YouTube adds Nigeria’s Rema to Foundry programme

Rema, whose real name is Divine Ikubor, has been impressing fans with his unique take on Naija hip hop and Afrobeats. His music has received millions of views on YouTube in just a short span of time.

The Foundry class also includes South Korean pop-rocker Sam Kim, Norwegian bedroom pop singer-songwriter Girl in Red, Bay Area alt-reggaeton sensation La Doña, rap and pop producer Kenny Beats, London folk-rocker and shoegazer Beabadoobee, Compton-raised house musician Channel Tres, country songwriter and solo act HARDY, Oakland rapper Guapdad 4000, Parisian rapper Lean Chihiro, East England’s Alfie Templeman, hip hop experimentalist JPEGMAFIA, Japanese artist Sanari and Atlanta R&B singer Baby Rose.

YouTube Foundry is a programme that aims to develop independent artists at the early stages of their careers by giving them financial development support as well as marketing and promotion. Artists partner with YouTube to experiment with content formats and learn best practices for growing and engaging their audience.

Previous Foundry alumni include breakout stars such as English singer Dua Lipa, who currently has more than 11 million subscribers on YouTube.

YouTube also offers support in the form of its Artist Spotlight Stories, as well as social and fan events at YouTube Spaces for acts on its Artist on the Rise programme, which was recently expanded to include a video series produced in exclusive partnership with Genius.

Foundry’s previous class of artists are Port-au-Prince DJ and producer Michael Brun, midwestern psych-soul guitarist Omar Apollo, Dublin rapper Kojaqueas, Rosalía, Mercury Prize winner Dave, Gunna and Cuco. The artists all joined the Foundry at significant and transformative moments in their careers.