Rema’s music continues to strive as he continues to consistently delivers quality music. 10 July was no different as he took the approach to release a surprise album titled HEIS, a play on words on his Instagram name “heisrema”. ‘HEIS’ serves as his sophomore album after his successful debut album ‘Raves & Roses’ released in 2022. He also dropped an EP titled ‘RAVAGE’ in late 2023.
Rema has been gracing world stages with his hit music and making appearances in huge fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton and creating music as shown by his unexpected release which follows a different taste and feel to his first album, possibly signalling a new era for Rema.
Rema (born Divine Ikubor) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and rapper from Benin City, Nigeria. His recognition in the Nigerian music scene is through his popularisation of the Afrobeats sub genre, Afrorave. His music career dates back from his younger years singing in church and posting freestyles on social media.
His debut album, ‘Raves & Roses’ was released in 2022, and spawned the hit single ‘Calm Down’. The album gained commercial success and popularity worldwide and Rema continues to break records and set a new standard for Nigerian music and Afrobeats at large, selling out tours and topping charts whilst proudly showing his heritage through his music. ‘HEIS’ serves as a new era to Rema and introduces the world to a grown-up, more mature sound compared to the sultry, soulful and smooth banger Rema, ‘HEIS’ reveals a hard-hitting, electric and lively side to him..
‘HEIS’ is an eleven track album which reveals a different side to Rema as this piece of work is more upbeat and experimental compared to the usual work we have heard from him. He explores genre-blending as his songs have components of various styles of Afropop, dance, afrorave, punk and soul elements in his softer songs. He only features two artists in the album including Nigerian rapper Shallipoppi for the lead single ‘BENIN BOYS’ and Nigerian rapper ODUMOBLVCK features on the single ‘WAR MACHINE’. His single ‘HEHEHE’ explores a different approach of sound in his music as the rhythm is a juxtaposition to the typical Afrobeats sound as the tempo is more complex and fuses hints of amapiano, afrobeats and punk. His songs lean towards the direction of Nigerian music through the beats complementing the energetic dance nature of traditional Nigerian music.
The exhilarating experience of this album definitely cements his versatility as an artist and also shows his usual style of energy in his music. The fast-paced album has a unique feel to connect the sounds of Afrorave to the world and doing so through the careful curation and production process of each single as Rema still maintains his usual style and flow through his other softer singles . Experimental music has it’s own distinct appeal to audiences however Rema finds a manageable balance to his old and new styles of music style in this body of work.
‘HEIS’ is available on all major music streaming platforms and the pre-released music video for the lead single ‘BENIN BOYS’ is out on YouTube.
