The Afrobeats genre has lately been taking on more of a mellow and sensual vibe. However, Rema is bringing a thunderstorm-like jolt of energy into it with his sophomore album, HEIS. Overall, the "Calm Down" star has continuously been dubbing himself as the next face of his respective lane and he honestly may have a strong case with this project. This all killer and no filler 11-song tracklist rarely allows to take a moment to breathe. From the blistering pace of the opener, "MARCH AM", to probably "EGUNGUN", Rema will make the listener dance till they drop. Displaying this much energy on any album is challenge, but when the instrumentals are so diverse, it makes it even more difficult. Rema manages to pull it off and then some on HEIS. Show-stopping performances are plentiful even just on 27-minute listen.
Some of our favorites that we are revisiting include "EGUNGUN", "BENIN BOYS" with Shallipopi, "MARCH AM", and the title track. Themes on this project include boastfully repping his hometown of Benin City to reminding everyone of his artistic greatness. Perhaps, the reason why Rema was able to succeed perhaps more than ever before on HEIS was due to his changed mindset. According to Rolling Stone, wanted to focus more on what his fans across the globe would get down to, rather than what he deemed as sufficient. That might sound like a mistake to some, but the results would prove otherwise, Rema seemed like he had a blast making this. "We're not just making what the people at home would enjoy. We're also making what we hope the world would also enjoy. I got rid of that mentality getting in the studio, like, 'I'll start with what I love'".
HEIS- Rema
HEIS Tracklist:
- MARCH AM
- AZAMAN
- HEHEHE
- YAYO
- BENIN BOYS with Shallipopi
- HEIS
- OZEBA
- WAR MACHINE with ODUMODUBLVCK
- EGUNGUN
- VILLAIN
- NOW I KNOW
