Popular Nigerian singer, Divine Ikubor, better known as Rema, has shed light on the inspiration behind his artistic transformation leading up to the release of his sophomore album, HEIS, last year.
The artist underwent a noticeable rebranding phase—abandoning his trademark mask and teddy bear persona in favor of tattoos, darker aesthetics, and public displays of smoking. Alongside these changes came a shift in his musical style and overall image.
Reflecting on the album’s one-year anniversary, Rema took to his X (formerly Twitter) page on Thursday to clarify that these changes were not a rejection of his true self, but rather a deeper artistic expression. He explained that many misinterpreted his new direction, particularly his smoking habit, as a personality shift when it was instead symbolic.
Rema revealed that the album’s cover art was influenced by Itachi Uchiha, a character from the Japanese anime Naruto, known for his complex duality. He stated:
“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).”
NAIJALOG also recalls that fellow Nigerian artist Shallipopi made a similar statement last year, claiming he does not smoke despite appearing with cigarettes in visuals, saying it was purely for stylistic purposes.