By Oyinkansayo Wole-Bodunde.
Rema, a Nigerian artist, recently spoke out against online rumors claiming he worships the devil. These allegations likely started from his visually striking music videos and performance aesthetics.
In an interview on the “Kids Take Over” podcast, Rema dismissed these claims, calling them “the craziest thing” he’s seen about himself.
“The craziest thing I’ve seen online about me is that I worship the devil; they say I worship the devil,” Rema said. “It’s not important to respond to those claims; I feel like it’s a waste of time.”
According to Rema, his artistic choices, including the prominent use of red in his “rabbid phase,” have been misinterpreted.
“Sometimes it’s just really the colors my team and I use to dominate an image. The rabbid phase was about red and people were just scared about red and I’m like, ‘Yo, it’s red.’ If you see a beautiful lady in a red dress, you won’t call her the devil, so why are you calling me the devil?”
Rema also discussed how his Edo culture influences his music visuals, expressing frustration at how some people label his culture as “devilish” due to a lack of understanding.
“Another thing is that my culture, the Edo culture, is not one that the world has been familiar with. It has not had a lot of ambassadors and is not one of the popular traditions in the diaspora. A lot of people are familiar with other cultures and if they don’t understand it, they label it devilish.”
Rema emphasized that he doesn’t bother addressing these claims, stating the ease of researching his culture.
“It’s literally one Google search away and they want me to explain it and that’s a waste of time,” he explained.
As the Ozeba singer, Rema refuses to explain his artistic direction to those who misunderstand.
“So will I do the music, videos, and creative direction and still come and explain it to y’all? Hell no! That’s why it’s art, you see it and make a meaning for yourself. I feel like it’s the same thing with music and imagery, it will speak to you how it needs to and if you call it the devil, bless,” Rema concluded.
