- Afrobeats Star Rema, Barcelona’s Yamal Named to 2025 TIME100 Next List
- Also graced global stages, including a performance at the Ballon d’Or ceremony
- His biggest breakthrough came in 2022 with Calm Down and its remix featuring Selena
Nigerian Afrobeats sensation Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has been named among the 2025 TIME100 Next list, alongside Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal and other global rising stars.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the annual list, released on Tuesday, spotlights influential figures shaping the future across music, sports, innovation, film, politics, and philanthropy.
Nigeria was well represented, with Rema joined by British-Nigerian actor and entrepreneur Damson Idris, as well as Nigerian-American visual artist Toyin Odutola.
Rema’s profile was penned by Grammy-winning singer Angélique Kidjo, who praised his impact on the global music stage.
“With the recent global explosion of African music, I needed to include some contemporary sounds. I fell in love with Rema’s ‘Calm Down,’” Kidjo wrote. “It is rooted in Africa, catchy and virtuosic.
The young Nigerian superstar has achieved so much ‘Calm Down’ has joined the billion-streams club twice, his album earned a Grammy nomination, and he is now the embodiment of Afrobeats’ global success.”
Rema first rose to fame after posting a viral freestyle to D’Prince’s “Gucci Gang” on Instagram, which secured him a deal with Jonzing World, under Mavin Records. His breakout single, Dumebi, in 2019 laid the foundation for a career that soon went international.
His biggest breakthrough came in 2022 with Calm Down and its remix featuring Selena Gomez, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and set a record with 58 weeks atop the Billboard Afrobeats chart.
The singer’s accolades include the MTV VMA for Best Afrobeats, a Billboard Music Award, and a milestone of one billion streams worldwide. He has also graced global stages, including a performance at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.
Other honorees on the 2025 list include Becky G, Tate McRae, Jonathan Bailey, Lee Kang-in, Lando Norris, Nouran Gohar, Rachel Zegler, and Palestinian surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah.
