Rema Faces Online Criticism Over Tiakola Collaboration as Fan Compares It to Asake’s ‘Badman Gangsta’

Nigerian Afrobeats star Rema has come under criticism on social media following his latest collaboration with French-Congolese singer Tiakola, with one Nigerian fan describing the singer’s contribution as a “flop verse.”

The criticism came from X user AYOXX, who reacted to the collaboration in a post shared on September 23.

“Rema just fumbled a Tiakola feature my God,” the user wrote.

The fan went on to apologise to Tiakola and suggested that Asake would have been a better Nigerian artiste for the collaboration, pointing to Asake and Tiakola’s previous song “Badman Gangsta.”

“If you want a Nigeria ft next time I can assure you that Asake would really be your best pick just as you people cooked on ‘Badman Gangsta’ last year,” the post added.

The comments have reignited comparisons between Rema and Asake, two of Nigeria’s leading Afrobeats artistes, particularly over their approaches to international collaborations.

Asake and Tiakola previously collaborated on “Badman Gangsta,” a cross-continental record that brought together Nigerian Afrobeats and French-Congolese sounds.

The song became a major success in Nigeria, reaching No. 1 on the TurnTable Nigeria Top 100 in July 2025. Tiakola was subsequently described as the first Congolese-French artiste to top the chart.

The track has also continued to appear on streaming and music charts. TurnTable Charts lists “Badman Gangsta” among its certified titles, with the song receiving a 2x Platinum certification in February 2026.

While AYOXX described Rema’s contribution negatively, the assessment represents an individual social-media opinion and does not establish that the song or Rema’s verse has been commercially unsuccessful.

Rema remains one of Nigeria’s most prominent international artistes, while Tiakola has continued to build collaborations across African and European music markets.

The latest debate therefore appears to be more about fans comparing two Nigerian artistes’ collaborations with the same international star than an established verdict on the quality or performance of Rema’s latest contribution.

For now, the conversation has placed Rema, Tiakola and Asake at the centre of another online Afrobeats debate, with fans divided over which Nigerian artiste delivers the stronger chemistry with Tiakola.