In a recent interview with Apple Music, popular singer Divine Ikubor, known as Rema, emphasized the importance of Nigerian artists upholding the culture of afrobeats to maintain the country’s dominance in the African music scene.
Rema acknowledged the rise of South African genre amapiano in the Nigerian music industry but stressed the necessity for Nigerian musicians to prioritize afrobeats’ influence across the continent.
He mentioned that his latest album, ‘HeIs,’ drew inspiration from afrobeats legends like Don Jazzy, the Mo’Hits crew, 2Baba, Olamide, P-Square, and Timaya.
“I had to go back [while creating my new album]. I took a lot of inspiration from Mo’hits. For the first four seconds, when a Mo’hits’ song comes in, you already know it’s a Mo’hits’ song. Don Jazzy just goes crazy on the beat,” he said.
“The times when Olamide used to drop crazy songs, he still drops crazy songs. At the time when an Olamide song comes on you still know. P-Square, 2Face or Timaya. There used to be times when the beat just…
“Amapiano is great, it is fire but there used to be a time when Afrobeats production used to be so insane that nothing can survive it in the clubs in Africa. I’m not saying we’ve lost that but I’m just saying that we need more of that. I don’t want us to go too far away from that. We need to sustain it.”
