Divine Ikubor (born 1 May 2000) professionally known by his stage name Rema, is a Nigerian singer, musician, and rapper. He rose to stardom with the release of the song "Dumebi". In 2019, he later signed a record deal with Jonzing World, a subsidiary of Mavin Records.

Early life

Divine Ikubor was born into a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family in

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of 2022. It is situated ...

. He grew up singing and rapping while he was in secondary school. He attended his primary and secondary school education at Ighile Group of Schools,

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

. He lost his father and elder brother but still takes good care of his mother.

Career

He started his music career in churches. In 2018, Rema posted a viral freestyle on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

D'Prince Charles Enebeli (born 23 October 1986), better known by his stage name D'Prince, is a Nigerian Afropop singer. He is the founder and the CEO of Jonzing World, an entertainment company he founded in 2019. Early life Charles Enebeli was born in ...

's track "Gucci Gang". The post caught the attention of D'Prince who flew him to

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

to offer a record deal to the young talent. Rema signed a record deal with D'Prince's Jonzing World, a subsidiary of Mavin Records owned by record producer

Don Jazzy Michael Collins Ajereh (born 26 November 1982), known professionally as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian record producer. He is the founder and the CEO of Mavin Records. Don Jazzy was co-owner of the now-defunct Mo' Hits Records record label with D'ba ...

, in 2019. He went on to release his self-titled debut EP "''Rema"'' in 2019, which peaked at number 1 on

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple ...

Nigeria. On 21 May 2019, Jonzing World, and

Mavin Mavin may refer to: * Fred Mavin (1884–1957), English football player and manager * Steve Mavin (born 1968), Australian rugby league footballer * Mavin Manyshaped, heroine of three science fiction novels by Sheri S. Tepper * Mavin, Qazvin, Iran ...

s released the music video of "Dumebi", a major breakout song from his self-titled EP, featuring a cameo appearance from

Diana Eneje Diana Chioma Eneje (born August 19, 2002), known professionally as Diana Eneje, is a Nigerian fashion enthusiasts, model, vlogger and Social media personality, born and raised in Lagos, and hails from Enugu, a state in the south-east region of N ...

. The video was directed by Ademola Falomo and currently has 60 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. Later that summer, In 2019, one of his other most popular songs from the EP gained more popularity when it was placed on former president of the United States of America,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

's summer playlist. In May 2021, Rema announced he will be calling his sound "Afrorave", a subgenre of

Afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

with influences of Arabian and Indian music which has led to him having one of the strongest fanbases in the country known as Ravers. In September 2021, Rema was unveiled as a brand ambassador for the popular soft drink Pepsi alongside his label mate

Ayra Starr Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe (born 14 June 2002), known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer. She was born in Cotonou, Benin. Ayra Starr began a fashion career at the age of 16 with Quove Model Management before deciding to pursue ...

. On 7 November 2022, Rema received on stage an award during his London concert as his songs achieved 1 billion streams worldwide.

''Rave & Roses''

After Rema signed a record deal with Jonzing World in 2019, he released his debut EP ''Rema''. After two more EPs, he released his debut album ''

Rave & Roses ''Rave & Roses'' is the debut studio album by Nigerian singer Rema. It was released on 25 March 2022 via Jonzing World and Mavin Records. The album included guest appearances from 6lack, Chris Brown, AJ Tracey, and Yseult. Background In May 2 ...

'' on 25 March 2022. The album includes 16 tracks and features from

6lack Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper. He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, " Prblms ...

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' ...

, and Yseult. The album charted 10 songs on the US ''Billboard'' Afrobeats Chart following its debut week. His single "

Calm Down #REDIRECT CALM {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...

", including a sample from fellow Nigerian artist Crayon's track "So Fine", then began charting five months after its official release. On August 26, 2022, he released a remix of his song "Calm Down" with

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

which debuted at number 91 on Billboard Hot 100.

Awards

On 19 October 2019, Rema won Next Rated and was nominated for Viewer's Choice at the 13th edition of

The Headies The Headies (originally called the Hip Hop World Awards) is a music awards show established in 2006 by the '' Hip Hop World Magazine'' of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features p ...

. On 12 January 2020, he received the

Soundcity MVP Awards The Soundcity MVP Awards Festival ("TheMVPs" or "MVP") is an event presented by Soundcity TV which awards plaques to musicians and performers across Africa. Since 2007, the winners are chosen by the viewers and fans by visiting #TheMVPs' website ...

for the best new artist. On 15 June 2020, Rema was nominated as Best Viewers Choice: International Act on the 2020

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

. He was nominated on the awards alongside

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...

and

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afric ...

, they were the only Nigerian artists nominated for the awards edition of 2020. Rema's track ''Woman'' reached number fifteen on World Digital Song Sales

Personal life

Rema is a supporter of football club

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

He also made it known to Twitter that he has gained admission to the university of Lagos to fulfill his mothers' dream to get a degree. On 28 September 2020, Rema

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...

accusations against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the death of his father Justice Ikubor, who was a former chieftain of the party.

In culture

In September 2020, Rema's songs were included on the ''

FIFA 21 ''FIFA 21'' is an association football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts as part of the '' FIFA series''. It is the 28th installment in the ''FIFA'' series, and was released on 9 October 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Swi ...

'' soundtracks.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Official videos

* "Dumebi" (2019) * "Bad Commando" (2019) * "Lady" (2019) * "Beamer (Bad Boys)" (2020) * "Ginger Me" (2020) * "Woman" (2020) * "Bounce" (2020) * "Soundgasm" (2021) * "Calm Down" (2022) * "FYN" (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

69.
First Top 10 Single on The Official Uk Singles Chart
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External links

Rema
at

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

2000 births Living people Musicians from Benin City Nigerian male rappers Nigerian male singers 21st-century Nigerian musicians 21st-century Nigerian male singers 21st-century rappers