On his hit song Ozeba off his sophomore album HEIS, Ravelorde Rema made a statement saying “I don put the game for reset, shey you wan gate-keep who sabi jump fence?” As at when he made this statement, many couldn’t see what he was trying to say. He was met with heavy backlash and criticism from the entire industry. The OGs called him proud. The executives called him myopic. His fellow artists ignored the statement. The fans? The fans flogged him, mercilessly. They accused him of blowing his own trumpet.
A few months down the line, some truth in the statement is available for all to see. A lot of releases since his release have been very fast paced. Since he made the statement of us returning to our roots, we have seen a lot of uptempo records released with proper African sounds and influences. Everyone was biting little by little off the album’s sound direction. When it became clear that the album was a certified hit, the artists started to bite more audaciously. The influences could be traced directly. Kizz Daniel’s Marhaba used the same template.
“Jolie crooner Khaid recently dropped a snippet on social media. The video teasing his forthcoming release sounds like something that didn’t make the Final Cut for Rema’s album. From the beat to the choice of delivery, pockets and lyrics, everything screams Rema influenced. A while after, the singer came forward to make a statement saying “Rave Lord started something different, trying to open another portal to Afrobeat. Got to make it Global.”
Blaqbonez posted a snippet of his forthcoming single “Emeka Dance” on social media and fans went on to give credit to Rema for inspiring the new generation. They drew parallels between the sound direction of the snippet and the album, sparking conversations around both.
When Wizkid hosted his listening part in London and previewed music for all to see, the music was majorly uptempo. There was a particular record that everyone thought was Rema due to the tempo, the vocal texture, the melodies and delivery. Fans called the record ‘Bend’ and it sparked a heated conversation on Nigerian twitter on whether Wizkid influenced Rema’s sound or Rema is influencing Wizkid’s sound.
This is not the first time Rema would have a massive influence on the soundscape. I personally feel when he spoke on it on the album, he wasn’t even referring to this happening. He was speaking of the past. In his interview on The Breakfast Club, he said he feels the need to blow his own trumpet because nobody blows it. The OGs don’t give him the praises he deserves and his fellow youngins fight him for his position at the top.
When he debuted , he had a lot of people branching out into trap and melodic rap after his Freestyle EP gained commercial success. He had everyone biting off the ‘Indian Sound’ post Dumebi. His approach to style, swag and branding was unique and had artists copying him. When he picked up a teddy bear, Victony picked up the Ebelebe cap. Boy Spyce picked up a rabbit. Odumodu picked up his signature cap. Everyone understood branding, by force. The first time I saw this was Don Jazzy’s walking stick, and I imagine that’s where he picked a thing or two from.
He put the game on reset with the EP culture. He made it the template for new artists. Either debut with an EP or drop an EP as your first project after a couple of singles. It was perfect. It was more than one song so fans could see many sides o you and enjoy the music a bit more, but it was short enough to want more.
Now, he’s done it with the sound. After doing it with everything else, he’s done it with the very thing that defines our music. He’s sped up the tempo single-handedly.
Yes. Elements of Rema’s sound can be traced to Wizkid. Early Wizkid, but majorly the Wizkid of 2017 to 2019. The Wizkid that birthed Manya, Nowo, Soco, Master Groove and the likes. It’s almost like that created a softer landing for Rema. Reekado Banks also shared in this soundscape. Rema owned it, and found deeper pockets in it, pushing the sound to a whole new level.
This writer believes Rema’s statement was a prophecy, and it’s in its earliest stage of manifestation. It’s exciting to see where the soundscape goes from here. It’s important to note that the only other people with this kind of influence on the sound direction of Afrobeats are Wizkid at his debut, Davido in 2017, Wizkid in 2019, Omah lay in 2020 and Asake in 2022. Rema is currently operating in a league reserved for greatness.