Rema brilliantly fuses the past and the present in his new single ‘Bout U’

Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Rema releases his second single of the year, ‘Bout U’.  His first single, ‘Baby (Is It a Crime),’ remains the most streamed Nigerian song released in 2025, breaking the record for the second-biggest opening day ever for an African song.  Rema once again evokes the timeless nostalgia of retro RnB with ‘Bout U,’ tapping into the dulcet-layered harmonies and wistful guitar instrumentals popularized by Nigerian boy bands in the early 2000s. His time-travelling musical prowess is as apparent as ever on this record, once more creating a sound that effortlessly synthesizes the past and the present. Since his debut in 2019, Rema has charted a steady course to world domination. His highly decorated discography has spawned a crop of global hits, including the biggest Afrobeats song of all time ‘Calm Down,’ featuring Selena Gomez.  Before ‘Calm Down,’ there was his inaugural hit song ‘Dumebi,’ which earned him a spot on Barack Obama’s summer playlist. Come 2023, he will rise to become the highest charting Afrobeats artist in Billboard Hot 100 history, a Guinness World Record Holder, and the first African artist to have an album hit a billion streams on Spotify. In 2024, his sophomore album ‘HEIS’ earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album. 2025 has gotten off to a busy start for Rema, who leads the 17th Headies nominations list with 9 nods, including for Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.