AKA stated on the opening track of his breakout solo album Altar Ego in 2011 that he “never planned… never intended to be famous.” Yet, the South African who was murdered in Durban a week ago did not hide his talents.
A few days prior to his death, which authorities suspect was a targeted assassination, the award-winning 35-year-old rapper proclaimed himself to be the best producer in his genre.
The artist also known as Supa Mega tweeted,
“Statistically speaking, given I’ve created 90% of all my music, I must be the greatest South African hip-hop producer of all time.”
Yet in 2014, on Congratulate, one of the songs that cemented his fame as a megastar, he stated that he would be “shining like an eternal diamond, now congratulate me.”
Millions of fans, collectively known as “The Megacy,” are anticipated to follow online or attend his public memorial in Johannesburg on Friday, ensuring that he will continue to shine.
He may have stated that he did not desire celebrity status, but he surely attained it. His life and work, however, were not devoid of controversy.
AKA, who was born Kiernan Forbes in Cape Town in 1988, was one of the most acclaimed hip-hop artists in South Africa after releasing three solo albums and collaborating with other artists.
When he was very young, he lived with his grandparents in Mitchells Plain, one of the most violent townships in Cape Town, notorious for gangsterism and drug abuse.
Nonetheless, he went with his mother to Johannesburg, where he attended St. John’s College, an Anglican institution that bills itself as “among South Africa’s most prestigious colleges.”
Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and Nhlanhla Makena, two of his high school buddies, formed the hip-hop group Entity, which was the beginning of his musical career. The group was subsequently nominated for a KORA All Africa Music Award.
In a tribute on Twitter, Mpofu-Walsh, who is now a writer and professor, said, “He was meant for greatness from then on.”
AKA went on to study sound engineering and later created hits for musicians such as ProKid and Kuli Chana when the group disbanded.
Later, he collaborated with Burna Boy, a Nigerian Afrobeats star, as well as Da L.E.S, Nasty C, and Kwesta.
His influence is demonstrated by the enormous number of musicians, producers, politicians, and celebrities who have paid him respect.
In the past five years, however, the scrutiny of his personal life has increased, with tabloids reporting on his relationships and breakups.
He dated notable celebrities, including DJ Zinhle, with whom he had a seven-year-old kid.
He was also unafraid to engage in public feuds with other industry peers, such as fellow South African rapper Cassper Nyovest and the unforgettable Burna Boy.
During the xenophobic violence in South Africa in 2019, AKA began a rivalry with the Nigerian when the West African rapper urged black migrants to protect themselves from attacks.
Anele Tembe, the rapper’s 22-year-old fiancée, died in questionable circumstances after she fell from the 10th story of a Cape Town hotel in 2021. This marked a tragic turn in the scandals that surrounded the artist.
She was suspected to have committed suicide. But, at her funeral, her father, the renowned businessman Moses Tembe, refuted this and stated that his daughter did not commit suicide.
As a tribute to her, AKA released the song Tears Run Dry to commemorate their relationship.
He sang,
“When I wake up, I cannot feel the sun because you are not by my side.”
Nevertheless, another side of the musician emerged following the model’s death, when videos of the couple’s quarrels were released on social media, with the musician knocking down doors after one confrontation.
A few weeks after the death of his fiancée, AKA fought to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation by denying he had ever been abusive or violent. In a decision considered as a vindication for him, South African prosecutors opted not to pursue a case against him.
Some of AKA’s close associates, notably South African recording artist, and award-winning DJ Oscar Mdlongwa, also known as Oskido, stated that Tembe’s death altered him.
“When he left this life, he was a different Kiernan; he was not the Kiernan we knew 10 years ago,” he remarked earlier this week after paying his condolences to the family.
AKA himself stated that he had changed
“Sometimes I long for the days when I used to give out humble pie and rub people’s faces in it. Becoming a better person is difficult “he added.
“Murdered in broad daylight”
Friday evening outside a renowned restaurant in Durban, the authorities suspect he was murdered by a hired assassin.
On Surveillance footage, a man wearing a white sweater and hat is seen crossing the street and approaching AKA before firing two rounds at the rapper’s head, resulting in his instantaneous death. AKA and his longtime companion Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were both murdered.
“From what we know and have seen, it was a successful hit; AKA was murdered in broad daylight,” said Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, who visited AKA’s family on Sunday.
AKA was a musician, not a drug king; why did he deserve to be murdered in such a manner? He queried.
AKA asks in the opening track of his solo debut album, “What would happen to a regular guy with tremendous talent?”
Twelve years later, a devastating response was given to this inquiry.
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