The release of Rema’s first full-length studio album in two years is just days away. The Nigerian musician is set to release his 2022 debut with Heis, Rave & Roses, on Thursday, July 11. The record’s announcement coincides with the new single “Hehehe,” available now.
“Hehehe” captures Rema’s devilish laughter as he pushes away critics. “Monday morning, talking about me while I’m making money/Hehe-hehe-hehe-hehe-he/I’m not gonna take it easy on my hater,” he says at the start of the track, over a production that looks like a scene from the Joker and sounds like a Batman movie.
The new single is Heis’ latest preview, but not the first. Nearly two weeks ago, Rema dropped his first release of the year, Benin Boys, which also features Nigerian musician Sharipopeo.
Rema has yet to announce the tracklist for the full album, nor has he revealed anything about further collaborations that may be on the album. Rave & Roses was scant in terms of collaborations, only featuring 6LACK, Chris Brown, AJ Tracey, and Yseult. Last year, Rema released the deluxe edition of his album Rave & Roses Ultra, which contained the hit single “Calm Down” featuring Selena Gomez.
“The last few years have been relaxed and happy. This time is a lot more intense,” Rema recently told Rolling Stone. “One thing that you will hear in the future is just the rawness and realness — how raw Afrobeats has been before the whole globalization, but in a new way. With everything going viral and everything just spreading across the world, I feel like it has also affected the sound. We’re not just making what the people at home would enjoy. We’re also making what we hope the world would also enjoy. I got rid of that mentality getting in the studio, like, ‘I’ll start with what I love. The rest of the world can catch up.'”