Rema Declares His Smoking Habit Is Simply a Form of Artistic Expression

Nigerian Afrobeat star, Divine Ikubor, widely known as Rema, has clarified that his decision to rebrand his image — which includes adopting tattoos, smoking, and darker visuals — was solely a form of creative self-expression and not a shift in personal values, as many have speculated.

This revelation came as he commemorated the one-year anniversary of his sophomore studio album titled “HEIS.” Leading up to the album’s release, Rema notably abandoned his iconic mask and teddy bear symbols. He instead introduced a bolder image, incorporating tattoos, cigarettes, and a new darker aesthetic. Along with that came a transformation in both his sound and musical theme.

During the anniversary reflection, held Thursday, Rema took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account to shed light on the meaning behind his drastic change. He explained that his smoking and appearance were not meant to portray a different lifestyle but to symbolize artistic intent — a metaphor layered within the “HEIS” album concept.

According to Rema, the controversial cover art of the album drew deep inspiration from the character Itachi Uchiha of the popular Japanese anime Naruto. The symbolism, he revealed, had always been deliberate and personal — a visual story representing illusion, truth, and misunderstood love.

In his post, 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).”

Rema emphasized that this transformation was neither a betrayal of his old identity nor a shift in morality, but an artistic lens through which he chose to communicate deep symbolism.

Meanwhile, another Nigerian artist, Shallipopi, made similar headlines last year when he confessed that although he often appears with cigarettes in his visuals, he does not smoke in real life. He too cited aesthetic purposes as the reason for incorporating cigarettes into his public persona.

These revelations highlight an evolving trend in Nigeria’s music industry, where visual identity and storytelling have become central elements in shaping how artists connect with fans — not just through lyrics and sound but through symbolic appearances and creative choices.