Rema Biography and Net Worth (2026)

When Divine Ikubor signed to Jonzing World and Mavin Records at 18, people in Nigerian music knew he had something. What nobody predicted was that a song called “Calm Down” would become the biggest Afrobeats track of 2023, racking up over 900 million streams and reaching audiences far outside the Nigerian diaspora. Rema — born in Benin City, Edo State — became the face of a new generation of Afrobeats before he turned 24.

Rema grew up in Benin City, Edo State, in a family that had known significant hardship. His father died when he was a child, and his older brother passed away shortly before his music career launched. Those losses are a recurring undercurrent in his interviews and, at times, in his lyrics. He had been studying at the University of Benin when his breakthrough came, and he left campus without completing his degree to pursue music full time under Mavin’s Jonzing World imprint.

His debut self-titled EP (2019) produced the song Dumebi, which became an instant Pan-African hit, its chorus turning up on social media content from Lagos to Johannesburg to London within weeks of release. By 2026, Rema holds streaming records across multiple African markets and has performed at headline slots in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Quick facts

Early life

Divine Ikubor was born on 1 May 2000 in Benin City, the capital of Edo State in southern Nigeria. His father died when he was young, leaving his mother to raise the family. His older brother and close collaborator in his early musical experiments also passed away before Rema’s career had fully launched, a loss he has described in interviews as one of the defining emotional experiences of his life.

Rema began writing songs as a teenager, heavily influenced by international acts including XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, and Post Malone, as well as Nigerian Afrobeats and the traditional Benin music he grew up hearing at home. That international-local mix is audible in his vocal style, which blends Afropop melody with trap-influenced rhythm and delivery.

He started posting music on SoundCloud and social media as a teenager, building a following in Benin City and connecting with other young artists experimenting with Afro-fusion sounds. His early recordings, made on minimal equipment, circulated online and eventually reached the Jonzing World and Mavin Records networks, leading directly to his signing.

Signing and breakthrough

Rema signed to Jonzing World, a Mavin Records imprint, in early 2019 when he was 18 years old. His debut EP arrived in March 2019 and the lead single Dumebi became a Pan-African hit within weeks, generating millions of streams and turning up on social-media feeds across the continent and in diaspora communities in the UK and US. Apple Music featured the track prominently, accelerating its international reach.

US President Barack Obama included Dumebi on his 2019 summer playlist, a placement that gave Rema extraordinary global visibility at the start of his career. The exposure introduced him to audiences who had never engaged with Afrobeats before, and his streaming numbers in the US and Europe jumped significantly in the weeks following that playlist release.

Iron Man, released the same year, continued his momentum. The track’s blend of trap drums and Afropop melody demonstrated that Dumebi had not been a one-off, and industry observers began citing Rema as one of the most distinctive voices emerging from the new generation of Nigerian artists.

Rave and Roses and global reach

Rema’s debut studio album Rave and Roses arrived in March 2022 after a period of extended anticipation. The album housed the original version of Calm Down, a mid-tempo Afropop track that built a significant following on TikTok and streaming platforms through the second half of 2022. The song’s melody and its production, which drew on North African influences alongside West African Afropop, gave it a crossover quality that connected with listeners across multiple markets simultaneously.

In August 2022, a remix featuring Selena Gomez was released, and the track’s trajectory became remarkable even by Afrobeats standards. Calm Down (with Selena Gomez) peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, reached the top ten in Australia, Germany, and Canada, and earned certifications including platinum in the United States. The collaboration was one of the most commercially successful Afrobeats crossover moments of the decade to that point.

By 2023, Rema had headline slots at major international festivals, including appearances at Coachella and Rolling Loud, and his touring schedule extended to dates across Asia and the Middle East. The global footprint he built in a single album cycle placed him in the conversation with Burna Boy and Wizkid as Nigerian artists with genuine mainstream international reach.

Music style

Rema’s music draws on a wide palette that distinguishes him from many of his peers in Nigerian Afrobeats. He incorporates trap drum patterns, melodic rap, Afropop vocal harmonies, and influences from North African and Middle Eastern music, particularly in his use of certain scales and percussion textures. The result is a sound that is at the same time recognisably Nigerian and internationally accessible.

Lyrically, he writes about love, loss, ambition, and the emotional landscape of youth. His willingness to reference personal tragedy alongside celebration gives his music a depth that has resonated with audiences beyond Nigeria’s borders. He has spoken publicly about his influences spanning Nigerian pop, American trap, and Afrobeats, but consistently resisting easy genre categorisation.

Personal life

Rema has spoken openly about the deaths of his father and older brother as formative events in his life and career. He has credited both losses with giving him a sense of urgency in his work and a desire to succeed for his family. He remains close to his mother and has described her as one of his primary motivations.

He keeps his romantic life out of the public domain and has not confirmed any relationships to media. In interviews with Vogue, Rolling Stone, and various Nigerian outlets, he has described his focus at this stage of his career as being entirely on music and on building a body of work that lasts beyond a single era of pop.

Awards and recognition

Rema won the Headies Award for Best Pop Album for Rave and Roses and has been nominated for multiple BET Awards, including Best New International Act. At the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, Calm Down (with Selena Gomez) won Top Afrobeats Song, one of the first times that category had produced a song with certified platinum status in North America.

The Recording Industry Association of America certified Calm Down platinum in the US, and the track received certifications across the UK, Australia, Canada, and several European markets. Apple Music and Spotify both named Rema among their top global breakthrough artists for 2022 and 2023.

Net worth

Rema’s 2026 net worth is estimated at between $5 million and $8 million by multiple Nigerian and international entertainment finance sources. The figure reflects royalties from Rave and Roses and its associated singles, income from an international touring schedule that includes headline festival appearances, brand partnership deals, and streaming revenue from one of the most globally streamed Afrobeats catalogues of his generation.

His Mavin Records deal, structured under the Jonzing World imprint, means a portion of his revenue flows through label arrangements, but his individual streaming numbers and endorsement pipeline represent a substantial independent income stream. The Calm Down remix alone generated royalty income that multiple music industry analysts described as transformative for his overall financial position.

FAQ

What is Rema’s real name?

Rema’s full birth name is Divine Ikubor. He was born on 1 May 2000 in Benin City, Edo State, and grew up in a family that had experienced significant loss, including the early death of his father and his older brother before his music career launched.

How did Rema get signed to Mavin Records?

Rema was signed to Mavin Records’ Jonzing World imprint in early 2019 when he was 18, after his independently released music reached the label’s network through social media and SoundCloud. Don Jazzy, Mavin’s founder, was among those who championed the signing.

What made Calm Down so successful internationally?

The original version of Calm Down built a large organic following on TikTok and streaming platforms through 2022, and the August 2022 remix featuring Selena Gomez dramatically expanded its reach. The track peaked at number three in the UK and earned platinum certification in the US, one of the most commercially important crossover moments in Afrobeats history.

Which awards has Rema won?

Rema has won a Billboard Music Award for Top Afrobeats Song (for Calm Down with Selena Gomez), a Headies Award for Best Pop Album, and has received certifications and nominations from the BET Awards, Apple Music, and Spotify across multiple years.

What is Rema’s estimated net worth in 2026?

Multiple entertainment sources estimate Rema’s net worth at between $5 million and $8 million as of 2026, built from album royalties, touring income from international headline slots including festival appearances, streaming revenue from his globally certified catalogue, and brand partnership deals.

Sources

Information in this profile draws on reporting and data from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Vogue, BBC Music, The Guardian, Apple Music editorial, Headies Awards, BET Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and RIAA certification records.