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Heis is not the direction many expected Rema to go for his second album, frankly because it’s such a sharp turn away from his debut Rave & Roses. The 2022 album was a massive success that brought Rema worldwide recognition and helped to place him at the pinnacle of modern-day afrobeats. It’s also home to “Calm Down,” the highest-charting afrobeats song in Billboard Hot 100 history.
These are the accomplishments that make the dramatic shift in sound that is Heis even more impressive. There’s no joy in playing it safe and with Heis, Rema proves that he has no interest in being conventional. An album like Heis is a risky move, as mixed reviews have proven it to be, but truthfully, it’s just the polarizing jolt that afrobeats needs.
While Rave & Roses is feel-good and bright, promoting good times and soundtracking what feels like a summer party, Heis is sinister, rebellious, and mischievous. It soundtracks all forms of chaos – from the exciting highs of a party to the stressful lows of a fight – to perfection. Think of the most thrilling scene from your favorite action movie; there’s a song on Heis that can replace it and capture the same energy.
Heis opens in an aggressive sprint with “March Am” as he emphatically chants “I dey march am” – a Nigerian Pidgin phrase that essentially means pressing forward and putting your foot on the gas. It closes with waning violin strums before steering into “Azaman,” a lavish account of riches and the pursuit of more. “Benin Boys” recruits fellow Nigerian artist Shallipopi for a tough-talking warning to enemies and a gritty reminder to the industry. “Ozeba,” an early fan-favorite from Heis, is an erratic and fast-paced declaration from Rema that promises to wreak havoc on the game on his way to the top. As one of one afrobeats’ top artists, this approach is necessary for the sake of keeping diversity and continued life in the genre.
What makes Heis so special is how deeply-rooted it is in the African sound and culture. Though the globalization of afrobeats has brought well-deserved attention to the genre, it has also led to its dilution as well. Rema spoke about this in a recent interview on Apple Music. “Everyone is chasing something that the whole world can enjoy,” he said. “I feel like with the success that has come, I feel like we’re listening to the voices of the world too much and we gotta listen to the voices back home to just keep our roots.” He continued, “This project is helping me bring back that essence, bring back that energy, and place a reminder not just for the fans, but for the creators.”
That reminder is necessary because the globalization of afrobeats happened without compromising for the sake of success. The genre in its purest form is good enough, exciting enough, and entertaining enough to reach opposite ends of the world. Afrobeats is at its best when the home continent, its culture, and its natural sounds are at the forefront of the creative process. This approach is also important as the genre becomes more and more of a mainstream entity. It’s up to the artists within afrobeats to preserve the authenticity of the genre as new listeners arrive to explore the sound and learn its values. The lessons learned will stick with these listeners, who may even become the new artists of the next generation. At the very least, a standard will be kept and upheld for any artist that enters the genre. It’s the preferable approach compared to others who said afrobeats has “no substance to it” because artists have “no real-life experiences” while promoting an album that diluted the afrobeats sound in favor of one that catered to the Western appetite.
Rema’s Heis is the talk of afrobeats right now, and it’s for all the best reasons. With “Benin Boys,” “Ozeba,” “Hehehe,” and other tracks leading the way, the intentionality that Rema put forth absolutely paid off. The hope is that other artists in the genre – from top artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Asake, Tems, and Ayra Starr to other emerging stars – take the baton from Rema to run off with his message and apply it to their own music. Asake seems to be doing this as he brought British rapper Central Cee to Nigeria for their “Wave” collaboration while Burna, Davido, and Wizkid can showcase this on their upcoming albums. The beauty of afrobeats must be preserved and it’s artists like Rema who will make sure that happens. The genre is perfect as is and so much success has been attained in its natural state. Heis, regardless of what it achieves in the world’s eyes in the short-term, should and will be remembered as one of the most important albums in afrobeats’ current era.
Heis is out now via Mavins Global Holdings Ltd/Jonzing World Entertainment/Interscope Records. Find out more information here.