Rema is an award-winning Nigerian singer and musician who has released numerous songs that have been on our lips one time or another these pasts years since his major breakout hit ”Dumebi” off his debut extended play Rema. In this article, we’ll explore the biography of the musical prodigy, Rema, discussing his early life in Benin and his growth in the Nigerian music industry. Read on to learn all you need to know about Divine Ikubor, from his career to his net worth, and more.
Below is Rema’s biography: age, career, net worth and more:
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Early Life and Education of Rema
Rema was born Divine Ikubor to Justice Ikubor and Mrs. Ikubor in Edo State on May 1, 2000. He is the last of four children (an elder brother of Rema passed in 2017) of the Edo State PDP chieftain, Justice Ikubor, who held the post of General Manager of Edo State’s Ethiope Publishing Company before his death in 2008.
Rema had his education, from his primary to secondary school education, at Ighile Group of Schools, located at 157 Ekenwan Road, Benin City, Benin, Edo State. It was during his time at Ighile Group of Schools that Rema’s interest in music was ignited. He rapped in the school’s social gatherings and sang in religious gatherings, especially in his church, Merry Church.
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Early Career of Rema
As stated in the trailing paragraph, Rema has been involved in music right from his secondary school days. In 2013, he and his friend Alpha P (real name: Prince Solomon) formed RNA, a two-man music group. Shortly after, RNA contested and won the second season of Pikolo’s Dream Alive talent show, resulting in Peak Entertainment signing the duo. Their debut single, “Mercy” was shortly released by Dream Alive Studios. He went solo soon after and released several low-budget music productions, however, those songs didn’t give him the recognition he desired. Rema also made an effort to sing on stage at various music shows across Edo State.
Still in obscurity, in 2018, Rema did a freestyle on D’Prince’s “Gucci Gang” hit song on Instagram. The video of the freestyle went viral on the Nigerian social media scene, attracting the attention of D’Prince, the original owner of the song, and younger brother to Don Jazzy. Impressed with the freestyle, D’Prince contacted Rema, flew him to Lagos, and offered him a deal with Jonzing World, a subsidiary of Mavins Records. In 2019, Rema signed a record deal with Jonzing World, and Don Jazzy welcomed him into Mavin Global. Since then, Rema’s rise has been of astronomical magnitude.
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Rema’s Extended Projects (EP) and Album with Jonzing World/Mavin Records
Rema’s record deal with Jonzing World, and by extension Mavin Records, plus his talent sprung him to nationwide fame with the release of his eponymous debut EP Rema on March 22, 2019. That EP featured 4 tracks including, “Iron Man”, “Why”, “Dumebi”, and ” Corny”. The Rema EP was widely received, peaking at number one on Apple Music Nigeria with all the songs of the EP being on the Apple Music “top 10 chart” for 6 days. Little wonder the music video of “Dumebi” has earned over 60 million views on YouTube to date. “Iron Man” made Barack Obama’s summer playlist for 2019.
Later on, on June 19, 2019, Rema released his second extended project (EP) titled Freestyle EP, under Jonzing World and Mavin Records. The EP featured four songs with no assistance from any artist. The songs in the EP are “Boulevard”, ” American Love”, “Spiderman”, and ” Trap out of the Submarine”.
On October 4, 2019, Rema released his third EP titled Bad Commando. Bad Commando had four tracks, namely, ”Bad Commando”, “Lady”, ” Rewind”, and “Spaceship Jocelyn”. The songs “Bad Commando” and “Lady” enjoyed massive airplay across Nigeria.
On July 9, 2020, Rema put together a Compilation EP consisting of ten of his favourite hit tracks of 2019 and 2020. The songs include “Iron Man”, “Beamer (Bad Boys)”, “Corny”, ” Why”, “Lady”, ” Alien”, “Woman”, ” American Love”, ”Ginger Me”, and “Dumebi”.
On March 25, 2022, Rema released his first official album via Jonzing World and Mavins Records. The album, titled Rave and Roses contained 16 tracks with features from international musicians like Chris Brown, Yseult, AJ Tracey, and 6lack. The majority of Rave and Roses was recorded in his hometown of Benin City, Benin, Edo State. The total length of the Rave and Roses album is 59:09 minutes.
Below are the tracks that makeup Raves and Roses:
- Divine
- Hold Me Back (featuring 6lack)
- Dirty
- Calm Down
- Soundgasm
- Time n’ Affection (featuring Chris Brown)
- Jo
- Mara
- Love
- Addicted
- Are You There?
- FYN (with AJ Tracey)
- Oroma Baby
- Carry
- Wine (with Yseult)
- Runaway
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Collaborations and Other Singles of Rema
Rema has worked with several Nigerian and international artists on their tracks. He’s also released several songs that were not featured in extended projects and album. Also, he’s featured in several Mavin Records all-star hit songs.
Below are some of his other songs and collaborations:
- Won Da Mo – Mavin Records a
- 44 (featuring Bad Gyal)
- Bounce
- Only You (with STANY and Offset)
- Dimension (Jae5 featuring Skepta and Rema)
- & more
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Endorsement Deals of Rema
Rema has enjoyed several endorsement deals with big brands worth millions of naira in recent years. Some of the notable among them include Pepsi, Oppo, HP Laptops, Tom Tom, Monster Energy, and JESA Fair Dairy.
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Awards and Recognitions
Rema has been nominated and won several awards since his rise to stardom in 2009. Some of the awards he’s won include:
- The Headies’ Next Rated award (2019)
- City People Music Revelation of the Year Award (2019)
- The Future Award Africa Music award (2020)
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Net Worth of Rema
Rema has amassed substantial wealth from earnings from album sales, his YouTube channel, endorsement deals, music appearances and performances, and Spotify and other streaming platforms. At the time of writing this article (early January 2023), Rema is worth an estimated $1 million.
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Age of Rema
Rema would turn 23 years old on May 1, 2023.