Rema has called on African artistes to fully harness ‘the utilities’ of Afrobeats for collective progress.
The 25-year-old Afrobeats sensation used his dominant platform at the 9th All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) on Sunday night to issue the compelling call to action.
During his acceptance speech at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, Rema, who was the biggest winner at this year’s AFRIMA, reinforced a message he first delivered at the Headies Awards in 2023, emphasising the critical need to protect Afrobeats platforms.
“Tonight, I am here most especially because as I said at the Headies Award, I always think it’s important to always support our utilities of Afrobeats. Our platforms. Especially platforms that would not divide or put down or split this unity that we have in the room,” he said.
Rema clinched three of the ceremony’s most prestigious awards: ‘Artiste of the Year,’ ‘Best Male Artiste in Western Africa,’ and ‘Best African Artiste in RnB and Soul.’
At the 2023 Headies, Rema urged Nigerian artistes to protect the “institutions” that propel them to international acclaim.
Delivering his inspiring speech at the award night, the singer stressed the importance of supporting the Nigerian music industry.
“I must say it is very important that I let everyone know that I am not here because of the award. I am here because it is important to support our institutions. When I say institutions, I mean you know the body that supports you to be able to have these major successes. The media houses, the awards,” he said.
“I feel like we are in a very sensitive period, that if we do not give attention to our institutions, with this chance that we have, if we miss this chance, we will never have this chance again.
“You can see, even in Lagos or in Nigeria, the fans do not even trust the artistes no more. They buy tickets no more. We own Afrobeats. Until this year, Afro Nation has been coming to Nigeria. Afro Nation has been doing Portugal. Afro Nation has been in Ghana. But that shows that our utilities. I mean, our institutions are failing slowly and slowly.
“And it will affect us big time. And that is the reason why I am here. Be it Afro rave, Afro this, Afro that, last last we go jam for Afrobeats award. This is our chance. We are not the first African giant that will make it big. Reggae has done its own. There is a reason why we are doing what we are doing right now. We are bigger. This is our chance to protect what we have.”
