Afrobeats star Divine Ikubor, widely known as Rema, has shared how his father’s death impacted his childhood.
The ‘Calm Down’ hitmaker revealed that the loss of his father placed the responsibility of supporting his family on his young shoulders, leading him to feel as though he had to sacrifice his childhood.
In a candid conversation with GRM, Rema, 24, expressed a desire to “feel young again.”
He admitted to recently starting smoking cigarettes as a way to feel “free and break some rules.”
Rema voiced frustration that, despite being an adult when he made this choice, he faces criticism due to his celebrity status.
As he put it:
“I really wanted to feel like a child again… I feel like I grew up too fast. Life switched up on me crazy when I lost my dad and my brother. The weight was just on my shoulder and forced me to sell my childhood to provide for my family.
“God willing, everything happened well, it happened fast. And with fast fame, comes fast maturity. It’s just like never ending level of seriousness. So much adults. So much meetings. I didn’t even rolled with my age mates.
“So this project [‘HeIs’], I just want to be a child. And it’s coming out. It’s not me forcing it out. It just sparked in my spirit. I just want to feel young again. I just to be a rebel. You know, kids make mistakes and it’s acceptable. But when you’re a teenager and you make the same mistake your peers would make, everyone will come for you just because you’re in the spotlight.
“I know people who smoked a cigarette when they were 13 and I’m 24 smoking a cigarette because I just want to feel free and break some rules. All my life just feel so planned and scheduled. I just got tired.
