An Instagram handle, alleged to be a burner account run by Afrobeats star Omah Lay, shared screenshots of a chat with fellow Afrobeats artist Rema on August 12 accusing Rema of stealing an album concept from Omah Lay.
The Instagram handle, named “the story of an angel”, posted a screenshot of a conversation dated December 16, 2023. In the chat, Omah Lay told Rema he believed they were the only two artists capable of increasing the tempo of Nigerian music. He then sent Rema a file titled ‘mara rough,’ which he described as a song he was working on. The chat showed that Rema expressed interest in the sound and requested a space on the song, to which Omah Lay agreed.
In a subsequent post, the same account alleged that Omah Lay took a break from music after discovering that Rema had developed his idea into an album. The break reportedly lasted until June 28, when Omah Lay returned to the stage in Brussels, appearing “unstable.”
This development follows an interview in 2024 where Omah Lay revealed he had to scrap an entire album concept after an artist he trusted stole his idea. As of the time of this report, Omah Lay has not distanced himself from the Instagram account, nor has Rema, who recently shared the author’s note of his album ‘HEIS’ on X, though yet to react to the allegations.
