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Rema reveals how he transitioned from gospel to secular music.
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The Mavin prince made this known at the Rubbin’ Minds show.
Nigerian Afrobeat singer Divine Ikubor, professionally known as Rema, has shared how he made a transition from gospel to secular music.
Rema, who once headed a gospel rap group in church, noted that the switch began when he started going to sing at bars and lounges to make ends meet.
The Mavin Records signee revealed this at the Rubbin’ Minds show, which was broadcasted on Channels TV and was watched by our correspondent.
The Afrobeat singer noted that he hadn’t yet relocated to Lagos when he made a switch to secular music.
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He said, “I was still in Benin when that switch happened. A lot of people thought that when I got signed, I started deviating.
“No. Actually, life was tough in Benin. I’m not that guy to ask the people in church to pay me because I’m doing God’s work.
“Right there in Benin, I started going to competitions, going to bars, lounges, political rallies; just trying to get on the stage and hold a microphone, to at least get sprayed some money to come back home and feed my family, because we were going through tough times.
“I lost my father and brother and I needed to come through for my family. At that point in time, I felt like that’s where I started spacing out; little by little, until I just exiled.”
According to him, the change was strange for both him and his mother, but he was unable to persuade the latter of his choice.
He said:
“It was weird for me and most especially for my mum because she was well known in church. I didn’t do any much explaining. I just told her to trust me,”