Popular Nigerian Afrobeats star, Rema has opened up about how he deals with the pressures and criticisms that come with fame, revealing his reliance on prayer and the support of trusted mentors and friends.
The “Dumebi” singer shed more light on his creative process for his music and his relationship with his adoring fans across the globe.
Asked about how he deals with pressure and criticism at such a young age, Rema highlighted the importance of prayer in his life, stressing that he prays very often.
“First off, I would say that I pray a lot. I pray to God and I ask him for his wisdom, guidance, knowledge, and patience, and I am grateful for the people that I have around me.”
Rema
He specifically acknowledged the presence of influential figures in his life.
“I have some good OG’s around me that I can talk to. Shout out to the prince, shout out to Don Jazzy, shout out to Baba T and the rest of them. I’ve had good people around me from the jump.”
Rema
In response to whether he thinks it’s the most important thing to have good people around him, Rema emphasized their role in providing honest feedback.
“Yeah, good people that tell you the truth, that tell you when you’re wrong and if you’re doing rubbish. I’ve got good people and then I have managed to do my best to stay calm, let people be people and just focus on what I’m doing.”
Rema
The singer also highlighted his introverted nature and personal habits that help him stay grounded.
“I’m an introvert and I spend most of my time inside, on my laptop making music, playing video games, and reading books,” he stated.
Rema Urges Nigerian Artists to Preserve Afrobeats Culture
Singer, Divine Ikubor, also known as Rema, harped on the need for Nigerian artists to maintain Afrobeats’ culture to ensure the country’s dominance of the African music scene.
Reports state that there has been a heavy infiltration of the South African genre, ‘Amapiano’ into the Nigerian music industry in recent years.
Rema admitted that amapiano is a great genre but maintained that Nigerian artists must sustain Afrobeats’ influence on the continent.
He noted that his recently released sophomore album, ‘HEIS,’ was heavily inspired by Afrobeats legends like Don Jazzy and the Mo’hits crew, 2Baba, Olamide, P-Square, and Timaya.
“I had to go back [while creating my new album]. I took a lot of inspiration from Mo’hits. For the first four seconds, when a Mo’hits song comes in, you already know it’s a Mo’hits song. Don Jazzy just goes crazy on the beat.
“The times when Olamide used to drop crazy songs, he still drops crazy songs. At the time when an Olamide song comes on you still know. P-Square, 2Face, or Timaya. There used to be times when the beat just…”
Rema
He further stated that Nigerians need more of Afrobeats, even though most artists still use the genre.
“Amapiano is great, it is fire but there used to be a time when Afrobeats production used to be so insane that nothing could survive it in the clubs in Africa. I don’t want us to go too far away from that. We need to sustain it.”
Rema
Since breaking into the mainstream in 2019, Rema has announced himself as one of Nigeria’s boldest and most talented artists.
While speaking at his album launch party in London, Rema highlighted that Afrobeats is now getting dumbed down due to the desire to chase globally appealing hits.
“We all know what Afrobeats was like in 2015, and we all have to take our shit back and own it and protect it. Sometimes, we make it and water it down for them to be able to create it,” Rema explains how the global influence on Afrobeats makes it easier for the sound to be recreated by foreign artists.
“You don’t see artists out here in the diaspora making a song like ‘Ozeba’,” Rema said on the single from his latest album which he boasts is an attempt to take Afrobeats back to its sonic roots.
At the listening party, Rema performed the songs from his new album ‘HEIS’ which has divided opinion with some observers calling it a bold experimentation. In contrast, others have differed on the quality of the output.
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