Afrobeats artistes must not be driven by fans’ preferences

Nigerian Afrobeats star, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has said the genre will struggle to evolve if artistes focus solely on making music that appeals to fans.

Rema made the remarks during his concert over the weekend, where he explained that he creates music based on what he personally enjoys rather than simply following fans’ preferences.

The singer described himself as the “Prince of Afrobeats” and said he has a responsibility to help push the genre forward.

According to him, limiting Afrobeats artistes to sounds that fans already enjoy could hinder innovation and prevent the genre from expanding its creative boundaries.

“I don’t care what you say about me. I don’t care if you like what I like. But I make music that I like before you like it. If I stick to what you like, Afrobeats is not going to move forward. And I will say it one more time, I am the f**king Prince of Afrobeats,” he said.

Rema’s comment comes against the backdrop of recent social media protests over Afrobeats artistes infusing other sounds into their music and embracing other genres in a desperate bid to appeal to foreign audiences.