Afrobeats star Rema has explained his decision to change his sound for his sophomore album, ‘HeIs.’
He noted that Afrobeats was becoming stale and he felt the need to “switch it up.”
Rema’s comments came as amapiano, a South African genre, gained significant influence in the Nigerian music industry.
In a recent interview with Apple Music, Rema emphasised the importance of preserving Afrobeats’ authenticity, warning that Nigerian artists risk losing their grip on the genre if they continue to dilute it.
He said: “Afrobeats was getting boring so I had to switch it up. They will keep applauding and we will be watering it down until some people start winning our Afrobeats awards.
“With the success that has come to Afrobeats, I feel like we are listening to the voices of the world too much, ignoring the voices back home.”
He urged his colleagues to reclaim ownership and protect afrobeats, warning that watering it down would allow others to claim it.
At his album listening party in London, Rema reiterated the need for Nigerian artists to take back control of their genre, saying, “We have to take our sh*t back, own it and protect it. The more we water it down, we make it easy for them to create it. Until some people start winning Afrobeats awards, we’ll then realize we’ve indirectly sold ourselves,” he stated.
Credit: The Nation
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