Rema, the 24-year-old phenom from Benin City, stormed the legendary Madison Square Garden stage and delivered a performance so bold and symbolic that it rewrote the architecture of Afrobeats royalty.
For years, the genre’s elite has been shaped by an unshakable trio: Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy, collectively known as the “Big Three.” But on Friday night, with nearly 20,000 fans screaming his name in one of the world’s most iconic arenas.
Literally, during a blazing performance of “Hehehe”, the now-iconic track off his HeIs album, Rema emerged from beneath the stage, crouched like a Black panther atop a sleek obsidian table. Surrounding him were mannequins molded in the image of the Big Three. He danced, raged, leaped, above them, a theatrical, visceral declaration: “No more Big Three. There’s now a Big Four.”
The symbolism was loud. But the response? Deafening.
20,000 fans, a sea of lights, bodies, and belief, roared in approval, echoing a journey that began with just 300 fans at his first New York show five years ago. He took it in stride, barefoot, bathed in smoke and red light, backed by a sonic arsenal that blurred the lines between Afrobeats, trap, rave, and pure spiritual fire.
