- Nigerian singer Rema, also known as Divine Ikubor, revealed the reasons behind his rebranding prior to the release of his sophomore album, ‘HEIS,’ last year.
- The singer changed his style by removing his signature mask and Teddy bear, embracing tattoos, smoking, and darker colors, while also altering his sound and aesthetics.
Nigerian singer Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has finally opened up about the reason behind his drastic rebrand leading up to the release of his 2023 sophomore album, HEIS.
The Mavin star shocked fans at the time by ditching his trademark mask and teddy bear aesthetic, replacing it with tattoos, a darker wardrobe, and a bolder persona that included smoking. The shift also extended to his music and overall vibe.
Celebrating the one-year anniversary of HEIS on Thursday, Rema took to his X (formerly Twitter) page to explain that the transformation was purely symbolic and artistic—not a personal identity crisis, as some fans believed.
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 ).”
Rema’s explanation sparked renewed discussion online, with many fans now viewing the album and its accompanying image shift through a more artistic lens.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Nigerian artist has addressed misconceptions around smoking. Rapper Shallipopi similarly clarified last year that he doesn’t smoke but uses cigarettes purely for aesthetic purposes in his visuals.
