Rema’s Billboard record spotlights journey of Nigerian music on world stage

Nigerian music sensation, Rema, has made history by breaking the 41-year-old record of juju maestro, King Sunny Ade on the US Billboard Albums chart.

Rema’s album, ‘Rave and Roses,’ has maintained its position on the charts for an astonishing 30 weeks. This achievement has sparked curiosity about why it took so long for a Nigerian artist to surpass King Sunny Ade’s milestone.

King Sunny Ade also called KSA, a trailblazer for Juju music in the 80s, became the first Nigerian artist to appear on the Billboard album charts. After Bob Marley’s untimely demise in 1981, Island Records, an international music label sought to find a replacement for the late reggae star and introduced Sunday Adegeye, popularly known as Sunny Ade, to the global stage. KSA’s albums, ‘Juju Music’ and ‘Synchro System,’ released under the Island Records imprint, secured spots on the Billboard 200.