Nigerian music sensation, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, has opened up about the inspiration behind his bold rebrand ahead of the release of his second studio album, HEIS, released last year.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the album, Rema took to his X (formerly Twitter) page on Thursday to reflect on the symbolism behind his artistic transformation. The singer underwent a noticeable shift in his public image—ditching his signature mask and teddy bear, and adopting tattoos, darker fashion tones, smoking, and a change in sound. This dramatic evolution, he clarified, was not a betrayal of his personality, but rather a deep expression of his artistry.

“I expressed a lot of surface level reasons why I released this project over a course of interviews when it came out,” he wrote. “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.”

Rema revealed that the controversial cover art of HEIS was inspired by the character Itachi Uchiha from the Japanese anime series Naruto, referencing themes of misunderstood love and illusion.

He continued: “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).”

The artist’s explanation places his smoking habit within a broader narrative of visual storytelling and symbolism, reinforcing the idea that his actions are extensions of his creative persona, not reflections of personal lifestyle choices.

This sentiment echoes remarks made by fellow Nigerian artist Shallipopi, who also clarified last year that although he appears with cigarettes in photos and videos, he doesn’t actually smoke. Instead, he uses cigarettes solely for aesthetic purposes.