Rema – Rave & Roses: Tracklist, Release Date, Review & Story
Rema – Rave & Roses: The Album That Took Afrorave to the World
After releasing three EPs in 2019 and following them with Rema Compilation in 2020, Rema had already established himself as one of Nigeria’s most exciting young artists.
But the next step was much bigger.
On March 25, 2022, Rema released Rave & Roses, his debut studio album through Mavin Records and Jonzing World. The 16-track album runs for approximately 59 minutes and features collaborations with artists including 6LACK, Chris Brown, AJ Tracey, and Yseult.
The album represented a major evolution for Rema.
The teenager who first arrived with songs such as “Dumebi” and “Iron Man” had grown into an artist with a much clearer vision of his sound, his identity and his international ambitions.
Rave & Roses was where Rema began turning that vision into a complete musical world.
Rema – Rave & Roses Tracklist
The original album contains 16 songs:
- Divine
- Hold Me feat. 6LACK
- Dirty
- Calm Down
- Soundgasm
- Time N Affection feat. Chris Brown
- Jo
- Mara
- Love
- Addicted
- Are You There?
- FYN feat. AJ Tracey
- Oroma Baby
- Carry
- Wine feat. Yseult
- Runaway
The album moves through Afrobeats, R&B, pop, electronic music, trap and other international influences without settling into one particular formula.
That genre-fluid approach became one of the album’s defining characteristics.
“Divine” — The Beginning
The album begins with “Divine,” one of its most personal records.
The title is significant because Rema’s real name is Divine Ikubor, and the song looks back at his birth and the circumstances surrounding his arrival into the world.
Rema explained that the song was inspired by the difficulties his mother experienced during pregnancy and childbirth, making the opening track much more than a simple introduction.
It is essentially Rema telling listeners where he came from.
The decision to begin the album this way gives Rave & Roses a personal foundation before the project moves into its themes of love, desire, ambition and fame.
“Hold Me” feat. 6LACK
The second track, “Hold Me,” features American singer 6LACK.
The record moves deeper into the romantic side of the album, combining Rema’s melodic vocals with 6LACK’s atmospheric delivery.
It is one of the first clear examples of how Rave & Roses expands Rema’s sound beyond the Afropop foundation of his earlier releases.
The production is darker and more spacious, allowing both artists to create a smooth R&B-influenced atmosphere.
The collaboration also reflects Rema’s growing international network.
By this point, he was no longer operating only within the Nigerian music scene.
“Dirty”
“Dirty” continues the album’s romantic theme.
Rema described the song as being about good love and the special moments shared between two people. He also connected the record to the emotional and sensual progression established earlier in the album.
The production combines smooth melodies with a rhythmic foundation, giving Rema space to explore intimacy without abandoning the Afropop elements that helped establish his identity.
It is one of the songs that demonstrates why Rave & Roses feels more like a musical journey than a collection of unrelated singles.
“Calm Down”
Then comes the song that would eventually change the scale of Rema’s career.
“Calm Down” became the biggest global record associated with Rave & Roses.
Rema explained that the song came from a studio session where he was surrounded by members of the Mavin Academy and producer Andre Vibez. He later drew inspiration from an experience involving meeting a girl at a party and trying to get her attention.
The original version was released as part of Rema’s album campaign.
Its enormous international success would come later through the Selena Gomez remix, which transformed “Calm Down” into a worldwide pop phenomenon.
Looking back, the song represents one of the most important moments in Rema’s entire career.
“Soundgasm”
“Soundgasm” was already familiar to fans before the album arrived.
The song was released as a single in 2021 and became one of the records that introduced listeners to the sound Rema was developing for Rave & Roses.
Rema said he created the song on Valentine’s Day in 2021 while working with producer London.
Its smooth, sensual production and melodic performance became an important part of Rema’s transition into a more mature sound.
The record feels considerably more sophisticated than some of his earliest releases.
“Time N Affection” feat. Chris Brown
One of the album’s biggest collaborations comes on “Time N Affection,” featuring American superstar Chris Brown.
The song focuses on the importance of giving time and genuine attention to someone you love.
For Rema, the concept goes beyond money or material gifts. He explained that love requires actually giving someone your time and maintaining interest in the relationship.
Chris Brown’s appearance also reinforced the international ambitions of Rave & Roses.
Rema was increasingly connecting Nigerian Afropop with major global artists without losing the identity of his own music.
“Jo”
The seventh track, “Jo,” brings some lighter energy into the album.
“Jo” is a Yoruba word meaning “dance,” and the song reflects exactly that mood.
Rema described it as a happy record created during a lighthearted studio session. He also connected the song to the “roses” side of the album — the romantic, joyful and celebratory part of the project’s concept.
It is one of the album’s more straightforward feel-good moments.
“Mara”
With “Mara,” the album’s romantic storyline becomes more intense.
Rema described the song as being about the addiction and madness that can come with love — the point where attraction develops into obsession.
This is an important part of the album’s structure.
The project isn’t simply about falling in love.
It explores the different stages of romantic relationships, from attraction and excitement to obsession, vulnerability and uncertainty.
“Love”
The title says almost everything.
“Love” continues the album’s central romantic theme while giving Rema room to show another side of his songwriting.
The track also features AJ Tracey, whose verse adds another dimension to the record.
Rema explained that he wanted the production and performances to match the level of energy and confidence he was bringing to the song, while praising AJ Tracey’s contribution.
“Addicted”
The tenth track, “Addicted,” takes the album into a darker and more atmospheric direction.
AllMusic highlighted the song’s 1980s-inspired synth-pop influence, showing just how far Rave & Roses moves beyond conventional Afropop.
This is one of the album’s strengths.
Rema isn’t afraid to experiment with textures that might initially seem disconnected from Nigerian pop.
Instead, he absorbs those influences and makes them part of his own musical language.
“Are You There?”
“Are You There?” shifts the mood again.
The song is more introspective, allowing Rema to explore uncertainty and emotional vulnerability.
It demonstrates another important aspect of Rave & Roses: although much of the album is romantic and energetic, there are moments where Rema pulls back and becomes more reflective.
That variety keeps the nearly hour-long project from becoming repetitive.
“FYN” feat. AJ Tracey
AJ Tracey returns on “FYN,” giving the album another international collaboration.
The record takes a different approach from the earlier “Love,” with a more rap-oriented energy.
AllMusic described the song as drawing on West Coast golden-era G-Funk influences, another example of Rema’s willingness to explore sounds outside traditional Afrobeats.
This genre-hopping is one of the reasons Rave & Roses feels so ambitious for a debut album.
“Oroma Baby”
“Oroma Baby” brings the project back toward a more dance-oriented sound.
Rema described the record simply as a jam designed around dance and love — another song representing the “roses” side of the album.
It provides a bright and energetic moment before the album moves into its final stretch.
“Carry”
On “Carry,” Rema returns to a familiar subject: admiration for African women.
The song shares some of the thematic DNA of his earlier record “Lady,” but presents the idea within the more mature sound of Rave & Roses.
It is another example of Rema taking ideas that appeared early in his career and developing them further.
“Wine” feat. Yseult
One of the album’s more unusual collaborations is “Wine,” featuring French singer Yseult.
The song combines English and French, giving the record a distinctly international character.
Rema explained that producer London helped bring Yseult into the project after Rema had initially recorded the song without her. He said he was impressed when he heard her contribution and felt that she brought another world into his own.
That collaboration perfectly represents what Rema was trying to accomplish with Rave & Roses.
African music was the foundation, but the album wasn’t meant to stop there.
“Runaway”
The album closes with “Runaway.”
Rema explained that the song was inspired by experiences from his life before fame.
Ending the project with a record connected to his past gives Rave & Roses a circular quality.
The album begins with “Divine,” looking at his birth and origins, and closes by reflecting on the experiences that shaped him before becoming a major star.
What Does “Rave & Roses” Mean?
The title captures two different sides of Rema’s personality and music.
The “Roses” represent love, romance, beauty and the softer emotional moments throughout the project.
The “Rave” represents energy, youth, celebration, nightlife and the more experimental side of his music.
Those two worlds constantly interact throughout the album.
One moment Rema is singing about love and intimacy.
The next, he’s creating an energetic dance record.
Then he can suddenly shift into trap, electronic music, R&B or pop.
That contrast is essentially the identity of Rave & Roses.
Rema’s Afrorave Vision
By the time Rave & Roses arrived, Rema had increasingly been associated with the idea of Afrorave — a sound and artistic identity that combined African musical foundations with a wide range of global influences.
The album became one of the clearest demonstrations of that vision.
Rather than attempting to create a strictly traditional Afrobeats album, Rema built a project that could move between Nigerian rhythms, R&B, trap, electronic textures, pop and other international sounds.
Apple Music described the album as a genre-fluid project drawing from influences including trap, reggaetón and Bollywood-inspired sounds.
The Album’s International Collaborations
Another major feature of Rave & Roses is its guest list.
Rema worked with:
- 6LACK on “Hold Me”
- Chris Brown on “Time N Affection”
- AJ Tracey on “Love” and “FYN”
- Yseult on “Wine”
These collaborations helped demonstrate the international scope of Rema’s ambitions.
But importantly, the album never feels like Rema is simply trying to attach famous names to his music.
The collaborations fit into the project’s larger sound and themes.
The “Calm Down” Effect
Although Rave & Roses was already an important album when it was released, the story became much bigger after “Calm Down” reached an international audience.
The Selena Gomez remix introduced the song to millions of additional listeners around the world and helped turn Rema from a major African artist into a genuine global pop star.
That success also changed the way people looked at Rave & Roses.
The album was no longer simply the debut project of a promising Nigerian artist.
It became the foundation of a global career.
Rave & Roses Ultra
The story of the album did not end with the original 16-track version.
In 2023, Rema released Rave & Roses Ultra, expanding the project to 22 tracks. AllMusic lists the expanded edition as a 2023 digital release with a total duration of more than 77 minutes.
The Ultra edition added more material to the Rave & Roses era and extended the project’s lifespan as Rema continued building his international profile.
The expanded release also helped establish Rave & Roses as more than a single album campaign.
It became an entire era in Rema’s career.
Why Rave & Roses Matters
Rave & Roses is important because it demonstrated what Rema could do with the freedom of a full-length album.
His earlier EPs showed potential.
His singles showed that he could make hits.
But the album showed that he could build a complete musical world.
It also demonstrated that African pop music could be presented through a much broader palette without losing its identity.
Rema wasn’t abandoning Afrobeats.
He was expanding what listeners could expect from it.
From Rave & Roses to RAVAGE
The album would eventually lead into another important chapter.
After years of living inside the Rave & Roses universe, Rema returned in 2023 with RAVAGE, a five-track EP that he described as the final chapter of the Rave & Roses universe.
That project would take the darker, more aggressive side of Rema’s artistry and push it further.
But before that transition, Rave & Roses had already established itself as one of the defining projects of his career.
Final Thoughts
Rema – Rave & Roses was more than just Rema’s debut studio album.
It was the project that transformed the young artist’s early promise into a much bigger artistic statement.
Released on March 25, 2022, the 16-track album brought together romance, ambition, vulnerability, experimentation and international collaboration across nearly an hour of music.
From the deeply personal “Divine” to “Soundgasm,” “Calm Down,” “Time N Affection,” “FYN,” “Wine,” and “Runaway,” Rema created an album that constantly moves between different moods and sounds.
Most importantly, Rave & Roses proved that Rema wasn’t simply the teenager who had arrived with “Dumebi.”
He was becoming an artist capable of building a global musical identity of his own.
And with the later worldwide success of “Calm Down,” the album’s title became even more fitting.
The rave had begun.
The roses were blooming.
And Rema was ready for the world.
Next in the Rema project series: Rema – RAVAGE EP.
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