He recently signed a deal with Amapiano artist Pholoso "Toss' Masombuka (24) to be the ambassador of his brand Billiato. Refiloe Phoolo,fondly known as Cassper Nyovest (32), announced the news in a series of pictures showing Toss in a bathrub referenced from a photoshoot done with US rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur taken in 1996. The images of Tupac were shot by American photographer, music video director, and film director David LaChapelle.

THE BACKLASH

While many people love the photo shoot, Cassper also received backlash from people calling him a copycat, unoriginal, and a gimmick. Speaking to ZiMoja, Cassper says he chose to work with Toss for a reason. "He is authentically black excellence. He is a different colour that cannot be copied. He is a star that I believe in and I see him becoming something much bigger. He has people doing the UMlando in London and across the world.' Cassper was aware people would spot that he referenced the iconic Tupac images by David LaChapelle. "I knew people would criticise me.They criticise anything brilliant,' he gloats. "I was wishing they were going to remember the reference and why I did it. For me, when I look at Toss, I see Tupac. This guy comes from the hood and he is just himself. He oozes sex appeal, women like that.'

HATERS CRITISIZE

Because of this, he then remembered the shoot that Tupac did and wanted to reference it for his new campaign. "I kept on showing Toss the images. At first, he was skeptical but I wanted him to show people a different side to him. That shoot doesn't show the Toss we know, but him as a model. He can model Versace, Gucci, and high-end brands. We are a luxury and premium brand and that's how I wanted to portray him.' Cassper art directed the shoot. "I knew people would criticise. Haters criticize anything I do. I know some people will love it. I wrote on the picture where the reference comes from.'