When HEIS arrived, it did not feel like a routine album release. It felt like a statement of intent. A declaration of identity. And chiefly, an act of resistance.
At a moment when Afrobeats was expanding globally at an unprecedented rate, the genre was also undergoing a subtle transformation. Its sound was becoming smoother, more polished, and increasingly tailor-made for international consumption. For many artists, global success came with quiet compromises. But for Rema, HEIS represented the opposite. It was a conscious decision to resist commercialization and assert cultural authority.
HEIS as Resistance to the Global Commercialization of Afrobeats
Following the historic global success of Calm Down, Rema had already achieved what many artists spend entire careers pursuing. He had broken into international markets at the highest level. He had achieved chart dominance. He had earned global recognition.
The expected next step would have been repetition. Another effort to retain global dominance as many would think, but Rema wasn’t thinking like the rest of us. Instead, he did the opposite.
Rema openly expressed that he did not want to be predictable. In an interview with The Breakfast Club, he made it clear that he was not interested in being boxed into a global commercial sound. He wanted to go against consumer expectations, he wanted to create music that remained culturally grounded, difficult to replicate, and deeply connected to his identity.
This was a direct response to what he saw happening to Afrobeats. As the genre gained international popularity, there was growing concern that its original essence could become diluted. That its identity could be reshaped by external expectations rather than internal cultural evolution. HEIS became his response to that reality.
Rather than simplifying and making Afrobeats easier for the world to consume, he made it more culturally specific, he made it more aggressive, more experimental, and more rooted in his own creative instincts.
The Meaning Behind HEIS
The title itself carries symbolic weight. Heis, derived from Greek, means number one. It signifies supremacy, leadership, and singular authority. This was intentional, it reflected how Rema viewed himself at this stage of his career, not just as a participant in Afrobeats’ success, but as one of its architects.
This album showed a shift in mindset. This is no longer the young artist trying to prove himself, this is an artist fully aware of his influence and responsibility. Someone intentionally shaping the sound, direction, and future of the genre. Every element of the project buttressed this intention. The darker production, the aggressive vocal performances, the rejection of familiar pop structures. It all served one purpose. To establish authority and control.
A Sonic Shift That Challenged Expectations
Sonically, HEIS is marked as the boldest pivots of Rema’s career. The album moves away from the melodic smoothness that characterized much of Afrobeats’ global expansion and instead embraces tension, aggression, and unpredictability. It blends Afrobeats with trap influences, industrial textures, electronic distortion, and cinematic arrangements.
The production is sark and eerie, the rhythms are unconventional, the vocal performances are more intense and commanding. This was not designed to blend in; it was designed to stand apart.
This sonic direction amplified the album’s central message. Rema was not interested in maintaining the status quo. He was interested challenging it and expanding the boundaries of what Afrobeats could sound like.
Standout Tracks That Defined His Cultural Statement
March Am
No better way to open a project of such magnitude and message than with a song that screams purpose and authority and March Am did just that. It feels like the beginning of a campaign. The production is tense and cinematic, his vocal delivery carries authority, which sets the tone of dominance and intentionality.
HEIS
The title track HEIS serves as the ideological centerpiece of the entire project. The production? Ceremonial and commanding. It sounds very much like a coronation and the Swahili vocals in the post-chorus further emphasize this fact. Here, Rema fully embraces the identity he is presenting. His delivery is calm, controlled, and confident. He is not asking for recognition, he is taking it.
It depicts an artist stepping fully into leadership and embracing the responsibility that comes with influence. It transforms the album title from symbolism into reality.
Villain
Villain explores the psychological cost of challenging the norm. The title itself portrays how cultural leaders are often perceived when they challenge expectations. Those who refuse to conform are often misunderstood. It is a statement of acceptance of the tag that comes with defiance.
Hehehe
When the snippet of this song dropped, it raised many questions, due to how different the production sounded. Here, his delivery is unpredictable, chaotic, and confident. This track represents creative freedom and captures rebellion in its purest form.
Ozeba
Ozeba represents one of the album’s most experimental sonic moments. The fusion of African rhythmic foundations with futuristic electronic textures creates an entirely new and daring sound. It represents evolution and shows the expansion and versatility of Afrobeats beyond its familiar boundaries into new creative territory.
How HEIS Empowered a New Generation of Creative Freedom
Rema has always been one of the very few acts to challenge the norm in afrobeats, dating back to 2019 when he dropped a song like Ironman. He has always had that air of difference around him; He announced this culture shift with the release of his 2023 EP “Ravage“.
HEIS was just the affirmation that came with the confidence gotten through his newly achieved status as one of the greats. Perhaps, the most important impact of HEIS was psychological.
Rema had already achieved global success. He had already proven his commercial power. and by choosing experimentation at this stage, he removed fear for the generation coming after him. He wanted to demonstrate that success does not require conformity.
His decision expanded the creative possibilities within the genre. It gave newer artists the boldness to explore new sounds, embrace unconventional ideas, and trust their own creative instincts without fear of rejection. This is how cultural shifts happen. Not through conformity, but through leadership.
From Global Star to Cultural Architect
HEIS represents a turning point in Rema’s career. It marks his evolution from global success story to cultural architect. This was not an album created to maintain momentum. It was created to redirect it. Even though it didn’t do anywhere near as good as Rave and Roses did commercially, the message was passed and the cultural shift, recognized. It challenged expectations. It protected cultural identity. And most importantly, it expanded the boundaries of Afrobeats itself.
With HEIS, Rema did not follow the culture, he reformed it.