Nigerian singer Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has shared the reason behind his rebranding ahead of the release of his sophomore album, *HEIS*, last year.
As part of his rebranding, the singer dropped his signature mask and teddy bear, opting instead for tattoos, smoking, and a darker colour palette. He also transformed his sound and overall aesthetic to reflect the new direction.
Speaking on Thursday during the one-year anniversary of his sophomore album, Rema clarified that his rebranding — including elements like smoking — was simply a form of artistic expression and not a betrayal of his true personality, as some had assumed.
He explained that the controversial album cover was inspired by Itachi Uchiha, a character from the Japanese anime series Naruto.
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.
“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 ).”
