Nigerian music sensation, Divine Ikubor, popularly known by his stage name Rema, says he will be the bridge that takes African music to the rest of the world.
In a recent interview with i-D Magazine, the 22-year-old boasted about changing the world’s perspective on African music and claimed that people worldwide enjoy his music because he does not restrict his creativity.
According to Rema, he has changed the sound and perspective of African music. “I see myself as the bridge to take African music to the whole world. I changed the sound,”
“I changed the perspective. I’m not trying to brag, and I know some people might try to disagree, but it’s facts,” he said.
“The template is mine. I make music for everyone, that’s why my music has a lot of global appeal. If I say I only want to make music for this kind of people, it will restrict my creativity.”
Rema’s music has been well-received since he burst onto the scene. His hit song, “Calm Down,” which was released in February 2022, garnered millions of streams across music platforms and won numerous awards.
In August of the same year, the singer featured US songstress Selena Gomez for the remix of the hit song, which went platinum in the UK on March 3.
The video for “Calm Down” has over 444 million views on YouTube, making it the most-viewed Nigerian music video on the platform. It has also surpassed the record set by Ckay’s “Love Nwantintin” remix.
The song recently made history as the highest-charting Afrobeats song on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on former US President Barack Obama’s favorite music of 2022.
Rema’s beat directions and sound choices have been described as iconic. Some of his instrumentals even feature sounds from his voice that have been tweaked.
As Rema continues to make waves in the music industry, he believes that his position as a representative of African culture comes with additional responsibilities. “I kind of feel like in the whole Afrobeats or African music Bible, this is Mathew. This is the New Testament. That’s how it kind of feels to me,” he said.
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