Remilekun Khalid Safaru (born on January 26, 1981), known by his stage names Reminisce and Alaga Ibile, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

singer, rapper, songwriter, and actor from

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

. He performs in English and his native language,

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

Early life

Reminisce is from Ajilete, Yewa South LGA in

, the western part of Nigeria. He was born on 26 January 1981, in

Kaduna state Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

, Northern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

. In school, he listened to various genres of local and foreign music and performed in school activities. He studied Purchasing & Supply at Kwara State Polytechnic.

Music career

He recorded his first song in a studio in 2006 and recorded a hardcore rap album at Coded Tunes, but the album was never released and he decided to focus on his studies and complete schooling. In 2008, Reminisce returned to the music scene, performing a rap verse on a track titled “Bachelor’s Life” off 9ice's sophomore album titled “Gongo Aso”. His first single, “Ever Since”, featured 9ice, and was a story about his life till that moment. His second, “If Only”, was a love song produced by Dtunez. In 2014, TIME Magazine named Reminisce one of the seven "World Rappers You Should Meet” He was also named by Nigerian music site, ''

NotJustOk NotJustOk is a Nigerian music download website created in June 2006 by Ademola Ogundele. With over 1.2 million viewers per month, from 183 countries, it is one of the most visited websites in Nigeria. History Coined from Seth Godin's book '' Pur ...

'', as one of the top three hip hop artists of 2014. His song titled "Local Rappers" in 2015, which he featured

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Widely regarded as one of the biggest and most influential artists in Africa, he has been instrumental to the launching of the careers ...

and

Phyno Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike (born 9 October 1986), populary known as Phyno Fino, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He started his music career as a producer in 2003, and is renowned for rapping in the Igbo language. His ...

had some controversial comments from fans as they felt the song was targeted at rappers who rap with English language such as MI and Mode9. In 2015, Reminisce was named a brand ambassador for the Orijin alcoholic beverage brand. Reminisce is signed to Edge Records and is also the founder and creative director of LRR Records.

''Book of Rap Stories''

Reminisce's first album, ''Book of Rap Stories'', was released on 31 March 2012. He started recording the album since 2010 after linking up with the studio producer Sarz at Edge Records Studios. The studio allowed him to make the album bilingual. The album was produced by Sarz,

Legendury Beatz Legendury Beatz (pronounced Legen-dury Beat-z) is a Nigerian record producing and songwriting duo, composed of siblings Uzezi Oniko (born 17 February 1986) and Okiemute Oniko (born 27 May 1989). Their production style is deeply rooted in afrob ...

, Joshbeatz, Jospo and PastorChild. The album did well commercially in the southern part of Nigeria.

''ALAGA IBILE''

His second album, ''

ALAGA IBILE Remilekun Khalid Safaru (born on January 26, 1981), known by his stage names Reminisce and Alaga Ibile, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, songwriter, and actor from Ogun State. He performs in English and his native language, Yoruba. Early life ...

'', was officially released on 15 November 2013. The album featured

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 ...

, Naeto c, Davido, Olamide and Sossick and the singles ''Eleniyan'', featuring

, ''Daddy'' featuring

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

, ''Fantasi'' and ''3rd World Thug''. Reminisce worked with producers Sossick,

Sarz Osabuohien Osaretin (born 17 March 1989), better known by his stage name Sarz, is a Nigerian record producer and musician. Born in Benin City, Edo State, he is popularly known for the tag Sarz On The Beat/"Really", at the beginning or end of all ...

, Chopstix and Jospo. The album sold an estimated million copies before the end of 2014. In 2014,

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...

named Reminisce as one of seven "world rappers you should meet".

''Baba Hafusa''

Reminisce's third album, '' Baba Hafusa'', was released in 2015. Just recently, Reminisce became the first hip hop artist in Africa to have an album debut on

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

World Music category at no. 12. Described as a “genre busting album”, it was a strong contender for album of the year with music critics and fans alike applauding the fusion of sounds to form a unique blend of hip hop, fuji and afrobeats.

''Vibes & Insha Allah'' EP

Reminisce released the EP ''Vibes & Insha Allah'' in July 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria The COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Nigeria was announced on 27 February 2020, when a ...

. The EP garnered over 4.5 million streams on

Audiomack Audiomack is an on-demand music streaming and audio discovery platform that allows artists and creators to upload limitless music and podcasts for listeners through its mobile apps and website. In February 2021, ''Billboard'' announced Audiomack ...

in 4 months. The music project consists of 6-tracks and features the artists

Fireboy DML Adedamola Adefolahan (born 5 February 1996), known professionally as Fireboy DML, is a Nigerian singer. He is signed to YBNL Nation, a record label founded by Nigerian rapper Olamide. His debut studio album '' Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps'' w ...

, Mo Safaru and Fatimah Safaru. Production was completed by Tmxo, Krizbeatz, Sarz and others.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Book of Rap Stories'' (2012) *''ALAGA IBILE'' (2013) *''Baba Hafusa'' (2015) *'' El-Hadj'' (2016)

Singles

* ''One Chance'' * ''Ever Since'' ft 9ice * ''If Only'' * ''Kako Bii Chicken'' * ''2musshh'' * ''

Fantasi "Fantasi" is a song written by Christer Sandelin and Tommy Ekman, originally recorded by Freestyle on the 1981 album '' Fantasi'', as well as released as a single the same year, peaking at 13th position at the Swedish singles chart. The song lyr ...

'' * ''

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

'' ft

, Endia * ''Daddy'' ft

* ''Eleniyan'' ft

* ''Turn It Around'' * ''Tesojue'' * "

Local Rappers "Local Rappers" is a song by Nigerian rap artist Reminisce featuring vocals from Olamide and Phyno. The song was released off his '' Baba Hafusa'' album through EDGE Records on 21 January 2015. Critical reception and controversy The release of ...

" * ''Skilashi'' * ''Kpomo'' (Remix) Feat.

Lil Kesh Keshinro Ololade (born 17 March 1995), known professionally as Lil Kesh, is a Nigerian singer and rapper. He rose to limelight after releasing the hit single "Shoki". Early life and education Ololade was born and raised in Bariga, an area in ...

, CDQ,

Falz Folarin Falana (born 27 October 1990), better known by his stage name Falz, is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter and actor who began his career while in secondary school after forming a group called The School Boys with his friend before his profe ...

, Seriki * ''Angelina'' *''Ponmile'' (2017) *''Problem'' (2018) *''Ajigijaga'' (2018) *''Do You Feel It'' (2018) *''Oja'' (2019) *''Jensimi (featuring

Niniola Niniola Apata (born 15 December 1986), known professionally as Niniola, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. She participated in the sixth season of ''Project Fame West Africa'' in 2013. After releasing her debut single "Ibadi", she was nominated ...

'' (2019) *''Instagram (featuring

Naira Marley Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer and song writer. He is known as the president of his controversial fan base, "Marlians". Education At the age of 11, he moved to Pec ...

(2019) *''Prosperity'' ''(featuring

) (2020)'' *''Toxic (featuring

Adekunle Gold Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko (born 28 January 1987), known professionally as Adekunle Gold and AG Baby, is a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter. He gained widespread attention after releasing the 2015 hit single "Sade", a highlife cover of One ...

(2020)''

Videography

Features and collaborations

*''ASHEWO'' Performed by Phenom (2013) *''SHEKPE'' Performed by M.I(2014) *''KING KONG EMIX' Performed by Vector (2015) *''69 Missed Call'' Ft Jahbless,

Chinko Ekun Oladipo Olamide Emmanuel (born 13 September 1993), known professionally as Chinko Ekun, is a Nigerian rapper and songwriter. He is a graduate of Law from the Obafemi Awolowo University. Early life Chinko Ekun was born in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nig ...

, CDQ, Reminisce * ''Ibile'' performed by Lil Kesh (2016) * ''If E No Be God'' performed by

Mr Eazi Oluwatosin Ajibade (born 19 July 1991), better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian-born, Ghana-based singer. He is a pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord progressio ...

* ''Diet'' by Dj Enimoney (2018) *''Aye'' by CDQ (2018) *''Original Gangstar'' by Sess (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reminisce Nigerian male rappers Yoruba musicians Musicians from Ogun State Living people Nigerian male musicians English-language singers from Nigeria Yoruba-language singers 21st-century Nigerian musicians The Headies winners 21st-century male musicians 1981 births