ForRema, the best part of his first trip to the Grammy Awards was getting dressed for it.
I was celebrating people walking up that stage.
Its not the first award that I got nominated for and didnt get.
I feel like their eyes can see everywhere I go,Remasays.
It feels like theyre there with me.
At 24, hes the youngest of them.
Rema, in turn, shared that hed watched her on TV since he was a kid.
I am completely impressed with Rema as an artist, Gomez tells me.
I believe the future for him is truly endless of what he can achieve.
I was a fan of the song even before I jumped onto the remix.
Though Calm Down had been doing well on its own, it exploded with Gomez on it.
Would the genre be co-opted?
Should it be gatekept?
WHEN REMAS FATHER was alive, things were good.
He did well enough to fund his wifes fashion fixes a predilection that may inform Remas own sharp style.
Shed take Rema, his older brother, and his two sisters shopping.
She was the only person switching up the fits.
She gave off so much aura in church.
Justice Ikubors son has risen, he declared.
(The party appears not to have publicly responded.)
Its dark, says Rema, tugging on his necklace.
Was it like a Oh, she did witchcraft-jot down beat?
punch in shit, he confirms.
We took all the backlash for it, and then we lost everything.
Unable to make rent without his father, Rema and his family were evicted from their apartment.
They moved to his mothers village, five hours away from Benin City.
Were talking about huts, he says.
A mud house with mad boxes, mad mosquitoes, sun flies.
When they bite you, if you scratch one [bump], you get 10.
It can go all the way to your face.
When Rema was 17, his mom became pregnant with his stepbrother, and things grew untenable for him.
And I couldnt go to university.
I was actually just angry at the whole situation.
Talking will not help.
His mom thought he had died.
There was no number to reach me.
I was a ghost, he says.
She thought I just went somewhere and committed suicide because it was a lot going on.
Rema thinks he inherited his dads work ethic.
Eventually, he returned to Nigeria.
When I was making Calm Down, I never thought the rest of the world would vibe to that.
At 14, he had started rapping over free beats hed download on his first phone.
Under Mavins tutelage, Rema taught himself to sing.
But they made his sound unforgettable.
(Perhaps unsurprisingly, Calm Down hit Number One in India, where hes become beloved.)
Don Jazzy, whos spent two decades shaping Nigerian pop, saw Remas drive clearly.
You come across a lot of artists in this part of the world that are shortsighted, he says.
They know that they want to make music, but just in the African terrain.
But from day one, he has always had his eyes set on the global stage.
Im just a kid in 2020, Rema says.
The year was not going great.
I want to make Woman.
Any story can be made up, he says.
Random stories have been made up about me being Illuminati, worshiping the devil, drinking blood.
I would definitely lose some fans who just believe in anything they see.
Hed still make a song with Drake, he says, despite his slipping cachet.
Happily, he adds.
(Rema works with both Mavin and Interscope these days.)
He compliments me on my similar bag and asks me where I got it.
Forever 21, I tell him, embarrassed.
Luckily, hes never heard of it.
All this shit is just overhyped, he says of his much more expensive one.
His baby face keeps him from seeming too intense as he maintains eye contact.
He occasionally fidgets with his phone or pops some sea salt Miss Vickies potato chips into his mouth.
Its cool if Im eating, right?
I just had the biggest debut in my career, he says calmly.
My mind had so much weight that I needed to disperse, he tells me of theHeisprocess.
I had different concepts for that project.
One, culturally, about the foundation of Afrobeats paying respect and trying to keep the home sound going.
Its just like a stack of emotion that I needed to let go of.
I always remind myself, know the struggles you came from, because people be forgetting.
It is not cocky.
Its like, What stops you from saying youre the best?
you’re able to say it and stand your ground.
Its even humble to say four, he continues.
I didnt pull down the two, I didnt pull down the three.
I just see myself as one of the greats, and its a problem.
Im not saying, Oh, fuck everybody.
It is different from what Kendrick said: Its just big me.
I really vouch for the unity of Afrobeats.
In fact, Rema has often paid homage to those predecessors.
Today, he ponders a bit regretfully after bringing it up, frustrated that hes being perceived as rash.
I dont think anyone has blown up across Nigeria from Benin City.
Fans prefer, Oh, Im so lucky to be here.
Im supposed to be here by the grace of God because thats where I envisioned myself to be.
Rema hopes that excellent and accessible shows can be the norm in Nigeria, not the exception.
Meanwhile, Lagos faces whats likely more tourism than ever for the live events that fill the holidays.
Fortunately, there were no deaths reported at Nativeland, though some sustained injuries.
It is because they failed to build the institutions back home.
Im very, very, very hopeful, he tells me.
A lot of people are giving up in Nigeria.
A lot of people are angry at Nigeria.
But I keep hope.
Theres not a lot of people who would carry Afrobeats like this so much, carry culture.
It makes me look like a blabber.
I dont want to do much.
I just want to do what I need to do.
Local reports boasted the 6,000-capacity venue as a state-of-the-art endeavor.
The protests left at least 12 dead, allegedly killed by security forces.
In response, he recorded the song Peace of Mind, bemoaning the nations instability.
On 2022s Are You There, he called out former President Muhammadu Buhari as inept.
Fans prefer, Oh, Im so lucky to be here.
Im supposed to be here by the grace of God.
I envisioned myself to be here.
I ask if he has any positive feelings about Nigerian politics.
I dont like to involve myself, especially because my mom said I shouldnt.
Whatever I do, it should be a Rema thing, he says of working with local officials.
I dont want it to be a government project.
Its a Rema project being assisted by the government.
Thank you, but I dont want to owe you.
I dont roll with political agendas.
Im moving with my personal agenda.
ONE OF REMAS PROUDEST accomplishments has been being able to provide homes for his mother.
I have multiple houses across different countries in Africa, so she travels anywhere she wants, he says.
Two are in Kenya and Ghana, but his favorite is his Moroccan-style Lagos abode.
That was my big brothers goal, that was my fathers goal, he says of homeownership.
We just gossip, he says.
My friends come through and steal some chicken.
Im Divine in my house.
That wasnt all Rema did in December.
He has over 15 newly recorded songs, he says.
Ive heard some global smashes in there.
Hes always had the ability to blend different genres into one, right?
But its getting crazier.
For me, thats mind-blowing.
How do you come up with stuff like this?
He writes all his songs.
Its crazy that I never get used to what he does next.
He was also seen at the luxe strip club Secrets Palace with Tems and Ayra, too.
Ayras family for sure, he says.
Were good friends because Ive been friends with Tyla even before everything.
Despite his hardened outlook onHeis,Rema remains a lover at heart.
Hes mostly dated in Africa.
Hes not with anybody right now.
Despite being a lothario on wax, hes kept a low-key romantic profile.
Im just happy my names not out in the streets, it seems like, he says.
A lot of his love songs are about real people: Reason You was a gift, he notes.
The cheeky Soundgasm was too.
It was a freaky gift.
I recorded that on Valentines Day.
So that was a very freaky day for everybody, he admits, laughing.
Hes dead set on getting married and having kids maybe three or four.
I ask him when.
The timeline matters, but I dont specifically have a time.
I feel like theres a need for us to get bigger and become a whole empire if we can.
Im very particular and I dont really be hoeing around.
Family, like most things with Rema, is a matter of legacy.
If I stop, all this is gonna stop.
Produced byPATRICIA BILOTTIatPBNY PRODUCTIONS.
Production Manager:STEFANIE BOCKENSTETTE.
Set Design byROMAIN GOUDINOUXatBRYANT ARTISTS.
Cinematographer:JAY SWUEN.
First Assistant Camera:HANNAH LEE.
Second Assistant Camera and Data Manager:MICHELLE SUH.
Gaffer:GABE SANDOVAL.
Key Grip:EDGAR R. ARAGON.
G&E Swing:KEVIN T. GARRARD.
Field Audio:CHUCK HENDY.
Photographic Assistance:STEVE YANGandBRYAN MARTINEZ.Digital Technician:JOSEPH MITCHELL.Leadmen:DERREK BROWNandJOSHUA GREEN.
Set-design assistance:JOHN ARMSTRONG.
Styling assistance:INTERNET X,DAVID GOMEZANDCHRIS BENAVIDES.
Production assistance:ROBSON PEREIRA.Post Production:SPENCER PATZMANatCOSM FILMS.
Colorist: CAMERON MARYGOLD.
