REMA- “WHY I SWITCHED FROM AFROBEATS”
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Afrobeats star Rema has explained his decision to change his sound for his sophomore album, ‘HeIs.’
He felt the urge to “switch it up” since he thought that Afrobeats was getting old.
Rema made these remarks at a time when the South African genre known as “amapiano” was beginning to have a big impact on the Nigerian music scene.
Rema underlined the need of maintaining the identity of Afrobeats in a recent interview with Apple Music, cautioning Nigerian musicians that if they continue to dilute the genre, they risk losing their hold on it.
He said: “Afrobeats was getting boring so I had to switch it up. They will keep applauding and we will be watering it down until some people start winning our Afrobeats awards.
“With the success that has come to Afrobeats, I feel like we are listening to the voices of the world too much, ignoring the voices back home.”
He urged his colleagues to reclaim ownership and protect afrobeats, warning that watering it down would allow others to claim it.
Rema emphasised the necessity for Nigerian musicians to reclaim control of their genre during his record listening party in London, saying, “We have to take our sh*t back, own it, and protect it.” The more we dilute it, the easier it is for them to produce. We won’t realise we’ve undermined ourselves until other people start taking home Afrobeats prizes,” he said.
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