Nigerian artiste Johnny Drille has said that Rema, his colleague and record label mate, is not getting the recognition he deserves for his contributions to the Nigerian music industry and beyond.
During a recent interview with The Beat 99.9 FM in Lagos, Johnny Drille pointed to bias as the reason Nigerians may not fully appreciate Rema, despite his considerable musical achievements at such a young age.
He stated, “Not to be controversial or anything, but if Rema were some other big artiste in Nigeria, everyone would be shouting from the rooftops, saying, ‘Hey, this person is breaking new ground…’
“And Rema, for his age, has accomplished some truly incredible things that I don’t believe we give him enough credit for. I mean, he has one of the biggest songs not only in Africa but in the world with ‘Calm Down’, which has been on the Billboard Top 10 for nearly a year. This has never been done in the history of African music. He’s also having numerous sold-out shows all over the world.
“It just feels to me like he’s just getting started. We need to give the young man more credit.”
News About Nigeria reported that the ‘Calm Down’ singer slammed those who associate his sound with the Illuminati, stating that he works too hard to create art for people to do that.
The references to Satanism stemmed from the recent video teasers that the singer released in anticipation of his EP, scheduled to drop on Friday, October 27.
Rema’s silhouette was set against a red backdrop with wings, leading to widespread backlash from netizens who accused the singer of selling his soul to the devil.
In response to this backlash via his Instagram story on Wednesday evening, Rema said he has always been associated with bats since the start of his career.
He explained that the imagery is rooted in the key colours of his heritage and represents the creatures (bats) that fly in the evening in Benin City.
He also requested that Illuminati and Satanism references should be laid to rest, as he is too hardworking for his art to be associated with diabolical things.
