Released through Roc Nation Records/Def Jam Recordings/Hollywood Records is the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By soundtrack, which was created by Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis, and Dave Jordan. The American premiere of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, takes place on November 11, 2022.
Lift Me Up, the lead single from Rihanna, made history by becoming the most added song in U.S. radio history. It also attracted the biggest single-day audience and the most spins ever.
Over 40 international artists recorded songs for The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By soundtrack in Lagos, Nigeria, Mexico City, London, and Los Angeles. Rihanna, Burna Boy, Rema, Tems, Fireboy DML, OG DAYV, Future, CKay, PinkPantheress, E-40, and many more are among the featured musicians.
The score and the original songs on the soundtrack were written and produced by Oscar, Grammy, and two Emmy winner Ludwig Göransson. He was particularly prepared to oversee all sections of the soundscape due to his significant experience working as a producer of musicians (Childish Gambino, Adele, Haim, Justin Timberlake), as well as scoring movies and TV shows (Black Panther, Creed, The Mandalorian).
Coogler and Göransson set out to create an avant-garde soundscape for their fourth film project, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where Göransson claims, “The songs and score are one.” With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the two artists finally brought their long-discussed method to life. They had been talking about it ever since they were students at the USC Film School.
Over 2500 hours were spent by Göransson in what turned out to be a major labor of love, involving six studios, three continents, and five different countries. The audience will hear more than 250 musicians, two orchestras, two choirs, and more than 40 vocalists throughout the entire movie.
Recording sessions were organized in Lagos, Nigeria, Mexico City, and Abbey Road Studios in London because the plot is influenced by Mesoamerican and Nigerian traditions. Producers collaborated with well-known musicians from Lagos, including Tems, who is now a center for musical creativity. The soundtrack also includes work from up-and-coming rappers and musicians from Mexico City, such as the Mayan-only rapper Pat Boy.
To investigate and examine Mayan music, Göransson collaborated closely with music archeologist Alejandro Rojas while in Mexico City. The soundscape’s composition included instruments from Mesoamerican and Nigerian civilizations.
The renowned singer contributed to the score of the classic film.
Divine Ikubor, also known as Rema, is a gifted Nigerian singer, songwriter, and performer. He recently shared a clip of his work for the upcoming “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” film.
The Mavin/Jonzing World star, who has had an incredible year, keeps breaking barriers with his talent; this time, his voice was heard in the teaser for the follow-up to the enduring film from the Marvel Studios, set for a November 11, 2022, global release.
Aside from Rema, Grammy-nominated Nigerian musician Tems and Ghanaian diva Amaarae are two additional African artists that have contributed to the Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
On October 27, 2022, the enthusiastic Rema posted the video to his social media website and wrote:
my voice on the Black Panther trailer, wow I’m speechless! Big ups everyone who took part in making this happen, Wakanda Forever!
My voice on the Black Panther trailer, I’m speechless! Big ups everyone who took part in making this happen, Wakanda Forever! ✊🏾🖤 pic.twitter.com/iYDNM2qxWV
The music video for “Calm Down,” which has received over 200 million views on YouTube, has prompted a response from singer Rema.
Rema’s song “Calm Down” has received more than 200 million views and 1.7 million likes on YouTube in the eight months since its release. As a result of this significant achievement, the singer responded to the news on his social media accounts.
Rema expressed his excitement at the accomplishment in a post on his social media site earlier today, Friday, October 14, 2022, in response to the announcement. In less than 4 months since its debut, the remix of the popular song, which features Selena Gomez, is also 35 million views shy of reaching 100 million views on YouTube.
With this announcement, Rema, who is presently on his “Rave & Roses” Europe Tour, was unable to contain his joy, which he displayed in a number of messages on his social media platform.
200 Million Views ?? God! 😳 I’m speechless! Aaah Thank you for believing in me guys! 😩❤️ pic.twitter.com/MLYmym55Pp
The American rapper and the popular Nigerian singer collaborated on a single.
We have the sample of Divine Ikubor, better known as Rema, a spectacular vocalist from Nigeria who collaborates with Offset, a Grammy Award-winning rapper from the United States.
The song “Only You,” which is slated to be released on Friday, October 14th, 2022, features both Rema and Offset. It was produced by American DJ and music producer Stany.
On October 11, 2022, Stany posted a clip of the song to his social media accounts. Rema had an exciting verse in the clip.
The popular vocalist has a track record with the talented rapper and singer from Canada.
Sensational Drake, a Canadian music icon, has a single with Divine Ikubor, better known as Rema, a singer, songwriter, and performer from Nigeria.
The Mavin Records/Jonzing World signee has given his fans more to look forward to in terms of his activities in the global music scene. He recently discussed how he felt when American rapper Kendrick Lamar followed him on Instagram.
Rema, who has already collaborated on songs with international singers like 6lack, Chris Brown, and a host of others.
In a quick interview for her web series “Chicken Shop Date,” English journalist and YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg stated in passing that he had a song with Grammy-winning artist Drake called “Mention.”
Since the turn of the new decade, however, there has been a manic insurgence of albums and the industry has once again returned to being an album market, since the eras of CD’s and mobile Mp3 players. This contrasts with the previous decade where there were sparse releases of albums from A-list artists and premier labels. Now that music is more widely available because to DSPs with millions of tracks in their collections, we are in the era of streaming.
Additionally, social media has encouraged debate and constant comparison regarding albums and their inherent value. Unfortunately, a significant portion of this discussion is driven by personal bias and non-objective opinions; as a result, the arguments made are barely persuasive. This simply highlights how critical it is to identify the criteria and measurements that constitute a great record.
Let’s first bust some myths about what constitutes a great record before finding the important measurements. Some people fervently believe that an album’s brilliance lies in its capacity to deliver hits that would rule the charts. Some believe that exceptional albums receive the most playlists and stream traffic. And for some people, it’s the range of sounds and auditory diversity included in the body of work. All of these are reasonable justifications for what a great album may accomplish, but they are not the only ones. The music itself still has grandeur.
The art of creating a great album is not only lost on fans, but also on some of our A-list artists. So the question of what makes a great album arises once more.
There are five key metrics that an album must meet before it can be considered an overall great project, and they are as follows:
Sonic cohesion.
Unharried transitions.
Expansive & pristine production.
Excellent songwriting.
Topical progression/optimal track sequencing.
To help readers relate, we’d be breaking down each point individually with real-world examples from well-known albums.
Sonic cohesion
An album should feature tracks that sound like they were made from the same sonic material and have a common theme in their production and vocals. By encouraging a sense of unity, an album with strong sound cohesiveness helps to invigorate the experience and make the project more wholesome. Great musicians are aware of the importance of album coherence, which is why some of them choose to have one or two producers who share similar viewpoints produce the entire project.
Pheelz and Type A on Fireboy DML’s Apollo, London and Andrebeatz on Rema’s Rave & Roses and Ayra Starr’s 19 & Dangerous, Kukbeats on Ruger’s EPs, and most recently Magicsticks on Asake’s Mr. Money With The Vibe are some examples. By employing specific concepts in the song production, such as using common riffs, chords, and percussions across the board, the aural coherence is achieved while ensuring that each song has its own unique sound and feels like a cohesive whole with the other songs.
Even with many producers working on the project, excellent sonic cohesiveness is still possible. Omah Lay’s Boy Alone, one of the best pop albums released this year and with excellent sound cohesiveness, is a wonderful example. Despite the project having more than ten producers, the sound cohesion is still strong, which is a credit to the project’s A&R team’s efforts as well as Omah Lay’s vision.
Boy Alone production credits, via the artist’s Twitter.
Unharried Transitions
On an album, it is crucial that the transitions between songs don’t sound hurried, forced, or harried. Why? When the transition is unpleasant, it detracts from the whole experience since it serves as a reminder that a change has been made and a new music is now playing. The best albums have transitions that are so smooth that the listener is so engrossed in the satisfying experience that it nearly doesn’t register when a song changes.
On Rema’s Rave & Roses, the transition from track 1 (Divine) to track 2 (Hold Me) is one of the best I’ve heard on a Nigerian album this year. The varied instrumentals in Divine’s final few seconds make it seem like a scene from a movie, and they seamlessly transition into Hold Me’s first few beats such that the change is barely audible. This album does have some flaws, but when it comes to transitions and even sonic cohesiveness, it really shines.
London oversaw the production of Rave & Roses and is one of the most talented producers in the current generation.
Expansive & Pristine Production
I mentioned earlier that some musicians choose one or two producers solely to guarantee the coherence of the album. On the other end of the decision-making spectrum, some musicians choose a variety of producers to guarantee a vast and flawless production. Utilizing multiple producers would encourage variety and diversity in sounds, which would help make the overall experience more enjoyable as opposed to being monotonous. It only makes sense because different producers have different strengths.
It is in fact a very fine line to walk because a diversity overdose could damage the album’s cohesiveness. Playboy by Fireboy DML is an album that does admirably well in this regard. Playboy aims to be a diverse showcase of sounds, which worked well in enhancing the album’s quality. This is in contrast to his previous albums, which had fewer producers and were more sonically cohesive as a result. Although it was not the most well-organized effort, neither the songs nor the transitions had the impression of being rushed.
Playboy had a large-scale production that aided its diversity theme, and like Boy Alone, it was the creation of many producers. Despite not being as unified as Omah Lay’s effort, it had tremendous vast production.
Excellent songwriting
Simply simply, good songwriting and solid execution are required for an album to be great. It doesn’t have to be the most complex and original writing; it only needs to be good enough for the songs and relevant to the genre. For instance, the most profoundly philosophical lyrics shouldn’t be used in a pop song. It is first and foremost a feel-good genre that should be groovy and entertaining. No matter how impressive the songwriting, it doesn’t work for it if it would hinder that.
Hip-Hop, of course, should have a more impressive songwriting structure overall because the beauty lies in the bars, punchlines, double/triple entendres, comical analogies, tight rhyme schemes, and so on and so forth. The R&B genre could benefit from more empirical songwriting because its core is primarily related to love stories. Songs of the same genre shouldn’t be approached in flows and rhymes in the same way; instead, great songwriting should be layered.
In terms of sheer technicality, Boy Alone and Bnxn’s Bad Since ’97 boasts some of the year’s most brilliant songs. The style of Fireboy DML in Playboy is more straightforward, yet it is very profound and features emotional and precise rhyme schemes. Although not very innovative, Asake’s MMWTV features some outstanding songwriting that successfully carries out its intended purpose.
Bnxn is one of the top songwriters among the current generation of performers, right up there with Omah Lay and Fireboy.
Great music ultimately aims to make listeners feel good because to its pleasing harmonies. Great songwriting with poor sonics and melodies would always lose out against simple songwriting with excellent sonics and melodies. Don’t get me wrong, amazing songwriting can be found on some of the best albums, and every artist should want to achieve that. However, such writing is useless if it cannot be used in relation to the music or if it takes precedence over other, more important matters.
Topical Advancement/Track Sequencing at its Best
First and foremost, what exactly is topical progression? It’s simply an album’s inherent quality to have a track-by-track progression that makes sense topically and isn’t scatterbrained. It doesn’t make sense, for example, for an album opener to have themes about the artist defying all odds and coming out strong, and then in the second track, they’re already talking about cowering under pressure.
Not every album will provide a straight-forward, linear narrative like a book. Some albums have so many facets and layers that several interpretations and stories can be derived from them. While others only have a hazy development of subjects and don’t actually attempt to tell a tale at all. Whatever the situation, the topical progression should be logical and seamless. This is when the subsequent, concurrent point of ideal track sequencing enters the picture.
The order of the songs on a great album is ideal, with the topics complementing one another both sonically and thematically from the first song to the last. This is one of the key differences between an album and a mixtape or playlist, which are typically essentially compilations of songs with no real connection to one another. When played alongside the rest of the album, pre-released singles from a fantastic album make even more sense because of the excellent track sequencing.
Albums that successfully meet the aforementioned criteria are immediately regarded as classics. While some albums gradually acquire their classic status as a result of both their endurance and innate greatness. However, it is a reality that an album that checks off all the necessary criteria encourages its longevity and replay value because it delivers an excellent listening experience at an exceptional value.
Made In Lagos achieved gold status in the US last month. It is the first album to accomplish this accomplishment by an African artist.
Some albums have earned the title of “classics” throughout time due to their influence. Made In Lagos by Wizkid is the classic illustration. The album is excellent and has aged well, but it isn’t quite of the “classic on arrival” caliber. The making of this claim does not negate the album’s deserving classic status. It simply implies that today’s standards for what constitutes a classic album are significantly more complex. As is practically any discussion of what makes a great album.
Divine Ikubor, better known by his stage name Rema, a Nigerian Afrobeat and Afrofusion artist, has added another feather to his hat of accomplishments with a new milestone on the Audiomack streaming platform.
Rema
He has joined a select group of Indigenous artists who can boast of having more than 200 million streams on the global digital platform Audiomack.
Rema made his debut in the industry with the release of his self-titled EP in 2019 and has since dominated the music scene. His top singles, “Ginger Me,” “Calm Down,” and “Woman,” which have received over 65 million streams on Audiomack, have established him as a household name.
Rema’s remix of his hit song “Calm Down,” which features international superstar Selena Gomez, received over 296K streams on Audiomack in less than a month after its release, helping him pass 200 million streams overall.
The mavins prince received the plaque from Audiomack Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy Jason Johnson during his sold-out headlining performance in New York as part of his “Rave and Roses” tour.
After accomplishing the feat, the “Ginger Me” singer received a recognition plaque and shared photos of himself posing with the portrait.
Rolling Loud is a hip hop music festival that takes place in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Canada. Complex calls it “one of the biggest rap-only festivals in the world,” while Billboard calls it “the be-all of hip-hop festivals.”
An estimated 210,000 people attended the event in Miami in 2019.
Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif, who met in elementary school in Hollywood, Florida, founded the festival in 2015. When they were in high school, they began organizing and promoting parties that “leaned heavily on a mix of Southern and Midwestern rap.” In 2010, they transitioned to professional live music events, beginning with an after-party headlined by Rick Ross. By the summer of 2013, they were hosting monthly events in Miami with emerging artists such as Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. Before recognizing the need for a genre-specific music festival, the pair promoted artists from Florida’s burgeoning SoundCloud rap scene under the brand name Dope Entertainment.
The first Rolling Loud took place in February 2015 in Miami, Florida, and featured artists such as Schoolboy Q, Juicy J, Currensy, and Action Bronson. It was held at Soho Studios in the city’s Wynwood district, though the venue was temporarily flooded due to rain.
Rolling Loud 2016 was held at the larger Mana Wynwood convention center and featured headlining acts Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug, and Future.
Rolling Loud relocated to Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami in 2017.
It has been held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens since 2018. The festival also expanded to other cities in 2017, with the inaugural editions of Rolling Loud Bay Area and Rolling loud Southern California.
Rolling Loud Australia in Sydney, Australia, and Rolling Loud NYC were added to the list of host cities in 2019. The same year, they announced Rolling Loud’s first European festival would be held in Portugal in July 2020.
However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the 2020 festival, which was originally scheduled to take place from May 8 to May 10, has been rescheduled for July 23 to July 25, 2021.
Due to similar circumstances, the European edition in Portugal had to be rescheduled for 2021.
Rolling Loud hosted a post-pandemic festival in Miami in 2021, with over 200,000 attendees. The festival collaborated with WWE and included a Friday Night Smackdown.
Rolling Loud continued to expand into new countries in 2022. Rolling Loud’s first collaboration with a European festival was announced in 2021 as a collaboration with the 2022 edition of Woo-Hah!, which will take place from July 1-3, 2022.
Rolling Loud Portugal took place on July 6-8, 2022, after being postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rolling Loud Toronto is set to take place in Canada on September 9-11, 2022. From March 3-5, 2023, the festival will hold its first California edition at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.
Rema performing at rolling loud Toronto Skepta performing at rolling loud Toronto
Wizkid is to headline today’s event at the rolling loud Toronto
Top Nigerian acts who have had an amazing year like Wizkid, Tiwa savage,Burna Boy and Davido will make the category a very tough one for the youngsters but its a great win for Nigeria and the music industry.
mobo awardayra starr temsckayrema
Rema also got a nominated with Wizkid, Kanye, Drake, Lil Nas and alot more for the Best international music act Category.
Ladipoe still buzzing from his recent nomination at the BET for best international flow, the Mavin act drops his highly anticipated project Providence Ep.
ladipoe
Providence Ep is a 6 track project featuring fellow Mavin act Rema, Fireboydml and Amarae.
providence EP tracklist
Before the project dropped, the rapper shared a heartfelt message to his fans called his Lifelines, Ladipoe shared his insecurities about his first song of the year Feelings which later turned to be a worldie and was appreciative for his Bet Nominations and Headies award win which was his first.