Singer Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has said that his Afrobeat impact on a global scale cannot be denied.
The ‘Calm Down’ star said this in a recent interview with the New Wave Issue magazine,
Rema made history as the first Nigerian artiste to perform at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, beating the likes of Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid and Tiwa Savage.
The 23-year-old performed at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, France, on Monday night.
Speaking during the interview, Rema said: “When you play a video game and you see the bad guys shooting at you, you know that’s the right way. Everything they doubted, everything they laughed at me for, I built on it. They called me Indian Boy; I went to India. I’m the first artist to shut down four cities in India, 5000 capacity and above. No one can deny that I’ve impacted Afrobeats on a global scale.”
Rema beats Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, others as first Nigerian to perform at Ballon d’Or
“Afrorave is my perception of African music,” he continued.
“It’s from the roots of Afrobeats. I cannot deny the inspiration from Afrobeats and the Afrobeat legends. So it’s like, I’m just taking it up to the next level, which every generation is supposed to do. Literally, it’s how I see it, how I hear it, how I feel like it can evolve, how I feel like it can change, how I feel like it can appeal to the people that it didn’t appeal to generations before.”
