PAUSE Meets: REMA

So growing up, what age did you start rapping, singing and playing with sounds?

I’ve been listening to sounds all my life, but where it started officially was when I was 11. When I was 7, I used to draw, so I started drawing and singing trying to find out which one would click, but when I made the full decision to do music was when I was 11, and at that time I used to rap. I was not that good, but I rapped. That was 2011, and I just rapped, after all the journey, school, church and hustling around Benin City, studio to studio looking for a free session because I didn’t have money to sponsor myself but I was looking for any opportunity to sponsor myself and get money so I could go to the studio.

So at that time I was just rapping, I didn’t start singing until 2015. A lot of people say I sing so good, but I just started like 3, 4 years ago, and that’s when I started infusing melodies in my rap, because everyone was rapping like these OG’s. In Benin City, everyone sounded similar, and I wanted to distinguish myself from them so I started infusing melodies like Drake, and actually distinguishing myself from a lot of people in the church, in school and in the whole city. The young generation in the city knew of me because I was everywhere, at all the auditions and all those things.

You’ve created your own sound as an African artist, I wouldn’t bracket you as an Afrobeats artist and I know you would agree as well. What inspired your choice of sound? 

You know what, in this whole journey I just feel like I was called to do something great. If I want to do something great, I’m suppose to start something that differentiates the different genres and the whole sounds in Nigeria actually. If I want to start something great, I can’t add to what’s already there, I have to bring something fresh, you get? I will get a lot of backlash. I knew I would get a lot of comments saying “Yo, you sound Idian, you sound this, you sound that.” Yes, it’s the sacrifices I need to take. If I don’t go through all this, there wouldn’t be any new sound. There wouldn’t be any concrete statement. What inspired me was just god, I felt like I was born to build my own legacy, not add to someone else’s legacy. Everybody is adding to Fela’s legacy, which is great, I still respect that and still add to that. His beats, patterns and Fela’s wave. But my melodies, my sounds, my vibe, it’s the type of music you don’t even need much lyrics, but you make impact. Its powerful. Dumebi is just 30% lyrics, 70% vibes. The words don’t actually mean anything, but to the soul it does.

So the words don’t actually mean anything at all?

No, it’s all playful. I still write them down and all that but, call it speaking in tongues, or call it whatever you want to call, but this is my vibe. I’m creating a language that’s just a whole move. I know that even though I’m the only person doing it, I believe that in 2 years time or 3 years time, I’ll have an army of people doing this same sound. With confidence, if you don’t back the sound with the confidence you can’t make any statements, so I just bring that vibe. That’s why a lot of people are angry because they’re saying ‘Why does something that doesn’t make sense, make sense?’

It’s because it’s new to them, you’ve come into the game, and you’ve brought something new, and they just don’t understand it. So they’re like ‘Why is he doing this?’ But that’s also a good thing.

Yeah, I never see anything as negativity. I keep it pure and focused.

But you have a lot of Indian influences injected into your music, where does that stem from?

I’m not Indian, I don’t watch Indian movies, I don’t listen to a lot of Indian songs, but I just listen to a lot of genres, and visit playlists. I listen to a lot of Latin music and a lot of stuff. I just have my fun. Music is global, people feel boxed because you’re Nigerian you need to just listen to English songs, American songs or Afrobeat songs, but no, music is a global thing and a universal language so why not listen to all types of music. Apart from that, God infused some melodies in my mind and I can’t even explain how they get to my mind.

At a young age, you’re pretty much worldwide right now. How are you coping with adapting to a new lifestyle?

I just miss taking a walk, I miss going to the Game shop and getting new video games or hanging out with my friends. Because everyone around me right now is really mature and it’s all about strategising about my future, but sometimes I just miss talking to my young guys and hanging out, having fun, talking about girls. That doesn’t happen anymore, now I’m really matured more than my age.

Do you feel like your career has matured you really fast?

Yeah, but it’s like. With responsibilities and everything.

How did you feel when President Obama included you in his top music list?

That was big. I could express my excitement. I just showed how my music travelled so fast within just months of me being in the game. But it also opened doors and went to different places. And I’m just glad it wasn’t Dumebi, the song that everyone was going crazy about, it was just a specific weird sound, so for Obama to sit down and listen to that and then add it onto his playlist, that’s big. Especially because I got a lot of backlash for that song, people saying ‘are you sure you’re Nigerian?’ ‘It sounds like he sings through his nose’ and stuff like that, but Obama likes it though.

Your an outsider, people are still adapting to your new wave. So you’re teaching them.

Some people think I’m too young to teach them. [laughs]

What fashion brands are currently wearing at the moment? 

I wear a lot of Nike, Jordans and stuff like that. I like easy wears, I like streetwear, things like PLACES + FACES. I don’t want to put the young people on under pressure, like the older generation with their chains and stuff like that, it’s cool for the brand but a lot of young people look up to me, that’s why I don’t post about the cars, I don’t post about those things. The only they see me is my shows or me recording. When a 5 second clip of me dancing leaks, people get engaged because my sound is a mystery and my personality is a mystery, so they get engaged straight away, I don’t want to start showing them stuff like ‘I’m 19 and look at what I have’ because they’re 19 too, so I keep it clean and straight. I respect everybody and mind my business.