WHAT IT IS: Championed by Barack Obama, who included track “Iron Man” in his revered summer playlist this year, it’s clear that the waves Rema’s been making across Nigeria have begun to crash across the world. And it’s totally understandable; it’s hard to think of another West African artist who has demonstrated such sophistication and maturity at such a tender age. Rema’s new project, Bad Commando, showcases diverse musical influences—from Afro-pop to trap—and earned him comparisons to Afrobeat’s reigning king Wizkid and U.S. superstar Young Thug.
ALBUM: Bad Commando (EP)
RELEASE DATE: 10/4
SINGLE: “Spaceship Jocelyn”
LIVE: Winter 2019 U.S. club tour in the works; sold-out EU/U.K. club tour and U.K. Boiler Room Festival appearance
INTERNET: 50m+ global streams in last six months alone; 2019 YouTube Foundry Artist; more than one million followers across social media; four of the Top 10 most-streamed songs in Nigeria; Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist shared to an audience of 25m+
RADIO: Early global supporters include BBC Radio 1XTRA B-List, Beats 1 Breaking List
PRESS: Fader (“Rema is Nigerian pop’s golden child”), Pitchfork Song of the Day (“Any song on the Bad Commando EP could be his next hit…Bad Commando is why so many have crowned Rema as Nigeria’s next star”); Additional coverage from HybeBeast, OkayAfrica, Highsnobiety, Daily Beast
BOOKING: Rob Light/CAA
PUBLISHING: WC Music Corp.
MANAGEMENT: Rima Tahini/Mavin Records