Rema drops sophomore album HEIS

The project follows Rave & Roses, Rema’s debut album released in March 2022, which included his monster hit ‘Calm Down’.

Named after the Greek word for numeral one, HEIS is an ascendant landmark project that sees Rema fully settle into his hard-won title as the ‘Prince of Afrobeats’

The record comes after his rise to international prominence, largely due to the overwhelming success of the ‘Soundgasm’ single, his stand-out verse on the ‘Soweto’ remix and the ‘Calm Down’ remix featuring Selena Gomez.

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, bordering 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 globalisation. 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 eulogising 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.

Last year was an especially prolific year for the Benin State-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.

‘Calm Down’ achieved significant success on various Billboard charts, including reaching No 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also held the top position on the US Afrobeats Songs chart for an impressive 58 weeks. Additionally, the song performed well on several airplay charts, including Adult Pop Airplay (two weeks), Pop Airplay (five weeks), Rhythmic Airplay (four weeks), and World Digital Song Sales (32 weeks). It was also recognised with multiple prestigious awards, winning the title of best Afrobeats song at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, as well as best collaboration at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Furthermore, it received the award for best Afrobeats at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, among numerous other accolades.