Two years after his debut album “Rave & Roses” globally renowned Afrobeats Icon Rema drops his long-awaited sophomore album “HeIs”.
The record comes after his meteoric rise to international prominence, largely due to the overwhelming success of “Soundgasm”, his stand-out verse on the “Soweto’ remix and the “Calm Down” remix featuring Selena Gomez (to name a few).
Rema goes back in time to the 60s, repurposing the highly percussive composition style pioneered by Fela Kuti. At the same time he pulls from more modern influences, infusing elements of 80s synth music, trap, electronic dance music, amapiano and many more to create a frenzied melting pot of sounds from around the world.
2023 was an especially prolific year for the Benin-bred musician, one that saw him become the highest charting Afrobeats artist in Billboard Hot 100 history, a Guinness World Record Holder and the first African artist ever to perform at the prestigious Ballon d’Or Ceremony in Paris.
In addition to these countless accolades, he began 2024 with an induction into the esteemed “Billion Club” with over eight billion streams to his name.
Named after the Greek word for Numeral 1, “HeIs” is an ascendant landmark project that sees Rema fully settle into his hard-won title as the Prince of Afrobeats. On “HeIs” the Rave Lorde is a different kind of animal- wilder, imposing and almost overwhelming in his intensity.
Though the overall score is rousing and euphoric, there are also undercurrents of danger as his artistic direction transcends convention, tapping into the kind of madness only associated with genius and at times, borders on the divine.
Rema remains rooted in the culture that birthed his unique sound, delving further into the essence of Afrobeats to unearth the raw, uncut elements that seem to have been lost in the process of the genre’s evolution and globalization.
He goes back in time to the 60s, repurposing the highly percussive composition style pioneered by Fela Kuti. At the same time he pulls from more modern influences, infusing elements of 80s synth music, trap, electronic dance music, amapiano and many more to create a frenzied melting pot of sounds from around the world.
In the process of honouring the past, he births something new, giving life and form to the term “Afro-Rave”, which he has previously used to describe his music. “HeIs” boasts some of Rema’s most memorable and audacious lyrics to date, with songs like “HeHeHe” full of bold declarations of his supremacy.
Album highlights also include the lead single “Benin Boys”, an anthemic ode to his hometown. The track features Nigerian rapper Shallipopi and set the record for the second biggest opening day streams for a Nigerian song on Spotify.
Other stand-out tracks include “March Am”, a rip-roaring sonic joyride produced by P Priime. The track is fraught with heavy drums, invigorating car revving sounds and growls. “Villain”, a wild afro-EDM tune also produced by P Priime, begins with a deceptively tame sample of Lana Del Rey’s “A & W”.
One of the focus tracks, “Yayo”, is a psychedelic earworm teeming with youthful exuberance and brazen lyricism. “HeIs”, a hair-raising inauguration song named after the album, features heavenly choral melodies and singers eulogizing him in Swahili. The album also features Nigerian rapper Odumodublvck on “War Machine”.
“HeIs” is a boundary-defying statement project that sees the Afro-Rave genre become fully realised — even as Rema pays homage to Afrobeats in its oldest, purest form.
HeIs Album Tracklist:
- MARCH AM
- AZAMAN
- HEHEHE
- YAYO
- BENIN BOYS
- HEIS
- OZEBA
- WAR MACHINE
- EGUNGUN
- VILLAIN
- NOW I KNOW
