REVIEW: Rema’s ‘Rave & Roses’ is a monotonous album with happy ending

Rema, a Benin City native who was raised by D Prince and Don Jazzy, became a global sensation in 2019 with his self-titled EP. D Prince had been impressed by his freestyle of Gucci Gang a year before.

There was a link-up, and a signature was scrawled on paper. Rema was presented to rapturous applause after months of mentoring.

Girls adore him, and he has become their crush. Rema’s sonic repertoire has grown by two extended pieces, yet a lengthy play remains elusive.

Rema finally released his first album, ‘Rave and Roses,’ three days ago, but the audience couldn’t care less.

Like his comrades Fireboy and Joeboy, they desired a full-length.

In the post-2010 classic album discussion, one of the latter’s albums comes up.

The play begins with the biographical ‘Divine.’

Rema goes on to relate a comprehensive account about his birth over brilliant strings. It’s a private and dangerous cruise. As Divine leads into the 6lack-assisted ‘Hold Me,’ Rema, in a manner, eases the listeners into the album.

London contributed to nine of the album’s sixteen songs, but Rema purposefully limited the cooperation to only four. The tracklisting effectively promotes his own project; this is a wise decision.

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Tracklist for ‘Rave & Roses’
The placement of ‘Calm Down’ between the horn-centered ‘Dirty,’ early hit ‘Soundgasm,’ and Chris Brown-assisted ‘Time N Affection’ is meant to break up the monotony of the songs. They’re relatives on the other side of the family tree.

Jo is a reimagining of Wizkid’s ‘Blow,’ which features Blaq Jer Zee.

One of the album’s outliers is ‘Are You There.’ It’s educational, jangly, upbeat, and hippie.

Rema mentions Buhari (Muhammadu) when praising Nigerians’ fortitude in the face of insurmountable odds.

‘FYN’ is full of nonsense. With his alloyed rap verse, AJ Tracey delivers.

Oroma is a well-crafted composition that pays respect to Ajegunle skoto and dancehall.

‘Carry,’ a classic Rema stereotype, is a flurry of energy and smart production twists, with ‘Ikebe’ providing as inspiration.

The album comes to a conclusion with the songs ‘Wine’ and ‘Runaway.’ The latter is more upbeat and has a higher replay value.

Rema’s ‘Rave and Rose’ is a clever perspective on love, sex, and everything in between, except from a few lackluster fillers.

The production and his enticing hooks set it apart from the competition.

Is it up to par with the hype? Regardless, it’s not a horrible record.

In some ways, ‘Rave and Roses’ portrays Rema as a solitary man rather than a man capable of creating an album that will stand the test of time.