Rema

An accidental social media post set Nigerian singer and rapper Rema on his professional path, resulting in a contract with Mavin Records. A series of 2019 releases, later gathered as the 2020 project Three EP's, gained notice through "Dumebi," which spotlighted his smooth and flexible vocal style. He later shifted toward a style he terms Afrorave and issued his debut album Rave & Roses in 2022. Critics responded favorably, and the project reached the lower positions of the Billboard Top 200. A deluxe edition appeared in 2023 and included his successful joint track with Selena Gomez, "Calm Down," before the follow-up Ravage EP closed the cycle. His second album, HEIS, came out in 2024 and climbed to the Top Five in Nigeria.

Raised in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, Rema (Divine Ikubor) absorbed Afrobeat and mainstream rap during his early years. He started a rap collective with friends from church, yet a February 2018 upload of himself freestyling over an instrumental version of D'Prince's "Gucci Gang" redirected his focus. D'Prince noticed the clip and connected with him, which ultimately brought Rema to Mavin, the Lagos label operated by Don Jazzy, D'Prince's brother and the same imprint behind "Gucci Gang." Rema entered the market commercially in 2019, releasing the EPs Rema, Freestyle, and Bad Commando while appearing on cuts by D'Prince, Thutmose, Peter Maxx, and the Mavin collective Mavins. The single "Dumebi" from his self-titled EP performed strongly both locally and internationally. Further visibility arrived when "Iron Man" landed on Barack & Michelle Obama's Summer Playlist 2019, shared by the former president that August. In 2020 the three EPs were combined into Three EP's.

Rema introduced the term Afrorave for his sound in 2021, merging Afrobeats with Arabian and Indian elements. His first full-length, Rave & Roses, followed in 2022 and featured appearances by 6LACK, Chris Brown, and AJ Tracey. The album charted modestly, peaking at number five on Billboard's World Albums chart and number 196 on the Billboard 200. "Calm Down," one of its tracks, unexpectedly surged the next year after Selena Gomez joined a new version; together the releases exceeded one billion streams and became the highest-charting African song on U.S. charts, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten. Rave & Roses ULTRA, the deluxe edition, surfaced in April 2023 to capitalize on that momentum. He concluded the period with the companion EP Ravage, released that October and containing "Don't Leave."

HEIS, his sophomore album, surfaced in July 2024 after a two-year recording span. Rema handled production alongside PPriime, London, Cubeatz, and Take a Daytrip, among others. The project spotlighted "Benin Boys" with Shallipopi, "War Machine" with ODUMODUBLVCK, "Yayo," and "Hehehe." It reached number seven on Billboard's World Albums chart and number two in Nigeria.