Rema

Divine Joshua Ikubor was born on 1 May 2000 into a Christian family in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, and traces his origins to Igbanke in Orhionmwon Local Government Area. He completed his primary and secondary education at Ighile Group of Schools in Edo State, where he first developed an interest in singing and rapping. He experienced tragedy early in life when his father, Justice Ikubor, passed away in 2008, followed seven years later by the death of his elder brother. Following his father's passing, the family relocated to Ghana for a year before returning to Nigeria.

Rema was raised by his mother alongside two sisters. In September 2020, he publicly addressed the Peoples Democratic Party over social media, seeking answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his father's death, who had been a chieftain in the party. In January 2022, he gained admission to the University of Lagos to pursue a degree at his mother's request, but he later left the institution in 2023 because of prolonged academic strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Rema began performing music in churches alongside his collaborator Alpha P, forming a duo known as RnA. In 2018, he posted an Instagram freestyle over D'Prince's track "Gucci Gang". The clip caught the attention of D'Prince, who brought him to Lagos and signed him in 2019 to Jonzing World, a record label imprint under Don Jazzy's Mavin Records.

In 2019, he released his self-titled debut extended play, Rema, which reached the top of the Apple Music charts in Nigeria. The EP featured the hit single "Dumebi", accompanied by a music video featuring Diana Eneje that accumulated tens of millions of views. Another track from the project, "Iron Man", gained international attention when it appeared on former United States President Barack Obama's 2019 summer playlist. Later that year, he won the Next Rated award at the Headies. In May 2021, he coined the term "Afrorave" to describe his musical style, blending Afrobeats rhythms with Arabian and Indian musical influences, and designated his fanbase as the Ravers.

On 25 March 2022, Rema released his debut full-length studio album, Rave & Roses, through Jonzing World. The 16-track project included guest contributions from artists such as Chris Brown, 6lack, AJ Tracey, and Yseult. Ten songs from the album entered the US Billboard Afrobeats chart during its first week of release.

The album's standout single, "Calm Down", achieved worldwide commercial success. A subsequent remix featuring American singer Selena Gomez propelled the track to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a record-breaking 58 weeks at number one on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart. The track won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Afrobeats Video and the Billboard Music Award for Top Afrobeats Song. In April 2023, he issued a deluxe edition titled Rave & Roses Ultra, which became the first African album to reach two billion streams on Spotify. Later that year, on 30 October 2023, he performed at the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

On 11 July 2024, Rema released his second studio album, Heis, through Mavin Records, Jonzing World, and Interscope Records. Drawing its name from the Greek word for "number one", the 11-track album introduced a darker, faster tempo and featured guest appearances from Shallipopi and Odumodublvck. It was preceded by the singles "Benin Boys" and "Hehehe", incorporating cultural references and sounds rooted in his native Edo heritage.

Heis reached number one on Nigeria's TurnTable Top 100 Albums chart and earned Rema his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Global Music Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. In February 2025, he released the single "Baby (Is It a Crime)", sampling Sade's 1985 recording "Is It a Crime", followed in April 2025 by the Afro-R&B track "Bout U".