Divine Ikubor, better known as the Nigerian singer Rema, is currently one of the most popular artists around. Rema, a true hit producer, is the voice behind popular songs like “Calm Down,” “Bounce,” “Dumebi,” and others.
The Native Magazine’s cover star for this month is a singer, therefore a writer had to follow him and interview him for the article about him in the publication. Rema choked up and shared heartbreaking details about why his time in London became emotional at one point during their conversation. It’s quite sad, but I won’t give it away. Here is the terrible story behind Rema’s dramatic outburst in London, without further ado.
According to the reporter for The Native Magazine who was with Rema in London, here is what happened:
Upon leaving Slawn’s studio, Rema says he wants to stop and get a drink at the type of standard, local outdoor bar that litters the roads of East London. He’s spent more time in the capital, and knows not to take good weather for granted, so we sit outside taking it in.
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“This shit is so crazy, man,” Rema says, slightly choked up. I look up from my phone, thinking he’s about to show me something on Instagram or Twitter, but he’s staring upwards, just marvelling at the London skies. I ask him if he’s ok.
“I’m great, bro. This shit is just crazy.”
He explains to me that just before the untimely death of his father in the late 2010s, his family had made plans to come to London. Visas were already being processed, and he had even picked out the car he wanted to drive once he got here. Since then, Rema also tragically lost his older brother, someone he regularly credits with introducing him to many of the sounds that influenced him as an aspiring artist. Behind the jovial Rave Lord is still Divine, the young boy from Benin who has overcome so much just to get here, and at the end of the day, is simply trying to make his family proud.
“I feel nothing but blessed and honoured,” he says, clearly reflecting on his young but successful career as Rema. “I have peace, I have good wealth, I can control my every move, perception and narrative. I have love and I have wealth – what more does a man really need?” he proclaims, firmly back in character.
Awww. That is so emotional. To think that just shortly before his father’s passing, they were all supposed to go to London, and now there he was finally in London but without his father and brother. This life! Wow, now I’m getting emotional.