Nigerian Afrobeats artist Rema is one of the most popular names in the lane. He has only been around since 2019 but he has had a meteoric rise to notoriety. Right now he sits at over 34 million monthly listeners on Spotify. You might have heard one of his songs on the radio recently. “Calm Down,” especially the version with pop star Selena Gomez has been one of the biggest hits of the year. It lands on the latest edition of his debut project, Rave & Roses Ultra. The undeniable grooves and melodies on the song have made it a global phenomenon. At the time of writing this, it sits at nearly 1.1 billion plays.
Another song you will hear his voice on is Ice Spice’s new track, “Pretty Girl.” It sees the femcee do a total 180° to fit Rema’s style. While many casual listeners most likely only know these two cuts because of the names attached to them, you might want to hear more of his material. He can flat-out make great listening experiences on his own.
Rema has a new EP out right now called RAVAGE. It is a nice easy listen to get you familiar with his style before hopping into his debut. There are only five tracks on it and it runs for 14 and a half minutes. The tracks to check out are “Trouble Maker” and “DND.” Trust us, you will be dancing all around the house.
What are your initial thoughts on this brand-new EP from Rema, RAVAGE? Which song is your favorite on this project? Is he the best artist in the Afrobeats genre? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around Rema, as well as all of the hottest project drops.
Ice Spice maintained her momentum during her first ever Saturday Night Live appearance. In her first performance of the night, Ice delivered a killer performance of her hit single, “In Ha Mood.” Later on, she performed her latest single “Pretty Girl” with Afro-fusion star Rema.
Upon her return, Ice was introduced by her friend and her “Karma” collaborator Taylor Swift. Ice and Rema then took to the stage, grooving to the beat of their song, as a kaleidoscopic spotlight displayed colorful patterns upon the pair. While the song was only just released this past Friday, the two displayed a clear musical chemistry as they were on stage.
Taylor Swift introducing Ice Spice for her performance of Pretty Girl with Rema on SNL pic.twitter.com/TwXZ70WrW4
Over the past few months, Ice has collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Swift, partnered with Dunkin’, and won the Best New Artist award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Now, she can add SNL to her resume. In an interview with The Guardian, Ice shared that she feels elated to watch her dreams manifest in real-time.
“I always felt like I could do anything I tried to do, but especially now it feels like anything is possible,” Ice said “Being at award shows, being on magazine covers, getting huge features – all those moments made me feel like: ‘Wow, we’re really doing it big.’”
Today Ice Spice releases the song for “Pretty Girl (with Rema)” on 10K Projects/Capitol. The rapper, singer, songwriter and overall It Girl is joined on the track by Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter Rema and produced by RiotUSA.
“Pretty Girl (with Rema)” comes days after the Bronx-born Ice Spice was announced as the season premiere musical guest on Saturday Night Live, which will air tonight(October 14), won Best Breakthrough Hip Hop Artist at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards and Best New Artist at the 2023 Video Music Awards, graced the cover of Variety magazine and LA Times, added “Deli” as her 3rd RIAA-Certified Gold single with (the other two are “Munch (Feelin’ You)” and “In Ha Mood.”“Boys a Liar Part 2” with Pink Pantheress is certified platinum). Another week in the life of 23-year-old Ice Spice.
It looks like a new era of Ice Spice is upon us. The New York rapper kicked off the year with her debut EP, Like…?, which spawned hits like “In Ha Mood,” “Princess Diana,” and “Deli,” the lattermost appearing on a deluxe edition of the EP. As Ice has been slaying the charts, fans are anxious for a full-length body of work. Could her debut album be on the way? Tonight (October 13), she has teamed up with Afro-fusion superstar Rema for a new song called “Pretty Girl.”
On the song, Ice finds herself captivated by a man. However, she lays down the law from the jump, letting him know that she’s the one calling the shots.
“I’m the one that got a lot of bands / Who you become, I know that dеpends ” raps Ice on her verse.
Rema delivers a charming chorus as he falls under the woman’s gravity.
“You are my real flex / Oya, gimme promise / You ain’t gonna bail on me,” he sings on the hook.
It looks like it’s about to be a big weekend for Ice Spice. On Saturday (October 14), she will kick off season 49 of Saturday Night Live as the musical guest. But before then, we will finally get some new music from the New York rapper. Last night, she took to Twitter to announce a new single, “Pretty Girl.”
Featured on “Pretty Girl” is afro-fusion hitmaker Rema, whose single “Calm Down,” and its accompanying remix with Selena Gomez, has shown to be a success in the realm of pop.
Earlier this year, Ice teamed up with Taylor Swift for a remix of “Karma” from Swift’s 10th studio album Midnights. She also worked with Nicki Minaj for their “Barbie World” collaboration from Barbie, as well as a remix to “Princess Diana” from Ice’s debut EP, Like…?.
Back in September, she partnered with Dunkin’ to create a sweet concoction called the Ice Spice Munchkins Drink — an iced coffee latte beverage blended with Dunkin’s Munchkin doughnut holes.
As the past year has been monumental for Ice, she revealed to Variety that she has no place to slow down anytime soon.
“The truth is, I’m everywhere,” Ice said. “I’m constantly moving, I’m always moving because people are starting to notice me a lot, and things get weird and creepy really quickly. But I mostly be staying in hotel rooms; that’s really where I live.”
As summer comes to an end, music fans everywhere have one question on their mind: What was the song of summer? In 2023, the song of summer can be defined using all sorts of criteria: What was popular on streaming apps? What went viral on TikTok? What was inescapable on the radio?
Today (September 5), Billboard dropped their Top Songs Of The Summer 2023 list, which factors in all of this data (specifically, chart data from June 10 to September 9).
At No. 10 is Gunna, who made a return to music this year after being released from jail on racketeering charges. His latest single, “F*kumean” has proven to be a hit, as his return has proven polarizing.
Occupying spots 9 and 8 are SZA, with her hit singles, “Kill Bill” and “Snooze,” respectively. Also taking two consecutive spots is Taylor Swift. At No. 7, Swift pops in with her remix of “Karma,” which features Ice Spice. At No. 6 is “Cruel Summer,” which was originally released in 2019 on Swift’s seventh studio album, Lover.
Lil Durk and J. Cole came in at No. 5, with their collaboration, “All My Life.”
“Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, which was released this past January, continues to be an anthem for the summertime. This one came in at No. 4. Rema‘s remix of “Calm Down,” which features Selena Gomez, earned the No. 3 spot.
This summer proved to be a country music summer, as Luke Combs‘ cover of Tracy Chapman‘s “Fast Car” made its way over to No. 2. And at the top spot is Morgan Wallen‘s “Last Night.”
Broccoli City Festival returned in 2023 with plays to take over a summer weekend, a change from its usual spring presence. The showcase, which was known to open its doors in May, opted to push things back to July this time around. Rumor has it that this change was done with the hopes of avoiding any rain delays that the spring season might have to offer. Unfortunately, Mother Nature proved to be the superior force as the weather played a role on both days of the festival this year.
This year’s showcase was headlined by Lil Uzi Vert, Jazmine Sullivan, and Brent Faiyaz, artists, who in recent years, have reached new heights in their careers. Behind them were slated performances from Asake, Rema, Chlöe, Coco Jones, Kodak Black, Mariah The Scientist, Ice Spice, City Girls, Keke Palmer, Saucy Santana, GloRilla, Lola Brooke, and more – and that was just the main stage. A smaller stage housed performances from Foggieraw, Ryan Trey, OG Bobby Billions, LaRussell, and others. Add in activations for some fun throughout the festival and food options throughout the outskirts of Washington D.C.’s RFK Stadium, and you have all the ingredients to put on a successful showcase.
So now that the weekend is over, let’s take a look back at the highs and lows of the 2023 Broccoli City Festival.
HIGH: Afrobeats
On the performance side of things, afrobeats was the winner at this year’s Broccoli City Festival. The genre was only presented by two artists for the weekend, Rema and Asake, but they put on a show to remember through their sets. On day one was Rema who arrived to perform highlights from his discography like “Holiday,” “Charm,” “Soundgasm,” “Dumebi,” “Bounce,” and of course, the record-breaking “Calm Down.” Rema was nothing short of charismatic and energetic on the Broccoli Stage as he consistently flashed a smile to the crowd while showing off his slick dance as his live band ripped through the instrumentals of his song. If you need to be convinced to go to a Rema show, his Broccoli City Festival set made a very convincing argument.
On day two, the afrobeats energy was brought forth by Asake who made interactions with the crowd a priority during his. He spent nearly half of his set by the front row barricade and in the open space that divided the VIP and general admission sections. There was even a point where he entered the general admission crowd from the back and worked his way to the front through them, which provided an up close and personal experience for his biggest fans. Asake pierced through beloved records like “Terminator,” “Sungba,” and “Joha,” before debuting records from his new album Work Of Art.
Rema and Asake went above and beyond to put on a show in their respective sets, and it’s for that reason that afrobeats gets the crown as the winner of this year’s Broccoli City Festival.
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LOW: Logistics
This year’s Broccoli City Festival had some logistical flaws throughout the weekend that affected the overall experience of the weekend. First, fans who had to pick up their wristbands through will call at the festival were subjected to a wait that lasted over an hour in many cases. Broccoli City officials did apologize for the wait and promised changes for day two. Things at the entry point did seem to run smoother on day two, but then again, most attendees already had their wristbands by that point.
Some other issues included an insufficient amount of water cooling and fan stations throughout the festivals. Both days experienced temperatures into the 90s, but the cooling and fan stations were few in number. Though, the main stage security team made sure to supply water to the crowd which hopefully helped a bit.
HIGH: Day Two
Day two of Broccoli City Festival was by far the best day of this year’s showcase. The performers were on point from start to finish. There was the previously-mentioned stellar performance from Asake and there was Coco Jones who earned herself a viral moment by performing “Rain On Me” as raindrops poured from the sky. Kodak Black and GloRilla satisfied hip-hop lovers with their performances and OG Bobby Billions and Ryan Trey impressed with their sets at the smaller City Stage. Things moved smoother on a logistical end as fans were able to get into the festival without issue, and unlike day two, the weather cooperated to allow for the festival to go through from start to finish without interruption. As the saying goes, it’s not how you start but how you finish.
LOW: Heat & Humidity
This isn’t much to blame on Broccoli City Festival itself, but my goodness the heat and humidity was serious on both days of the festival. A towel at least was needed, but attendees who brought personal fans (especially the ones with water mist), were in the best position to defend themselves. The sun relentlessly beaming above us and the humidity standing beside made it a bit difficult to enjoy what the festival had to offer. Frequent water breaks were needed as were any and all things to stay cool and hydrated. The plus side here was with the festival getting underway at 2 p.m. each day, a bit later than other festivals, there were fewer hours of peak sunlight to endure before the sun, along with the heat and humidity, made its way out of our presence for the day.
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HIGH: Brent Faiyaz, The Hometown Hero
I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with Brent Faiyaz’s set to close the festival weekend. The singer, who along with Broccoli City calls the DMV home, stepped out to use the weekend showcase as the kickoff moment for his F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland Tour. For the most part, Brent stuck to records from F*ck The World and Wasteland, though he did reach back into his discography for older and more one-off releases. From start to finish, Brent’s vocals were fully present for his performance and they were rarely drowned out by a backing track. He also opted for a live band that only amplified the experience that had its tone and mood set by onstage visuals that fit perfectly with the theme of Wasteland. Brent didn’t keep this moment to himself either, he made sure to share the stage with fellow DMV artists Joony and Tre’Armani as they joined him for performances of “FYTB” and “Addictions.” If Broccoli City was a dress rehearsal for Brent’s F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland Tour, then I suggest you do what you can to get tickets.
LOW: Small Stage
The main action at Broccoli City Festival year took place at the Broccoli Stage. All the big names brought their best through performances there, but there were still a number of acts worth paying attention to at the City Stage, the festival’s smaller stage. Foggieraw was there to perform his beloved track “Pslam 62” while Ryan Trey performed fan favorites and even brought out Mariah The Scientist! Other names like OG Bobby Billions delivered solid sets as TiaCorine and Lola Brooke also highlighted performances at this stage. With all that being said, the City Stage could have had a better set up for these performances. It wasn’t the most inviting display, which would’ve been a nice quality to reel in fans to discover a new artist. The canopy that sat over the stage and audience space was certainly clutch for the rain, but more could’ve been added to the experience to make it more presentable.
Final Thought:
Broccoli City Festival was a hectic weekend, but in the end, it was a satisfying showcase. Strong performances from Asake, Rema, Ice Spice, Brent Faiyaz, Chloe Bailey, Coco Jones, and others made it all worthwhile — especially when the dastardly sun set for the day or was at least covered by clouds. Some improvements are definitely in store for the next edition of the festival, but the highs and lows of Broccoli City shouldn’t deter you from checking out their next showcase, especially if the necessary changes are made.
Afro Nation revealed the full schedule on Wednesday, May 24.
Burna Boy’s headlining set on Saturday, May 27, is scheduled from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on the Main Stage. He’ll be preceded by Asake (9:30-10 p.m.), also on the Main Stage, while Uncle Waffles is scheduled to perform on the Piano People Stage from 9-10:30 p.m. Other acts slated for Saturday include Mavado (8:30-9 p.m.), Dadju (7:45-8:15 p.m.), and CKay (7-7:30 p.m.).
On Sunday, May 28, Wizkid will take on the Main Stage from 10:30-11:30 p.m. after the likes of Rema (9:15-10 p.m.), Fireboy DML (8:15-8:45 p.m.), and Beenie Man (7:15-7:45 p.m.). The Piano People Stage will be occupied on Sunday by Major League Djz (9:30-10:30 p.m.), Kamo Mphela (9-9:30 p.m.), TXC (8-9 p.m.), DBN Gogo (7-8 p.m.), Kelvin Momo (6-7 p.m.), and DJ Walgee (5-6 p.m.).
See the full Afro Nation schedule and the site map below, and find more information about the festival here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
One of the earliest moments in afrobeats 2022 impressive year came when Rema released his debut album Rave & Roses. The project was initially highlighted by the 2021 hit song “Soundgasm,” but more than a year later, “Calm Down” has proven to be the undeniable smash from the album. Following a remix with Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making him the first Nigerian artist to earn a top 5 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Rema celebrated the overall success of Rave & Roses with a deluxe reissue, titled Rave & Roses (Ultra), that added four more songs to the album. One of those is “Charm” which now has a new video attached to it.
Rema’s new video for “Charm” puts his lady’s man persona on display for the slick-talking record. The singer shows off his dance moves and whisks a woman into his arms all while singing about the charm and other qualities he brings to a woman and how it makes it hard for her to leave him.
“Charm” joins “Holiday” as another fan-favorite from the Rave & Roses (Ultra) project. The latter record was one of two songs from Rema used for an engaging performance on The Tonight Show.
You can watch the video for “Charm” above.
Rave & Roses (Ultra) is out now via Mavins World/Jonzing World. Find more information here.
For many, their first experience with Nigerian afrobeats singer Victony, born Anthony Ebuka Victor, came with the growing hit song “Soweto.” As of today, that record has three versions: the original, a remix with Don Toliver and Rema, and a remix with Omah Lay, which altogether, speak to the song sweeping virality thanks to trends on TikTok and more. However, for others, especially those entrenched in the afrobeats space, Victony is a name they’ve seen and heard for a couple of years.
His second EP Outlaw, where “Soweto” is housed, was released last summer following celebrated collaborations with Burna Boy (“Different Size”) and Mayorkun (“Holy Father”). These records aren’t pedestrian releases either, no, they found extended life and were undeniably popular with fans of the genre and even to those who weren’t its most loyal followers.
This is one of my favorite aspects of today’s afrobeats space. Especially over the last half-decade, the genre has been seen in more of a mainstream light than ever. Records have been graced with the “song of the summer” title, claimed high positions on the Billboard singles chart, reached gold and platinum status, and been present on award-winning projects. In short, afrobeats is hot right now.
The same could be said for Victony. In a matter of just over 12 months, Victony found himself as a worthy member of afrobeats’ new class of rising stars. What makes it more impressive is prior to 2020, Victony had no desire to be a singer.
“All I wanted to do was rap,” Victony, who is just 22 years old, says over a Zoom call. “In my teenage years, I started listening to Drake and Kendrick Lamar, a lot of rap stuff just trying to imitate what they were doing.” Victony just like many other musicians at this time, made use of the pandemic as an opportunity to explore this sound and try new things. “I tried out the singing thing and seeing it blow up was pretty interesting,” he says. “It gave me the confidence to keep on exploring and do stuff without limit.”
The result of that was his 2020 debut EP Saturn, a six-track release with a lone feature from Falz on the highlight track “Maria.” “The reception was amazing, the people liked it,” Victony recalls of this project’s release. “I decided to do more singing. That gave me the confidence to work in the afrobeats space and find comfortable ground and just build on that.”
That desire to continue his foray into afrobeats was almost cut short thanks to a tragic accident that left him in a wheelchair for months. Though Victony survived the crash, his close friend Doyin was killed as a result of it. It proved to be an extremely dark time for the singer, and he credits his supporters, from his family to his friends to his fans, for aiding his recovery.
“They reached out, and that just kept me going,” he recalls. “My family, friends, and fans being around to encourage me, just knowing I have people gave me the strength to overcome [those] dark times.”
It didn’t take long for Victony to reach a higher status and become more recognizable in afrobeats. “Holy Father” with Mayorkun arrived the year after Saturn, and in 2022, he teamed with afrobeats heavyweight Burna Boy for “Different Size.” Both records did wonders for Victony, and in the singer’s opinion, these opportunities came as a result of his most unique assets: his striking voice and crafty pen.
“My voice, I feel, is really unique,” he says. “That’s one thing that was really striking on the ‘Holy Father’ song. Once it comes on, you’re like, ‘Who’s this?’” As for his pen, Victony believes its sharpness is what helped him land a feature on “Different Size.” “The way I craft my words together is pretty unique,” he notes. “It’s really refreshing to hear to on a song like ‘Different Size.’ I feel like that’s what made Burna reach out to me.”
The success of “Holy Father” and “Different Size” bookend the release of Victony’s sophomore project, Outlaw. Its seven songs make for a much more refined body of work compared to Saturn. “What I wanted to achieve with the Outlaw EP is to show people that I’d finally gotten really comfortable with the genre and found my space and my unique sound,” he says.
May it be the sweet-talking and love-swept “Chop & Slide,” or the high-spirited “Jolene,” or the amapiano-leaning “Apollo,” Outlaw presented the very best of Victony. These undeniably strong records, though they support and reaffirm Victony’s talents, they did sit behind the success of “Soweto,” the penultimate and breakout track on Outlaw.
More than six months after the song’s release, “Soweto” was an undeniable viral hit thanks to the powers of social media. The song was due for a remix and Victony had plenty of candidates that were suitable for it. The first remix was initially supposed to feature Nigerian singers CKay and Omah Lay. However, Victony was able to put together a version with Rema, a Nigerian singer who is a growing star in his own right, and Don Toliver, an addition that would give “Soweto” more appeal in the States.
Still, Victony had a plan for the previous remix that he has somewhat been able to put into action. “We had all verses in and I thought we might release everything at different points just to give the song some sort of longevity,” he reveals. Though the verses have been teased in some manner, Victony does believe that the remixes will all see the light of day soon. “A lot of people really like Omah Lay’s verse on TikTok and Twitter,” he says. “On all my socials, people hit me daily telling me that I need to put it out. If they still want it, yeah definitely, I’ll release it.” True to his word, Victony would release Omah Lay’s remix of “Soweto” days after our interview.
One record that may see the light of day is the version of “Chop & Slide” with Burna Boy. A preview of that record made its way online which somewhat ruined the plans Victony had for it. “People weren’t supposed to know that Burna was on the song,” he admits. “That kind of put me in a very tight position. I can’t really guarantee what plans we have for the ‘Chop & Slide’ remix, but we’re definitely on it. Everybody wants Burna Boy on the song right now.”
It’s been just over two years since Victony took on the afrobeats world, and in that time he’s achieved great success, worked with top talent, and pushed his name to the masses. The limits Victony once hoped to break through are miles behind him and his newfound space in afrobeats is vast enough to continue his current operation without interruption while also giving him the room to try new things and achieve new goals, something he hopes to accomplish on his third project.
“This year, what I want to do is come in and solidify my identity, I really want to do that,” he says. “Over time, we’ve been working on some really unique stuff that will be new to the game and it’s gonna solidify the Victony name and establish a stronger presence.” There’s strength in numbers and Victony continues to prove that with each record and each accolade, but most importantly, there’s strength in having no limits towards what can be accomplished. Victony is proving that now with “Soweto” and it’s only a matter of time until he does it again with a future release.
