Nigerian Afrobeats Star Rema On His Plans To Make Authentic Amapiano Music. Rema is a Nigerian rapper, singer, performer, and brand ambassador. Rema’s real name is Divine Ikubor. He rose to stardom after releasing the song Dumebi after being signed to the Jonzing World recording label. He has released two albums, Rave & Roses (2022) and Rema Compilation (2020).
In an interview with Nandi Madida of Applesic Africa Now Radio, Rema shared that while he’s certain in his ability to make an Amapiano hit record, he prefers to explore the South African genre from an authentic angle.
In the interview, Rema revealed that he feels more spirit in South African Amapiano than the Nigerian variant. He also shared that his desire to make the music in its undiluted form led him to seek education from South African star Musa Keys.”I feel like tapping into a sound, most especially when it’s within Africa, I take my time to study. I don’t jump on the wave, I take my time to understand things. When I and Musa Keys were in the studio, I was like ‘I know a lot of Nigerians are doing Amapiano but I need you to educate me about Amapiano’. I don’t want to just hop on it. Yes, I can make a banger, but it’s like can you teach me? When I hear the ones from South Africa it holds more spirit than the ones from anywhere else.”
Rema shared that he’s open to collaborations as that allows him to learn from others. He intends to take his time to learn about Amapiano before tapping into the sound.”Although I don’t understand everything they’re saying, I can feel the particles, the elements, or the spiritual essence of the music. I know there’s a lot of amapiano from different parts of Africa, but educate me about yours, right? I feel like that’s necessary. I’m so down to collaborate, and while I collaborate I want to learn, I don’t want to do it the wrong way. Yes, Amapiano is a sound I really want to tap into but give me time with that!”
