He is definitely the man of the moment. In the wee hours of Sunday, 20th October 2019, Rema became the third artiste to win the much-coveted Next Rated Award under the tutelage of Don Jazzy. The first two being Wande Coal under the defunct Mo’Hits and Reekado Banks (under controversial circumstances) while with Mavin Records.
At the Headies award 2019 (the 13th edition) which commenced on Saturday, 19th October 2019 but lasted till the next day, Divine Ikubor who is popularly known as Rema stole the show with a breathtaking but short-lived performance. A few minutes after his performance, he was back on stage to pick up his Headie for the Next Rated Category (the award comes with a car).
Here are five (5) facts you may or may not know about the 19-year-old who has been dubbed Prince of Afrobeats by music aficionado, Bankulli:
Rema once belonged to a group
Rema and his friend, Alpha P once formed a group, RnA (a play around the first letters of their names). They even have a few videos to show. One of their stand out songs is titled ‘Starboy’ and is available on Apple Music.
It is not clear if the duo had split before Rema joined Mavin Records/Jonzing. Meanwhile, where is Alpha P?
Gucci Gang to the rescue
D’Prince offered Rema a record deal after listening to the super-talented kid’s freestyle of his song, Gucci Gang (which features Davido and Don Jazzy). Strangely, the original song wasn’t as big a hit as it ought to be.
If a freestyle could lead to a record deal, it is easy to understand why Rema is not giving up the culture of dishing out freestyles anytime soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN7ZCg1KgTI
Proper Benin boy
Rema is definitely the poster boy for cool kids right now but he is not your everyday ajebutter. Rema is a proper Benin boy and that’s where he was with his mom until D’Prince discovered him.
According to Don Jazzy, D’Prince flew down to Edo State as soon as he made up his mind to sign him. The mission was to convince Rema’s mom to let him go with the newfound treasure – her son.
Therefore, don’t confuse Rema’s cool looks for fragility. He fit to change am for anybody! Maybe that’s why he calls himself Bad Commando now.
The Mavin/Jonzing deal is not Rema’s first
Looks like the boy has been in demand from day one. Rema and his former partner, Alpha P had a record deal with Peak Entertainment.
The details of that contract are however not public knowledge. Did it expire before his signing to Jonzing, a subsidiary of Mavin Records or was the contract bought over?
We will find out someday.
Rolling with the stars prior to being unveiled
After being signed by Jonzing/Mavin Records, Rema was responsible for the adlibs on DJ Tunez’ Turn Up featuring Wizkid and Reekado Banks. This was before he was unveiled to the public months later.
Rema has so far dropped three EPs in a matter of months since being unveiled. The future looks really bright for him and it is left to be seen whether he will live up to the hype and expectations that come with winning the Next Rated award.
What’s your favourite Rema song?
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