Divine Ikubor, recognized professionally as Rema, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, and songwriter whose meteoric rise since 2019 has made him one in all Afrobeats’ brightest world stars.
Whereas he’s most generally recognized for his Afrobeats and pop music, he started his profession as a gospel rapper and nonetheless incorporates rap into his sound, which additionally contains genres like pop rap and afro-rave. His mix of Afrobeat, Afrorave, entice, and pop has earned him main streaming success, worldwide excursions, vital model partnerships, and a quickly rising fortune.
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Profile Abstract
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Place of Start |
Benin Metropolis, Edo State, Nigeria |
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Origin |
Igbanke, Orhionmwon LGA, Edo State |
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Genres |
Afrobeats, Afrorave, entice, pop, hip hop |
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Years Lively |
2019–current |
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Labels |
Jonzing World, Mavin Data, Interscope |
Early Life and Training
Divine Ikubor was born on Could 1, 2000, in Benin Metropolis, Edo State, Nigeria, right into a Christian household. He’s from Igbanke in Orhionmwon LGA of Edo State. Rema was born to Mrs. Ikubor (his mom) and Justice Ikubor (his father), who died in 2008. Rema’s elder brother additionally died seven years later
Life was laborious after his father died, and the household moved to Ghana for a 12 months. Being the one boy, he needed to feed his household. In interviews, Rema revealed that he “sold his childhood” to offer for his household after his father died. He even labored jobs in Ghana (e.g., doing seaside work) to boost cash for his household.
Rema attended Ighile Group of Faculties in Benin Metropolis for his main and secondary schooling. It was throughout these years that he found his ardour for music and commenced to rap in his church’s youth group. He later gained admission to the College of Lagos to check Inventive Arts, reportedly partly to satisfy his mom’s needs. Nonetheless, he left in 2023 because of the Tutorial Workers Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
Reflecting on his losses, Rema has spoken about how the deaths of his father and brother pressured him to “man up” and turn out to be a supplier. On social media, he has additionally criticized the Individuals’s Democratic Social gathering (PDP) in Nigeria, alleging some involvement or wrongdoing associated to his father’s loss of life.
Musical Profession
His Early Starting (2019)
Music turned his refuge throughout the laborious occasions. He downloaded beats on a church-gifted smartphone at 14, working towards freestyles that blended his church choir roots with influences from Michael Jackson, 2Face Idibia, and Drake.
In 2013, Rema received Season 2 of Pikolo’s Dream Alive expertise present in Benin Metropolis, signing briefly with Peak Leisure and releasing “Mercy,” although it gained little traction. His massive break got here in 2019 when his freestyle over D’Prince’s Gucci Gang went viral on Instagram.
Impressed, D’Prince signed him to Jonzing World, a Mavin Data imprint. He launched his debut EP – Rema (2019), which included hits like Dumebi and Iron Man. Dumebi turned a sleeper hit in Nigeria.
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Breakthrough and Development
His debut EP, Rema, dropped in March 2019, topping Apple Music Nigeria with hits like “Dumebi” (over 84 million YouTube views) and “Iron Man,” the latter touchdown on Barack Obama’s 2019 summer time playlist.
In 2021, he coined his sound “Afrorave,” fusing Afrobeats with Arabian and Indian influences, a time period first utilized by Toya Delazy however tailored by Rema to outline his genre-blending type.
In 2022, Rema launched his first full-length album, Rave & Roses. His single Calm Down, and notably the remix with Selena Gomez, considerably boosted his world profile. The track peaked at quantity 3 on the Billboard Scorching 100 and led the US Afrobeats Songs chart for a document 58 weeks till October 2023.
In July 2024, Rema launched his second studio album, HEIS, underneath Mavin, Jonzing, and Interscope. HEIS earned a Grammy nomination for Finest International Music Album.
Data, Awards & Achievements
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Headies: Subsequent Rated Artist, 2019.
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MTV VMA: Finest Afrobeats Video for “Calm Down” remix.
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Billboard Music Awards: High Afrobeats Music.
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HEIS received Album of the Yr on the Hint Awards & Competition 2025.
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Over 1 billion streams on “Calm Down” throughout platforms.
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Rave & Roses Extremely turned the primary African album to surpass 2 billion Spotify streams.
What Is Rema’s Web value?
Rema’s web value in 2025 is estimated fairly in a different way relying on the supply, and this displays each the uncertainty and the speedy progress in his revenue streams. Taking these completely different estimates into consideration, an inexpensive web value vary for Rema in 2025 could be round $10 million to $22 million, which interprets to roughly ₦15 billion to ₦33 billion.
Profession Earnings Abstract
Rema’s earnings between 2019 and 2025 come from a mixture of streaming royalties, world touring, competition runs, and high-profile efficiency bookings. Streaming stays the most important pillar of his revenue. With greater than 5.2 billion lifetime streams throughout Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Boomplay, his catalog has generated vital digital income.
Spotify alone pays a median of $0.003–$0.005 per stream, and making use of the midpoint charge of $0.004 locations his Spotify earnings at about $20.8 million gross. After commonplace label splits, which regularly go away artists with 30–40%, Rema’s direct share is estimated at round $7.28 million from Spotify.
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Calm Down & Selena Gomez remix alone generated $3M plus in royalties.
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Live performance Excursions & Stay Performances is about $3 million, which is 25% of his whole wealth
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2024–2025 “HEIS Tour” was his highest-grossing tour.
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Madison Sq. Backyard present grossed $794,000.
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European tour: 28 exhibits throughout 12 international locations, grossing $4.5 million.
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Typical artist web after touring prices (35–45%): $1.8–$2 million from the European leg.
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Cumulative touring earnings (2019–2025): $3 million.
Rema additionally owns 60% of his publishing rights (Mavin Data holds 40%), which suggests he earns royalties each time his songs are performed on radio stations globally, licensed for movies, TV exhibits, and commercials, and coated by different artists. Past his personal catalog, Rema has writing credit on songs for different Mavin Data artists, creating further passive revenue streams that can pay him for many years.
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How A lot Does He Cost?
Rema’s efficiency charges differ considerably primarily based on venue, nation, viewers dimension, and occasion kind, however he’s firmly within the top-tier bracket of Afrobeats earners. For normal worldwide concert events, his fees fall between $200,000 and $500,000 per present, with competition appearances starting from $150,000 to $300,000.
In Africa, his reserving charges sometimes sit between $100,000 and $200,000, relying on manufacturing expectations and metropolis. Company occasions and personal appearances entice a lot greater charges, typically $300,000 and above, with sure premium bookings pushing him into the $1 million class for high-stakes world occasions.
Automotive Assortment
Rema owns a powerful and rising automotive assortment:
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Lamborghini Urus S – a efficiency SUV.
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Mercedes-AMG G63 (G-Wagon) – a really high-cost luxurious SUV.
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Bentley Bentayga – famous in his 2025 storage.
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BMW 8 Sequence Convertible – reportedly gifted by BMW Membership Nigeria.
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Lexus GX 460 – a extra sensible and but premium SUV.
Endorsements and Sponsorships
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Pepsi – one in all his high-profile model offers.
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Puma – fashion-footwear collaboration.
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Tommy Hilfiger – vogue partnership.
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Tecno Cellular – regional ambassador function.
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Scandals
In 2023, Rema confronted some backlash after his O2 Area present in London, the place his gothic-themed visuals, together with masks, bats, and pink lighting, have been misinterpreted by some viewers as demonic. He later clarified that the imagery was impressed by the normal artwork, masks, and symbolism of Benin Metropolis, his hometown, and was meant to have a good time Edo cultural heritage fairly than counsel something occult.
In 2025, Rema became embroiled in a major legal dispute with inside designer Amaka Obasi, who was accused of defrauding him out of ₦287 million. Based on Rema’s authorized staff, Obasi conspired together with his former private assistant to inflate prices, use substandard supplies, and intentionally overcharge him whereas failing to finish renovation work.
Relationships
Rema retains his private/romantic life fairly non-public. Nonetheless, in September 2025, Rema and Arya Starr, his label mate, sparked relationship rumors after sharing a short, surprising kiss on-stage throughout the International Citizen Competition in New York.
Then, in October 2025, a viral video from a Lagos nightclub confirmed Rema and Ayra dancing very intently, with Rema putting his hand on her waist. Whereas there have been speculations on whether or not they have been relationship, some argue that their closeness could also be extra about artwork than romance, as they lately launched a collaborative single, “Who’s Dat Girl”, in October 2025.
Latest Information (2025)
Listed here are some notable developments about Rema in 2025:
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New Single – Rema launched “Kelebu” on 1 August 2025, a high-energy Afrobeats monitor.
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Automotive Assortment: In September 2025, sources reported that Rema flaunted an all-black luxury car collection, together with a McLaren GTS.
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Grammy Recognition: His album HEIS continues to get consideration following its Grammy nomination (67th Annual Grammy Awards).
Abstract / Legacy
Rema has rapidly developed from a teenage prodigy in Benin Metropolis to some of the globally influential figures in Afrobeats. His potential to fuse Afropop, entice, Bollywood influences, and celestial vocals has carved out a singular sonic id also known as Afrorave, a sub-genre he popularised.
With chart-topping hits, billion-stream information, and high-impact world performances, he has helped push Nigerian music deeper into mainstream Western markets. As he expands into greater excursions, extra worldwide collaborations, and long-term model partnerships, Rema’s legacy is shaping as much as be that of a visionary who didn’t simply be a part of the Afrobeats wave however helped push it into a brand new period.
