AKA lived up to his stage name, right to the very end

To his family, he was Kiernan Jarryd Forbes. To his daughter, he was “dad” and to his legion of fans, he was AKA, Supa Mega, Bhova.

And now, his spirit will live on in those memories and the memories tied to his music. 

Life and times of AKA

Born in Cape Town on 28 January 1988 to Tony and Lynn Forbes, AKA became one of the most high-profile musicians on South Africa’s rap music scene.

He has been credited with being one of the artists who introduced the once-niche music genre to the masses.

Entity and I.V League

During his formative years, he formed a rap group called Entity in 2002 alongside his friends Greyhound (Nhlalnhla Makenna) and Vice Versa (Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh).

In a 2005 interview with IOL, he explained that his stage name stemmed from the fact that he was a different person to each of the people in his life. 

“To my mother, I am her son, to Vice Versa and Greyhound, I am a friend,” he told the publication.

Entity broke up in 2006, much to the dismay of their fans and he later joined a production collective now known as I.V League.

There, he worked alongside Buks and Kamza to produce some of the Hip Hop bangers that formed the soundtrack to many a young South African’s high school and university years. 

AKA goes solo

Three years later, that group came to an end as AKA ventured out on his own, starting with just three singles titled In My Walk, I Do and Mistakes.

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It wasn’t until 2010 that things really took off for AKA with the release of I Want It All, the lead single on his debut studio album, Altar Ego. 

In fact, his friend who died along with him in Friday night’s shooting, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, was instrumental in this part of AKA’s career, even serving as his manager during this time. 

Altar Ego also gave fans songs like All I Know and Victory Lap which went on to top South African radio charts. 

Accolades

Altar Ego also won several accolades, among them a Metro FM Music Award and a South African Music Award. 

He followed up that success with a project that many argue is one of the greatest offerings in South African hip-hop history, an album titled Levels, released on 20 June 2014. 

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Notable tracks on the project include Jealously, Kontrol, Congratulate and Run Jozi (Godly) featuring K.O and Yanga. 

It was in the music video for Jealousy that we would first see Bonang Matheba feature in an AKA project before the pair went on to become boyfriend and girlfriend years later.

This year, interestingly, he also began dating fellow musician Ntombezinhle ‘DJ Zinhle’ Jiyane with whom he now shares a seven-year-old daughter named Kairo Owethu Forbes (born in 2015). Their relationship ended due to an affair between AKA and Bonang and they tried to reconcile years later, to no avail.

Levels was followed up by Be Careful What You Wish For a joint project with South African super producer and rapper, Anathi ‘Anatii’ Mnyango. 

Thereafter, he dropped an album called Touch My Blood which was prefaced by singles such as The World Is Yours (the song which featured then-girlfriend Bonang Matheba in its music video), Caiphus Song, Star Signs featuring Stogie T and Sweet Fire. 

‘Touch My Blood’ rollout

The album rollout was accompanied by a social media competition calling on young graphic designers to duke it out for the honour of designing the star’s cover art.

The competition wasn’t without controversy as many criticised the rapper for requiring presumably struggling artists to put in work they may not ever be compensated for as there could only be one winner. 

The winner went on to receive an internship at a company that AKA set up to manage his brand called Beam Group. 

Controversies

Though the lead single for Touch My Blood and its accompanying music video were an ode to his then-girlfriend, Bonang, the pair went through a messy break-up that saw AKA include a diss track aimed at his ex on the project. 

The song, titled Beyonce, took aim at the media darling for the way in which her ex believed she was living. 

The album went on to be certified double platinum. 

In 2019, the controversial rapper was honoured by Comedy Central in a roast aimed at celebrating his career by poking fun at him. 

The following year, he partnered with alcohol manufacturer Cruz Vodka in a deal that saw him earn profit on every bottle sold from his branded flavour variant. 

Two years later in 2021, he whets fans’ appetites with an EP titled Bhovamania and was honoured as Artist of the Decade at that year’s South African Hip Hop Awards. 

READ: AKA and Nadia Nakai’s loved up baecation in US

RIP Neli Tembe

It was also, tragically the year that he lost his young fiance, Anele Neli Tembe after she fell from the tenth floor of a hotel they were staying at in Cape Town. 

This, is also the incident that changed how many viewed the rapper, therefore adding another layer to the man that people saw AKA as.

A view that many have said they cannot forget in the wake of his passing. 

Thank you for music

Having picked the name AKA for himself and cleverly naming his debut solo project “Altar Ego,” one can only wonder if AKA knew just how much power lay in the stage name he chose for himself. 

At the time of his passing, he was just days away from releasing his highly-anticipated album Mass Country.

He was also scheduled to appear on the lineup for the upcoming Valentine’s Day event called The Soireé by Stella Artois.

AKA leaves behind his parents, his brother Steffan, his daughter and his girlfriend, Nadia Nakai.