Nigerian music star Rema has opened up about the early stages of his career, revealing how fear of returning home without money helped push him to embrace Afrobeats.
Speaking to Channels Television, Rema explained that he initially focused on trap and hip-hop music as a teenager. At the time, he was part of a church gospel rap group and admitted that he knew very little about Afrobeats.
His career direction changed after Nigerian singer and talent scout D’Prince discovered him through an Instagram freestyle. After bringing him to Lagos, D’Prince encouraged the young artist to explore Afrobeats, telling him that his distinctive voice could work well with the genre.
Rema said he was initially hesitant about making the switch, but his circumstances gave him a strong reason to try something different. He described the hunger to succeed and the fear of returning home broke to his mother as major motivations behind his decision to learn the sound.
Rather than abandoning his hip-hop and trap influences, Rema blended them with Afrobeats to create a sound that became closely associated with his AfroRave identity.
That gamble quickly paid off. His breakout single “Dumebi” became a major hit and helped introduce Rema to audiences beyond Nigeria, eventually establishing him as one of Africa’s most recognizable young music stars.
What began as a reluctant change in musical direction ultimately became one of the defining decisions of Rema’s career.
