Aka

Background

Kiernan Jarryd Forbes was born and raised in Cape Town. After forming a hip-hop group called Entity with his friends, it wasn’t long before it gained prominence in the music world. They were nominated for the Best African Hip-Hop category for the KORA All Africa Music Awards. After the group disbanded in 2006, Forbes did not let this deter his pursuits for a musical career and went on to study sound engineering. He collaborated with a music collective, where he made production credits for hip-hop artists ProKid, JR, and Khuli Chana. Still intent on creating his music, he released three singles in 2009: ‘In My Walk,’ ‘I Do,’ and ‘Mistakes.’

These set the tone for and cemented AKA’s sound in the music industry. A year later, lead singles ‘All I Know’ and ‘Victory Lap’ were pre-released and became hits, setting the precedent for his debut album “Altar Ego.” The album was released on August 23, 2011, and became certified gold for its immense success. He went on to release his second album, “Levels,” on June 30, 2014, from which he pre-released singles ‘Jealousy,’ ‘Kontrol,’ ‘Congratulate,’ and ‘Run Jozi.’ It went double platinum, skyrocketing AKA’s fame and influence. Later, he released the third and fourth albums, “Be Careful What You Wish For” and “Touch My Blood” – the former of which was a collaboration with Anatii. “Touch My Blood” was released on June 15, 2018, and received significant success for his collaborations with other African artists like L-Tido, Yanga Chief, Kwesta & Okmalumkoolkat, and Nigerian producer Kiddominant. In 2021, he released an Extended Play titled “Bhovamania.”

Tragedy struck with the death of his fiancée, Nelli Tembe, who passed away following an unfortunate incident at a hotel. It was a trying time but he continued to make music until his untimely death on February 10, 2023.