Since he rose to stardom in 2018, Edo-born singer and stage performer, Divine Ikubor, has been in high demand both at the local stage and international scene as fans and musicphiles, including up and coming artistes, draw inspiration from his exceptional musical craft.
The multi-talented songwriter known by the stage name Rema a few days ago bagged for himself the Best Afrobeat award at the just concluded MTV Video Music Awards with the song ‘Calm Down’ featuring Selena Gomez. The Best Afrobeat is a maiden category introduced by the award organizers to appreciate African music, most especially the Afrobeat genre in the global space.
Rema, who beat Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, among others to lift the award alongside Selena Gomez, appreciated fans and music enthusiasts for their support and love. Recall that he bagged three nominations including Song of the Year.
The ‘Charm’ crooner is not new to breaking and setting records, as multiple awards and hit singles are enshrined to his name as well. The recently received VMAs award by the singer now serves as a motivational tool for underground artistes who look up to him as a mentor in the industry. It also paves way for other established artistes as well to keep putting in the work and staying positive.
Rema, who started his musical career at the Ekehuan axis of Benin City, got the attention of record boss D’prince when he joined the open verse of Gucci gang, which led to his signature with the label Jonzing World. Afterwards, he took the world by storm with his unique sound.
Rema winning the VMA award is another plus to the Nigerian music industry as other underground artistes will like to be recognized as well, which definitely will lead to Afrobeat acquiring more listeners and at the same time attracting more global music investors to the local music scene to invest in other talented creative minds, thereby creating employment opportunities.
Music has proven to be another big investment that can help in the development of any nation, especially Nigeria as a whole, and the Edo-born singer has proven it to be right.
The MTV Video Music Award has helped in providing a recognition platform for African music to sail across borders without barriers. Now, every creative mind at the local scene is inspired by the success of the singer and wants to promote their craft beyond boundaries by improving the quality of their videos, adding more content to the lyrics.
