Say all you will, Rema is on a different level. The 23-year-old Nigerian superstar has met up to and superseded all expectations with his recent and outlandish global successes. Rema’s present trajectory is one in which he is incessantly living the Hollywood dream.
Furthermore, the megastar now sells out tours abroad, breaks and extends billboard chart records, and casually dines with Victoria’s Secret models (such as the delectable, Justin Skye). Rema now takes home VMAs, and also shatters streaming records, basically earning himself the moniker- “Prince of Afrobeats.”
Though the singer’s glory might be obvious for the whole world to see, a part of Rema radically feels slighted, underappreciated, and taken for granted by some of his music peers, opposing fan base ( some of whom have steered up online controversial theories), and the media – all of whom he astutely feels he had earned their due respect by now – or, at least, that’s the vibe the singer’s latest sixth track oeuvre ‘ Rage’ gives.
On ‘Rage’ which is Rema’s fifth project – including a compilation album ( ‘Rema Compilation’ 2020) and a Studio album (‘Rave and Roses, 2022) the singer unapologetically lashes out while
giving himself duly earned flowers irrespective of a presumed antagonizing consensus.
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, the singer aired some of his artistic grievances to veteran American hip-hop record producer, Swiss Beatz, in which he alluded to being a trendsetter who often felt deprived of his credits by some of his colleagues who had been quick to jump on it, and subsequently felt the incessant urge to always set new ones due to this.
The rolling stone spat is a perfect depiction of Rema’s mind frame and he makes this jarringly clear via his experimental sonic fusions through the joint and outsourced efforts of Ace Afrobeats producer, P.Prime, Blaise Beatz coupled with Rema’s partner in crime in house producer, London.
In the track opener, ‘Trouble Maker’, he takes off over sweet Afro rhythmic patterns, permeating melodious rhyme schemes over equally melodious instrumentation. With the song, Rema goes
for the jugular, bragging about pressing “oops” and “passing everybody “.
The song’s first few lines allude to the fact that Rema sees the outburst as long-due with lyrics such as “How many
dues wey the boy don pay, how many insults I go take”.
A more dramatic ‘DND’ follows suit as Rema displays a versatility that has made his current apotheosis very valid. DND is fearless, groovy, and bullshit-calling.
The song follows through with the album’s thematic plot while ‘Smooth Criminal’ does the same, only this time, Romantic
Exes joins Rema’s aligned firing squad.
The fourth song on the E.P softens the oeuvre’s overall theme and meter – with a lushly produced mid-tempo Afro-ballad that allows for Rema’s sensational vocal glissandos, coupled with P. Prime and London’s genius productions.
In the track opener, ‘Trouble Maker’, he takes off over sweet Afro rhythmic patterns, permeating melodious rhyme schemes over equally melodious instrumentation. With the song, Rema goes
for the jugular, bragging about pressing “oops” and “passing everybody “.
The song’s first few lines allude to the fact that Rema sees the outburst as long-due with lyrics such as “How many
dues wey the boy don pay, how many insults I go take”.
A more dramatic ‘DND’ follows suit as Rema displays a versatility that has made his current apotheosis very valid. DND is fearless, groovy, and bullshit-calling.
The song follows through with the album’s thematic plot while ‘Smooth Criminal’ does the same, only this time, Romantic
Exes joins Rema’s aligned firing squad.
The fourth song on the E.P softens the oeuvre’s overall theme and meter – with a lushly produced mid-tempo Afro-ballad that allows for Rema’s sensational vocal glissandos, coupled with P. Prime and London’s genius productions.
Finally, Rema employs witty storytelling, and ingenious adlibs in the enthralling outro record ‘ Red Portion’.
you can listen to the E.P on Spotify :
