Many viewers were eager to hear and see Nigerian singer Bella Shmurda perform when he took the Big Brother Naija stage.
But when the performer actually took the stage, the topic of conversation abruptly changed and turned to his attire. Bella Shmurda appeared on stage wearing a skirt, which naturally sparked a lot of discussion.
“Na me and Bella Shmurda know why e wear skirt for the #BBNaija show yesterday,” said one tweet on the look. “Bella Shmurda don go,” “Price of jeans for market no be tiny play,” “Bella shmurda wear skirt Wetin Una Dey smoking for that Lagos?”
Bella Shmurda now discusses his decision to start donning skirts in a new interview with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu on the program Rubbin’ Minds, as well as how the controversy surrounding the look has affected him. Here are Bella Shmurda’s exact words.
Ebuka Obi-Uchendu asked Bella Shmurda the following questions “Let’s discuss your personal style as it’s currently a hot topic. When you performed on Big Brother, you were wearing this [skirt] on stage. What is going on?” Bella answered:
This, in my opinion, is how I choose to stand apart. This, in my opinion, is a better way to identify Bella Shmurda and to promote African culture. Every artist has a way of being recognized.
No I don’t. I do music. Art is my own peace. I don’t do clout. When I love something, I do it for my own self. I do it for the growth. I do it for the culture. So wearing skirt on that platform was not for clout or for people to talk. It was just for expression of art, for expression of myself.