Afrobeat sensation, Rema, known in real life as Divine Ikubor, has made history in Africa’s entertainment industry following his spectacular performance at the just ended 67th Ballon D’or ceremony on October 30, 2023.
Held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, Rema received cheers and applause from some of the biggest names in football, including the likes of Messi and Mbappe’ during his ‘Calm Down’ performance.
Rema took charge of his performance as he also engaged the footballers who were up to receive their awards sing alongside him. His engagement and sterling performance surfaced on the internet and has received positive reactions from his followers.
Born on May 1, 2000 at Edo State, Nigeria, Rema’s career took off when he posted a viral freestyle of himself to D’Prince’s popular track ‘Gucci Gang’ on Instagram.
The post led him into signing a record deal with D’Prince’s Jozing World, a subsidiary of Marvin Records owned by popular record producer and singer, Don Jazzy, in 2019.
He released his most popular song, ‘Calm Down’, which later became the most viewed Afrobeat video on YouTube. On August 26, 2022, he released a remix of ‘Calm Down’ with Selena Gomez, which topped at number 3 on Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard Global Excl. US chart.
Rema made history with his hit song ‘Calm Down’, becoming the longest-charting and the most successful African song of all time. It also stands tall as the most streamed Afrobeat song in Spotify History.
BY Thelma Sallah