It’s World Rema Day and the internet is going wild. After three years of dropping EPs and singles back to back, Rema has finally released his debut album, Rave & Roses to the world. For Love It/Hate It, we asked Nigerians what they think about the new album.
“If Rema’s mouth starts to pain him, he should know it’s my fault.”
— Sandra
Rema’s Rave & Roses is the first Nigerian album I’ve listened to top to bottom without skipping since Made in Lagos. This guy says, “Another banger,” and means it every damn time! The transition from Divine to Hold Me, the banger that is Are You There? and making me want to fall in love with Mara, everything is just… so fucking good. Rema is clear and no one is seeing his back.
“Everything is about sex. I was expecting something more.”
— Dike
Rave & Roses is alright and the songs are sweet, but why is everything just about sex from start to finish? I don’t have a problem with singing about sex and mundane stuff, but with a debut album, I was expecting more. Give me an experience. Make me feel something. Also, the songwriting on this album is very mid, but hey, “Afrobeats”.
“Rema has invented a new genre: Afroknacks and I’m here for it.”
— Moji
If you thought Rema turned bad when Soundgasm dropped, then trust me, you’ll need to drink anointing oil when you finish listening to Rave & Roses. This guy is unhinged and I love it. I don’t know why people were expecting something deep and profound. It’s Rema! My guy is out to just vibe and have a good time. By the way, this Dirty song is for the girls that like to get on top (a.k.a me). LOL.
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“It feels good to see a Nigerian artist make sick music like this.”
— Fidel
Not Rema out here dropping gems on this album. What? But you know where I draw the line? When he said, “Love is not a source of income.” I nearly spat out my water because who said it can’t be abeg. Love and income can go hand in hand, please. Rema, please allow me to hustle in peace. In all seriousness, this guy is incredibly gifted and it’s so dope to see a Nigerian artist make music like this. Sick!
“Rema was deep in his melodies’ bag, but this is not the life-changing album we were anticipating.”
— Laolu
I was really excited going into Rave & Roses because we’ve been waiting for it like for three years now. I’ll be honest, it’s not the life-changing music I hoped it’d be. In this album, Rema had moments where he was deep in his melodies bag, and Addicted — a 1980s pop synth-inspired track — is by far the most experimental and the track, and I’ll keep going back to it. But I wanted a little more.
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