REMI

Remi (stylised in all caps) was an Australian hip hop duo consisting of rapper Remi Kolawole and producer Justin "Sensible J" Smith. Originally a trio, which included producer-engineer Daniel "Dutch" Siwes, the group released four full-length albums as well as two mix-tapes and four extended plays (EPs). Remi's 2014 release Raw x Infinity garnered critical acclaim, winning the Australian Music Prize, while its third album Divas & Demons (2016)—Remi's first as a duo—was nominated for the 2017 ARIA Award for Best Urban Album. The act's final album, Fried (May 2021), coincided with the dissolution of Remi. History Remi was formed in Melbourne as a three-piece by Aderemi Matthew "Remi" Kolawole on lead vocals, Daniel James "Dutch" Siwes on co-production and engineering and Justin Scott "Sensible J" Smith on drums and production. Kolawole was born in Canberra to a Tasmanian mother and Nigerian father. He took classical piano lessons while growing up and started rapping on a dare from a friend. Siwes and Smith were neighbours and jammed in various bands in the late 1990s. The pair mentored Kolawole early in his solo career. The trio's first recordings appeared in 2011, "Apollo 13" and "Ape", as free downloads through Kolawole's Bandcamp page. "Ape" was also the lead single from Remi's first album, Regular People Shit, which was self-released via House of Beige in 2012. "Ape" received high rotation on national youth radio station, Triple J. Remi's 2013 singles, "Sangria" and "Saggin" from the trio's mix-tape F.Y.G. Act 1, also gained consistent radio airplay, contributing to Remi winning that year's Triple J Unearthed Artist of the Year award.