driven by a vision to make afrorave a global movement, Rema’s influence has reached the US as he has recently hit the studio with stars like Kaytranada, Justine Skye and the late Virgil Abloh, among others. He has also hopped on tracks with UK talents like Mahalia, Skepta and FKA twigs. Teaming up with the latter – who received the Godlike Genius award at the BandLab NME Awards 2022 – resulted in a standout verse on twigs’ recent single ‘Jealousy’, taken from her latest offering, ‘Caprisongs’.
Rema’s latest single, the smoky and sultry ‘Calm Down’, has hit number one in his home country. Racking up over 16 million views on TikTok alone, the summery, upbeat track has become a bonafide viral sensation in a matter of weeks. Ahead of the release of ‘Rave & Roses’ (March 25), NME spoke to Rema about his debut album, connecting with his global fandom and his love for the UK music scene.
NME: What are some of your earliest musical memories?
Rema: “Music was kind of an escape for me. It was like a mantra of mine. Growing up in the hood, I leaned into spirituality a lot. When I was starting out, I made sure to conquer every stage performance with every bit of talent I had. Back in the day I used to drive too, but I found myself gravitating towards music as I was getting a lot more [musical] opportunities. From there, I just kept up that same energy.”
Your single ‘Dumebi’ is currently sitting at over 50 million views on YouTube. Did you expect the song to blow up in the way it has?
“Being an artist who has put in so much dedication, it was so amazing to get appreciated on a global scale. After putting in hard work and my blood, sweat and tears into ‘Dumebi’, I was really glad people liked the rest of the project as much as they did. I knew my sound was different. From the first day I started working on my EP, I knew it was different. I knew that my music was not going to be restricted to any boundary – it’s a global sound.”
How did the recording process for ‘Rave & Roses’ differ from your previous projects?
“In terms of the overall creative process, it was pretty similar. But in terms of the mindset going into making my album, it was different for sure. I always try my best to depict what my projects are about through their cover art. I tapped into a different mind space for this album, though. Learning through personal experiences, I knew I had been pushed into a different space compared to where I was before. As I’m currently at the forefront of a musical generation, I know the album is going to have an impact.”
Where did you record the album?
“The majority of it was recorded at my home [Benin City]. I love to keep family energy around me and create from there. My pains, my sorrows, my happy times – it’s a different mixture of topics, and it’s all on the album.”
“I can see lots of youths out there in Benin City using afrorave to challenge the world with a different sound”
You’ve teamed up with AJ Tracey for your new album. How did that collaboration happen?
“Me and AJ have been pals for a while, he’s like a big brother and we talk all the time. I created the record a couple months back, but I felt it could do with some more energy, and AJ was the first name that came into my head. I sent him the track and he sent me his verse back that same week and it was fire. It’s going to be a hit.”
You also recently linked up with FKA twigs for ‘Jealousy’. What was that experience like?
“Putting together ‘Jealousy’ was a really smooth process. I worked on the record with FKA twigs way back in 2020, so it was a long time coming. I worked mostly through the engineers, but me and FKA twigs had our back-and-forths here and there to properly finalise my verse. Although me and FKA twigs haven’t gotten super personal, musically, we’ve shown each other love from afar. It was a great privilege working with her. The fans really love ‘Jealousy’, and I appreciate that.”
‘Calm Down’ has gone viral on TikTok. How do you feel about the platform’s role in your career?
“It really supports creatives in a whole new way. It’s easier for artists and fans to connect with one another when TikTok allows us to create new content for the song. It’s easier for artists to see the reach of their music and help their potential audience reach new heights. To be honest, I think it’s great because TikTok helps push music in a different form altogether.”
You’ve previously talked about how you invented a new genre, afrorave. What does it represent?
“Everything that I do embodies afrorave. I can see lots of youths out there in Benin City using afrorave to challenge the world with a different sound. There might’ve been times where myself or others were criticised but stuck with it, and now we’re creating history. I can somewhat see my influence already. Looking at the landscape right now, there’s an army of afrobeat artists, but this is something different. The OGs inspired me to do something fresh.”
Who are the “OGs” that have inspired you?
“It’s a whole mixture. I would say Kanye West is one of the OGs for sure, big time. Kanye has really moved me. Seeing how different things were before Ye was around compared to now is nuts. Seeing people work outside the box really inspires me. Burna Boy is up there too. Knowing he came from the bottom and went right to the top, in spite of all the battles he’s fought, is amazing. Also, I gotta shout out Wizkid, Davido, Victor Uwaifo, Fela Kuti and 2Baba… I could go on and on!”
What’s next for Rema?
“I’m a firm believer in prophecy. I would say that right now there’s a prophecy that’s bestowed upon me, and I’m just playing it out as intended. Once I know that this path that I’m on is over, all my goals will be achieved. I don’t really know what the future will hold, but I do know I’m on a journey to becoming a legend.”
Rema’s debut album, ‘Rave & Roses’ will be released on March 25