Best New Music: Rema solidifies his dominant run with new single “Woman”
Yet another banger from Rema!
We’re firm believers that good things come in threes; there are powerful trios such as The Holy Trinity, Monster Boyz, Destiny’s Child, Plantashun Boiz, The Powerpuff Girls, and most recently, Rema’s trio of hits “Ginger Me”, “Alien” and “Woman”. Mavin’s golden boy, Rema may not be superstitious but he is definitely aware of and respects the undeniable power of three.
Last year, he released three EP’s within the space of a few months, each neatly packed with enough songs to introduce his genre-mashing qualities and formidable wordplay. Rema’s calculated decision to roll out three projects at regular intervals is just another marker of his pull on the game so early on in his career, as each release capitalised on the already growing hype for the 21-year old artist.
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In the spirit of consistency, Rema has now served us another three-for-three this year. Three weeks ago, he released the groovy romantic cut “Ginger Me”, which was quickly followed by the emo-trap number “Alien”. Before we had a moment to take in those two, he hit back again with “Woman”, solidifying his star-quality and landing him a musical hat-trick of some sort.
Rema has got to the point he is now without one definitive sound and this is unusual for an artist of his calibre in these parts. The way he glides so comfortably over Amapiano-inspired beat shows that he’s essentially writing is own rules, and truly redefining what Afropop means by drawing inspiration from the streets of Atlanta all the way to South Africa.
Over the groovy, drum-led beat by Ozedikuz and Altims, Rema sings about his love for all women, regardless of the way they look. He has beautiful women all over the Internet interested in him and admits how he’s enjoying the attention too much to commit to a relationship. While rumours surrounding his dating life are debated every other week on the timeline, Rema is sending a clear message with “Woman” that he’s still young with no plans to be tied down as he’s just having fun.
‘I too like woman/me I no dey gboran’ he sings, throwing in an eclectic mix of pidgin, Yoruba and his now-signature gibberish as he showers women all over the world with his love and admiration. He makes a case for the validity of poly-relationships, a type of romantic love that many in these parts may not be used to because we’ve mostly had the idea of monogamy shoved down our throats for our whole lives.
His lyrics, which he delivers with slick-tongued enthusiasm, are some of his raunchiest yet, and he details his sexual attraction for these women. Interestingly, rather than assume his attraction to them means he’s entitled to a woman’s body or time, he uses the song as an opportunity to remind people about the importance of consent. ‘If they no do, no be by force/plenty wey dey wey go concur’ he sings, offering some light-hearted advice about the importance of respecting a woman’s autonomy, and we really have no choice but to stan a respectful king.
While we’re not able to hit the clubs and dance to this catchy number, “Woman” is still the perfect song to vibe to indoors. Whether you can relate to his message or not, it’s upbeat and catchy, and that’s exactly what we all need right now. The last time we got this many releases from Rema, it resulted in new projects, and we’re now wondering whether he’s priming us for a new project. We’re ready either way.
Stream “Woman” below.
Featured image credits/TSE
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