The family of slain South African rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes recently released a heartwarming, yet tear-jerking video of him dancing to one of his songs Sponono from his chart-topping posthumous album Mass Country.
The award-winning musician was gunned down in Durban on 10 February this year. No arrests have been made.
In the video released on Instagram, the late musician is seen jamming during the making of the song.
AKA’s team released the clip to promote the song, which was released to radio last week, further adding a note at the end of the clip that the music video will be coming soon.In an interview with SA Hip Hop Mag, one of the producers of Mass Country – Zadok – revealed that the late rapper wanted to create a joint project with Sjava which would integrate Maskandi music and hip hop together.
“Funny enough, the initial concept of this project, there was a conversation about a joint project between AKA and Sjava because of the Maskandi influence that Kiernan wanted to have in the Mass Country. Obviously, that didn’t work, but in the end, we managed to still get Sjava on the track.”The Company hitmaker’s team also told TimesLIVE that the song Sponono is an ode to love; “an unashamed expression of love and appreciation by a man in love.”
In the IsiZulu language, Sponono is a term of endearment to describe the beauty of a black woman.
AKA dedicated the song to his girlfriend and fellow rapper Nadia Nakai. In the song, The SupaMega affirms his love for Nadia, saying “This is real love, it’s ride or die.”
He goes on to say that she is God-sent, “When I was at my weakest, you sparked this fire
God sent you to give me juice and ice.”
AKA and Nadia were rumoured to have started dating in late 2021. This came after the Lemons (Lemonade) hitmaker lost his fiancée, Anele “Nellie” Tembe who fell to her death from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel on Loop street in Cape Town in April 2021.
Four days after AKA’s heartbreaking passing, The Insider SA shared the couple’s last interview together.
Nadia revealed that they first met in 2013, just after she had finished varsity. The Naaa Meaan hitmaker was working for Icon, and she interviewed AKA – who was already famous by then. Little did they know that they would be crazy in love almost 10 years later.
The couple also revealed that on their first date, AKA invited Nadia to his home. The Fela In Versace hitmaker prepared a meal for her and being such a romantic, he lit candles and dimmed the lights.
Gushing over AKA, Nadia shared: “I think the favourite thing I love about you is how much of a leader you are. You lead me in a lot of things; you teach me a lot of things. I also like the fact that you are so strong in your beliefs and the way that you think is the right way to do things, and I had to learn a lot of that from you.”