AFROBEATS STAR REMA
In 2023, one song dominated the urban music charts.
Everyone knew the words to it.
It was smooth, relaxing, catchy, but still something you could dance to.
The song was called, “Calm Down,” by Rema, featuring Selena Gomez. It was the song that officially put Rema on the map as a mainstream artist in the U.S.
Rema, real name Divine Ikubor, was born in Benin City, in Nigeria. According to many published reports, his upbringing was tough. His father and brother both passed away when he was younger. By the age of 15, the responsibility was on him to keep things going in the family.
Rema, where aggressive and determined are two words that describe him to a tee, recorded a freestyle and posted it online about six years ago. It went viral, and the musician D’Prince offered Rema a record deal in 2019.
He’s been on the rise ever since.
Rema is a superstar in the world of Afrobeats, and he is a headliner for the huge, two-day festival Afro Nation, held, Aug. 17-18, at Bedrock’s Douglass Site in Detroit, Michigan. Other featured performers include Ayra Starr, Lil Wayne, Asake, Partynextdoor, Adekunle Gold, Kizz Daniel, Omah Lay, Shenseea, Amaarae, Detroit’s own Kash Doll, King Promise and Ruger. On the Piano People Stage, scheduled featured artists include Scorpion Kings, Uncle Waffles, Musa Keys, DBN Gogo, Kelvin Momo, TXC, Kamo Mphela, 2WO-Bunnies, DJ Moma, Blakito, Donavan Glover and DJ Mobu.
In 2022, he released his first studio album, “Rave & Roses,” which featured the “Calm Down” banger. It took some time for the song to hit the airwaves in the U.S., but when it finally did, with the help of Gomez, it took Rema to a new stratosphere.
In the summer of 2023, Rema was arguably the hottest Afrobeats artist in the U.S. during the “Calm Down” domination. The song was played not just on urban radio stations, but it ruled the pop charts, too. “Calm Down” is actually the longest-charting and most successful Afrobeats song on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. It stayed on the charts for 64 consecutive weeks.
Yes, the song was that big.
Some of the other singles he’s known for are “Soundgasm” and “Dumebi.”
And let’s not forget that Rema just dropped his second studio album, “Heis,” in July 2024. It has 11 songs on the album. To say the album has been highly-anticipated would be a gross understatement.
Rema has been everywhere on this meteoric rise. He performed at the famed Balloon d’Or ceremony in Paris, France, in 2023. He performed at the NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City in 2023. And, with the world watching the Summer Olympics in Paris, it was Rema who just performed at the Jordan Brand’s “The One Finals” event at Le Trainon et L’Elysee, in Paris, on July 27. The event was meant as a symbol of the Jordan Brand to cultivate great athletes and celebrate their accomplishments.
At the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, N.J., with people screaming his name at every opportunity, he stopped to do a brief interview with Billboard Magazine. He said the advice he would give to others trying to make it in the music business was to “be true to yourself, be true to your sound…Keep real ones around you, people who will tell you if it’s good or if it’s not good. Stay grounded, whatever level you get to, and keep your family close
For information and tickets to Afro Nation Detroit, visit detroit.afronation.com.