Nigerian music star Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has made global music history as his debut album Rave & Roses (Ultra) becomes the first African album to cross 3 billion streams on Spotify.
The streaming milestone was confirmed on Thursday across global music tracking platforms, placing Rema ahead of all other African acts on Spotify.
According to streaming data, the album’s most popular track, Calm Down (Remix) featuring American pop star Selena Gomez, contributed the bulk of the streams — over 2 billion from the combined versions — while the remaining 20 songs on the album added less than a billion streams altogether.
Released in 2022 under Mavin Records and Jonzing World, Rave & Roses (Ultra) is an extended version of Rema’s original debut album. The project features a blend of Afrobeats, pop, and trap, and includes international collaborations that pushed it to global success.
Calm Down had earlier set its own record in 2023 by becoming the first African song to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, making Rema the face of Afrobeats to the world.
The album currently leads the list of most-streamed African projects on Spotify. It is followed closely by South African singer Tyla’s self-titled debut album, which has racked up over 2 billion streams.
Other Nigerian artists on the billion-stream list include Burna Boy (African Giant, Love, Damini), Wizkid (Made in Lagos: Deluxe Edition), and CKay (CKay the First), all of whom have contributed to the rising dominance of African music globally.
