Countdown to Rema’s ‘Rave and Roses’

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Sensational singer and songwriter, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema is giving his numerous fans reasons to believe that the countdown to his ‘Rave and Roses’ debut album scheduled for March 25, 2022 has truly commenced. Highly anticipated by music lovers, the 15-track Long Play will feature American singer 6lack, British rapper AJ Tracey, and French singer Yseult.

With ‘Rave and Roses’, Rema continues his impressive career in the music landscape with strings of beautiful projects and collaborations with international artistes. The body of work contains songs such as Love, Addicted, Hold Me, Runaway, Dirty, Wine, Carry and Calm Down. Rema kicked into ‘Rave & Roses’ album mode with his first solo release of the year, ‘Calm Down’.

Produced by Andre Vibez and London, a quick tempo tune where he helplessly confessed romantic feelings and obsession with a certain love interest, the song is based on the thrill of finding love, the chase of a love interest, and addressing the flip side of unreciprocated feelings and disappointment at the beginning.

The Edo-born singer in the song recounts his encounter with a “fine girl” at a party and the frustration that ensued from the interference of her nosy friend as he tries to woo her. The single carries the artwork of the album. The timing of the song could not be any more perfect. If there is any time to drop a promotional single, it is now, and if anything, it has to be a love song in time for the favored valentine season.

The infectious melody and combination of rhythms highlight Rema’s genre-mixed sound, which he’s now dubbed “Afrorave”. ‘Rave & Roses’ portray both sides of Rema’s personality, and he set the tone early on with his unforgettable singles “Bounce” and “Soundgasm,” both of which were released in 2021.

The 21 year old singer was born into a Christian family in Benin City, Edo State. He grew up singing and rapping while in secondary school. Rema released his eponymous debut EP ‘Rema’ in 2019 and it peaked at number 1 on Apple Music Nigeria. In February last year, the ‘Bounce’ crooner featured in the remix for ‘Can’t Let You Go’, a song by Stefflon Don.

JAE5, the UK music producer, also enlisted his expertise for ‘Dimension’, his hit single, in March 2021. In 2019, Rema signed a record deal with Jonzing World, a subsidiary of Mavin Records. He rose to prominence with the release of the song “Iron Man”, which appeared on Barack Obama’s 2019 summer playlist.