The late afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and American rapper Kanye West were cited by Rema as influences.
Rema, in an interview with Hip TV, also mentioned that he draws inspiration from Nigerian Afrobeats Grammy winners Wizkid and Burna Boy.
The 23-year-old award-winning musician claims that Kanye West’s creativity, Wizkid’s lifestyle, and Burna Boy’s life story have influenced him.
He said;
“I’m inspired by Burna [Boy] because of his story. Fela [Kuti] inspires me. Kanye West [inspires me] because of how far he goes in terms of his creativity, production. I really like Wiz [kid] because of how he carries himself.”
A while back, Rema stated that at award ceremonies, all Afrobeats artists will be grouped together, regardless of what genre Nigerian musicians label their musical genres.
Thee “Bounce” singer stated this in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday as he accepted the 2023 Headies Award for Best Male Artist of the Year.
His comment comes on the heels of Burna Boy dissociating himself from the afrobeats tag on the grounds that it “lacks substance” in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. ICYMI, read here
Rema said,
“I must say it is very important that I should let everyone know that I’m not here because of the awards. I’m here because it is important to support our institutions. And when I said institutions, I mean the bodies that support you to be able to achieve these major successes; the media houses, award organisers, you know.
“\We are in a very sensitive period if we don’t give our attention to our institutions, we will miss this chance that we have. And we will never have this chance again.
Be it afrorave, afro this, afro that, last last, we go jam for afrobeats award. So, this is our chance. We [afrobeats artists] are not the first to do it. Reggae has done it before.”
