HEIS (Who He Thinks He Is).
At a fresh 24 years of age, Divine Ikubor (known mononymously as Rema) has reached peerless heights of global superstardom, with fans from Mallorca to the Taj Mahal. Despite his record-breaking global success, Rema uses HEIS to defy all expectations, leaning into his Edo heritage and popping his shit the entire time. The star makes it clear from the very first track that HEIS is not for everybody, and if you don’t get it that’s your business. After spending 58 weeks at the top of the U.S Afrobeats charts, becoming the 1st African artist to amass 2 Billion cross-platform streams, and smoothly collecting two separate Guinness World Records, Rema uses HEIS to leave the rest of the world behind while he brings us into his.
The militant, colorful nature of the album is introduced by the pidgin-heavy “March Am”, a rhythmic, braggadocious anthem smugly affirming the star’s tendency to step on necks. The dark staccato of “March Am” is then diffused by the hypnotic “Azaman” – a track reminiscent of hall party classics from the previous decade. In “HEHEHE” and “HEIS”, Rema disparages his faceless haters as he proclaims his Prince of Afrobeats status, rightfully claiming his spot in the “Big 4”, on the Mount Rushmore of modern Afrobeats. Rema taps back into his military general bag for the explosive “Ozeba”, a certified club banger complete with growling ad-libs, deep-voiced bravado, and a chorus you can’t get out of your head. The enjoyment anthems “Villain” & “YAYO” carry the same feel-good get-money vibes we expect from Afrobeats hits - as aspirational as they are vibey. It’s not all area boy chants and flexing though as Rema softly croons about the downsides to fame and fortune in closing track “Now I Know”, wistfully reminiscing on trading his childhood for financial stability.
While much of the album’s content is righteous cockiness, the cultural intent is clear. In recent Apple Music interview with Algerian media journalist Mehdi Maizi, Rema states his intent to reclaim Afrobeats for Africans, emphasizing the importance of cultural preservation. While performing HEIS for the first time at his London listening party, the Prince revisits the aforementioned mission statement, wisely asserting that the easier a thing is to replicate, the easier it is to infiltrate. Catch it Selena! Despite his global palatability (even winning a Billboard award for his collaboration with American artist Selena Gomez on “Calm Down”), this album comes as no surprise to longtime Rema fans.
Fan art by X User @ mallyts
A documented paragon of Edo culture, it was only 8 months ago that the young Ikubor had to defend his usage of bats, horses, and Benin masks in his London O2 Arena performance. Pushed to make a statement by fear mongering “fans” hurling demonic accusations at him, the star boldly proclaimed it was only right he brought his own Edo artifacts to the city with his ancestors’ stolen goods on display. With the Edo State Governor’s blessing in his mind and Selena Gomez’ picture on the Spotify Afrobeats cover, Rema entered the studio determined to make the most African, Nigerian, South-South album he could.
From the percussive beats and pidgin-infused lyrics, to only featuring fellow South-South boys Shallipopi & Odumodublvck, Rema trumpets his heritage all over the album. Much like the artist that made it, HEIS is an enigmatic amalgamation of things: political commentary, cultural conservation and self-affirmations over punchy indigenous beats that inspire you to move, to flex, and to think. Rema has done it again – forever altering the course of Afrobeats in less than 30 minutes. How you wan gatekeep who sabi jump fence?
