Mike Muchiri explains how crop top backlash influenced his rebranding as Ziya Africa
By Valerian Khakayi, November 23, 2025Digital content creator Mike Muchiri, currently known as Ziya Africa, has opened up about how the backlash he faced over the viral crop top controversy played a role in his decision to rebrand himself.
In a candid conversation with the Mic Cheque podcast in an episode aired on Sunday, November 23, 2025, Ziya explained that he had wanted to rebrand for the longest time, and the backlash provided the perfect opportunity for him to disappear from social media.
Seizing the opportunity, he changed his public persona.
“In March, when the crop top thing was going on, before I logged off and deleted socials, I figured, I have wanted to rebrand for a good amount of time, and I did not know how to. This is the time and the moment,” Ziya opened up.
“I seized the opportunity and changed my name.”
In addition, the content creator explained that while publicly he is now identified as Ziya Africa, off social, he is still Mike Muchiri.
“I am still Mike, but publicly I now identify as Ziya Africa, who is an artist and off socials I am Mike Muchiri. Ziya means ‘light’ in Arabic,” he explained.
He emphasised that the rebranding is holistic, reflecting more than just his music or comedy.
“Me referring to myself as an artist is holistic; it’s not about music alone, it’s about fashion, my comedy, how I dress, and how I talk,” he added.
“I did not want to be only an influencer, I wanted to be more.”
Depression and rebirth
In a deeply personal reflection, Ziya Africa revealed that this year pushed him to extremes he never imagined.
What many assumed was a random celebrity’s social media break was actually his first major depressive episode, a struggle he says changed every part of his life.
“If I could ever write a book, it could be about this year, I feel like this year I have experienced extremes,” he disclosed.
“First of all, Nikidisappear, I would say this year was my first time going through what I would say was my first depressive episode ever, and I did not know how to handle it.”
The digital content creator further described the experience as both painful and transformative, a season that forced him to peel back layers, remove masks, and confront himself honestly.
“Sometimes you have to go through these experiences for you to step back and clearly see yourself, peel back all the layers, all the mask uwache kuperform and see yourself for yourself. That is what I went through,” Ziya stated.