Nigerian singer Divine Ikubor, aka Rema, has explained how he rebranded himself before the release of his sophomore album, ‘HEIS,’ last year.
The singer rebranded by dropping his signature mask and teddy bear and embracing tattoos, smoking, and darker colours. He also changed his sound and aesthetics.
Speaking on the first anniversary of his sophomore album on Thursday, Rema clarified that his rebranding, including smoking, was just an expression of art and not a betrayal of his personality, as many presumed.
He explained that the controversial album cover was inspired by the Japanese anime series Naruto character, Itachi Uchiha.
On his X handle, he wrote, “HEIS, the Anniversary.
“I expressed a lot of surface level reasons why I released this project over a course of interviews when it came out but, here are few “SYMBOLIC” details that wrap around the ENERGY of the project I kept for myself but now, I’d like to share.
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“Consider this an Author’s note;
“The cover was inspired by Itachi in Naruto. The Truth masked as illusion, Love buried under what y’all thought was betrayal ( change of sound, smoking , looks, aesthetics & choice of color ).”
Rapper Shallipopi also made similar claims last year. He stated that he doesn’t smoke despite posing with cigarettes in his pictures and videos.
He claimed that he uses cigarettes for aesthetics.
Famous TV host IK Osakioduwa says he had to beg his parents to change his surname from Obiara to Osakioduwa. A move that changed his life.
Inspired by the biblical story of Jacob, IK, in an interview on Nancy Isime’s show, said he began questioning his identity and researching his name, discovering a connection between his surname and a deity.
After a four-year effort, IK said he convinced his father to approve the name change, with support from his mother.
IK chose “Osakioduwa,” meaning “God opens the door to wealth.”