Rema’s Biography: Music, Net Worth, Scandals & How Much He Charges

Culture Nov 17, 2025 0 3 Add to Reading List

Divine Ikubor, known professionally as Rema, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, and songwriter whose meteoric rise since 2019 has made him one of Afrobeats’ brightest global stars.

While he is most widely known for his Afrobeats and pop music, he began his career as a gospel rapper and still incorporates rap into his sound, which also includes genres like pop rap and afro-rave. His blend of Afrobeat, Afrorave, trap, and pop has earned him major streaming success, international tours, significant brand partnerships, and a rapidly growing fortune.

Profile Summary

Full Name

Divine Ikubor

Stage Name

Rema

Date of Birth

1 May 2000

Place of Birth

Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Origin

Igbanke, Orhionmwon LGA, Edo State

Genres

Afrobeats, Afrorave, trap, pop, hip hop

Years Active

2019–present

Labels

Jonzing World, Mavin Records, Interscope

Early Life and Education

Divine Ikubor was born on May 1, 2000, in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, into a Christian family. He is from Igbanke in Orhionmwon LGA of Edo State. Rema was born to Mrs. Ikubor (his mother) and Justice Ikubor (his father), who died in 2008. Rema's elder brother also died seven years later

Life was hard after his father died, and the family moved to Ghana for a year. Being the only boy, he had to feed his family. In interviews, Rema revealed that he "sold his childhood” to provide for his family after his father died. He even worked jobs in Ghana (e.g., doing beach work) to raise money for his family.

Rema attended Ighile Group of Schools in Benin City for his primary and secondary education. It was during those years that he discovered his passion for music and began to rap in his church’s youth group. He later gained admission to the University of Lagos to study Creative Arts, reportedly in part to fulfill his mother’s wishes. However, he left in 2023 due to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

Reflecting on his losses, Rema has spoken about how the deaths of his father and brother forced him to “man up” and become a provider. On social media, he has also criticized the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria, alleging some involvement or wrongdoing related to his father’s death.

Musical Career

His Early Beginning (2019)

Music became his refuge during the hard times. He downloaded beats on a church-gifted smartphone at 14, practicing freestyles that blended his church choir roots with influences from Michael Jackson, 2Face Idibia, and Drake.

In 2013, Rema won Season 2 of Pikolo’s Dream Alive talent show in Benin City, signing briefly with Peak Entertainment and releasing “Mercy,” though it gained little traction. His big break came in 2019 when his freestyle over D’Prince’s Gucci Gang went viral on Instagram.

Impressed, D’Prince signed him to Jonzing World, a Mavin Records imprint. He released his debut EP – Rema (2019), which included hits like Dumebi and Iron Man. Dumebi became a sleeper hit in Nigeria.

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Breakthrough and Growth

His debut EP, Rema, dropped in March 2019, topping Apple Music Nigeria with hits like “Dumebi” (over 84 million YouTube views) and “Iron Man,” the latter landing on Barack Obama’s 2019 summer playlist.

In 2021, he coined his sound “Afrorave,” fusing Afrobeats with Arabian and Indian influences, a term first used by Toya Delazy but adapted by Rema to define his genre-blending style.

In 2022, Rema released his first full-length album, Rave & Roses. His single Calm Down, and particularly the remix with Selena Gomez, significantly boosted his global profile. The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and led the US Afrobeats Songs chart for a record 58 weeks until October 2023.

In July 2024, Rema released his second studio album, HEIS, under Mavin, Jonzing, and Interscope. HEIS earned a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album.

Records, Awards & Achievements

Headies: Next Rated Artist, 2019.
MTV VMA: Best Afrobeats Video for “Calm Down” remix.
Billboard Music Awards: Top Afrobeats Song.
HEIS won Album of the Year at the Trace Awards & Festival 2025.
Over 1 billion streams on “Calm Down” across platforms.
Rave & Roses Ultra became the first African album to surpass 2 billion Spotify streams.

What Is Rema's Net worth?

Rema’s net worth in 2025 is estimated quite differently depending on the source, and this reflects both the uncertainty and the rapid growth in his income streams. Taking these different estimates into account, a reasonable net worth range for Rema in 2025 would be around $10 million to $22 million, which translates to approximately ₦15 billion to ₦33 billion.

Career Earnings Summary

Rema’s earnings between 2019 and 2025 come from a combination of streaming royalties, global touring, festival runs, and high-profile performance bookings. Streaming remains the largest pillar of his income. With more than 5.2 billion lifetime streams across Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Boomplay, his catalog has generated significant digital revenue.

Spotify alone pays an average of $0.003–$0.005 per stream, and applying the midpoint rate of $0.004 places his Spotify earnings at about $20.8 million gross. After standard label splits, which often leave artists with 30–40%, Rema’s direct share is estimated at around $7.28 million from Spotify.