D4vd Once Explained ‘Murderous Alter Ego’ Itami in ‘Romantic Homicide’

Ever since the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that the partial remains found in singer d4vd’s Tesla trunk belonged to a missing teen, the R&B singer has been under a web of suspicion.

To be clear, he has not been accused by authorities in connection with the death of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas. Nor has the “Romantic Homicide” singer been arrested. However, fans are scouring d4vd’s music videos and song lyrics for clues. Those music videos and song lyrics contain death imagery.

In particular, d4vd developed a “murderous alter ego” he calls Itami.

One music video fans have zeroed in on is “Romantic Homicide,” which shows d4vd in a blood-spattered shirt and blindfold. Viewers online have speculated that an actress in the video resembles Rivas, though authorities have not made any such connection. Another video has also drawn attention for a scene in which a body is placed in a car trunk, with d4vd portraying both the victim and the perpetrator.

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Since the discovery, d4vd has stepped back from the public eye, canceling his tour dates. But before that, he had spoken about the death imagery in his work and the origin of his Itami character — including a February 2023 post on X where he shared more details.

“Hey guys we have officially named the blindfold character! his name is itami (傷み) which means pain in Japanese,” he wrote at the time. “I have alot of cool ideas fully building out this story with you all! (feel free to leave conspiracy theories) the expansive d4vdverse is only getting started.”

He also expanded on the character in an interview with Mahogany four months before the death investigation. “The story of the Manga went like – I was a detective and there was an evil version of myself that would come out at random moments,” he said. “Kinda like ‘Fight Club’ with Tyler Durden. He would commit the crimes that I would have to solve afterwards as a detective. So as the detective, I’d be solving murders that I’m committing myself.”

He explained to Mahogany why he put Itami in “Romantic Homicide” and other music videos. “I put that all on screen, and me and Itami had a great time just like chopping it up and getting to kind of merge creative ideas on the entire thing,” he said.