American Star Ice Spice announces collaboration with Rema
Nigerian artistes are reaching impressive commercial heights that have seen them win multiple awards, sell out choice venues and collaborate with global stars. This is further affirmed with 2023 American hip-hop breakout sensation, Ice Spice, announcement of collaboration with Nigerian afrobeats megastar, Divine Ikubor, professionally known as Rema.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, October 11, Ice Spice revealed that she has a song with Rema, titled, Pretty Girl. The announcement has generated excitement among fans that are eager to hear what the collaboration between Ice and Rema, one of Nigeria’s biggest global music exports, would sound like.
Rema has enjoyed an incredible 2023 with his hit single, Calm Down, and the remix featuring Selena Gomez, released on August 26, 2022, achieving unprecedented global success. The song peaked at No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. Chart, and led the U.S. Afrobeats songs for a record-setting 52 weeks on the chart.
Calm Down has received certifications in multiple countries, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and many more. The single recently won the Best Afrobeats Song at the VMAs after fending off competition from stars such as, Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy.
Recall that the Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter gained initial recognition with the release of Dumebi in 2019. He was signed to D’Prince Jonzing World; a record label affiliated to Don Jazzy led Mavin Records, after which he released his debut Extended Play, titled, Rema. He followed with two more EPs – The Freestyle and Bad Commando.
On March 25, 2022, Rema released his debut album Rave & Roses, a 16-tracker with features from 6lack, Chris Brown, AJ Tracey, and Yseult. The album charted 10 songs on the US Billboard Afrobeats Chart following its debut week. His critically acclaimed single, Calm Down, including a sample from fellow Nigerian artiste Crayon’s track, So Fine, then began charting five months after its official release. It then became the most-viewed Afrobeats video on Youtube.
In February 2023, Rema received the ‘Digital Artiste of the Year’ award at the Soundcity MVP Awards held at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos. On April 28, 2023, he released Rave & Roses Ultra, a version of his debut album, Rave & Roses, containing an additional six tracks – Charm, Hov, Reason You, Holiday, Dunno Me, and Calm Down remix featuring Selena Gomez. It became the first African album to cross one billion streams on Spotify.
