No more beef. Now rap is also known as wit, acumen and a
touch of arrogance
When rappers dropped “beef” as a business currency, the
battle moved on to wits, business acumen, fashion sense and well thought-out
marketing strategies.
Think back to the 1990s and early 2000s to the great hip-hop
feuds of Tupac vs Notorious B.I.G.; Nas vs Jay-Z; Ice Cube vs Common; and Dr
Dre vs Eazy E.
On these shores, the industry gasped at the latest snide
remarks and poison thrown at the enemy in the cases of Brenda Fassie vs
Senyaka; Mdu Masilela vs TKZee; B.O.P. vs Arthur Mafokate; Skwatta Kamp vs Jay
Stash; Proverb vs Prokid; and then L-Tido vs AKA.
There was always tension and “beef” found a place in our
lexicon as more than just a form of red meat, but, as Wikipedia puts it:
“Controversy in which multiple rappers defame and confront each other in a
number of ways.”
The times have moved on and these days the tough gangsta
rappers have left the spoils for those softies of R&B such as Chris Brown
vs Frank Ocean, most recently. There’s even
girl-on-girl action thrown in for good measure: Lil Kim vs
Nicki Minaj; Nicki Minaj vs Mariah Carey; Etta James vs Beyoncé; and Beyoncé vs
Aretha Franklin.
Enter the modern-day rap star. He is smooth, suave and well
groomed. Tailored suits, designer shades in place, he could have been plucked
from a catwalk in Milan. Rap has really cleaned up.
Also cleaned up is AKA, born Kiernan Forbes, South Africa’s
reigning prince of rap. He came onto the scene after beefing with L-Tido over a
song and he went on Facebook to diss it, but now he speaks a different
language. In fact, he is the model citizen for modern rap.
Under the trees of Moyo at Zoo Lake, Joburg’s premium eating
spot for tourists in a faux African village setting, the 25-year-old prince
awaits.
And I am careful here because these kinds of titles often
land one in a pool of controversy. But when you consider that AKA is the
reigning winner of Best Male Artist at the SA Music Awards (Sama), he swept the
boards at the Hip-Hop Awards, raking in four trophies, he is currently
dominating the charts with his hit single Jealousy and is fresh from opening
Kanye West’s concert in Joburg last weekend, I’m willing to take my chances.
He could pass for a basketball player, if only he weighed a
bit more. He is tall and wears a crown of healthy black hair. As always, his
eyes remain a mystery behind the Ray Bans.
The husky voice and low energy levels point to traces of a
rough night or someone in need of a break. But he gets on with the interview.
His story is peculiar. His album has been out now for less
than 18 months, yet he is already touted as a prince of hip-hop.
“It’s been great – many successes since the album came out.
The awards have been very very nice. I’ve always wanted to win a Sama and I
ended up performing with Jack Parow on the Sama stage.
“Altar Ego was a landmark album for hip-hop. If you look at
the Samas, it pulled hip-hop into the mainstream. I won the best hip-hop album
and best male artist and I was nominated against people like Jimmy Dludlu and
other highly esteemed artists. With a lot of hard work, we managed to walk away
with it.
“I want to carry on the momentum from 2011 to 2012 and now
into 2013. It seems there’s no stopping us,” he reflects.
“I’m growing as an artist and a producer, which I didn’t
have time for in the past. The video of Jealousy is one of the best. It raises
the bar for videos in the country and I’m proud of that.”
Does he feel people are jealous of his meteoric rise to the
top in such a short space of time?
“Yes, some people are.” Then he quickly shifts the focus to
the song. “Well, firstly, the song is fresh. The idea of making a song about
jealousy didn’t come from me. It stemmed from what the sample sounded like.
“If you listen to the lyrics, it doesn’t talk too much about
jealousy, people and haters, because I really don’t like that rhetoric. It’s a
great song, it’s energetic. I have a great time when I perform it and people
seem to love the song.”
AKA knows, along with the industry, that in hip-hop your
reputation and street cred is all you have. And beef – especially fabricated
and orchestrated – will get you nowhere. Fans can see through the charade, so
he keeps his eyes on the prize, which is making good music.
And the song is indeed a great precursor to what should be
another good album. But he is pacing himself. “I’m gonna take my time and get
it right, like
I did the first time. My next album has to be more dynamic
in terms of the music in it.
“I also want to see myself have a bigger impact on the
continent, and possibly have more overseas performances.”
And how he spends his time in the studio points to a
consummate professional driven by passion for what he does.
“Putting together an album is a lot of stress. It’s very
draining. You put your life into an album. It becomes your baby – everything
you eat, sleep, breathe. Coming off the back of a successful album like Altar
Ego, there’s a little more pressure I put on myself. My aim is to take risks
and make great songs and great albums.”
AKA has also caught the eyes of casting agents. While his
music show on the embattled TopTV fizzled out just weeks after it started, he
is to feature as a reality star. This weekend he will debut on Tropika Island
of Treasure, a local celebrity reality show loosely based on the popular
Survivor format. This year it was shot in Jamaica.
“It was quite a lot of fun. I just went to have fun. A
million rand (the show’s prize money) is not a huge fortune really.
“I’m not big on reality shows but I had good times with a
great group of people,” he says.
And what attracted the TV producers to him? “I like to have
fun. I like to laugh. I like to make jokes. I like to make other people laugh
and I get along with everybody.
“I also stand up for what I believe in. I guess those
personality traits work for me.”
On his character, AKA reveals he is more than just a
rhyme-spitting smartass rapper, but is always up for a good challenge.
“I thrive under pressure for another single, people wanting
to see what I’m gonna come up with next. It’s an opportunity to challenge
myself and to grow as a person,” he says. “It may get a bit tiring and the
schedule may be too much, but it could be worse. I could be at a desk doing a
nine-to-five.”
For someone whose business thrives on attention and who
trades on his talents in the public space, it’s surprising AKA doesn’t
subscribe to the idea of celebrity. Instead he gets philosophical. “I don’t
have a brand of celebrity. I don’t believe in celebrities. The easiest thing
for me to do is to be myself.”
While beef may be irrelevant to today’s rappers, ego,
arrogance and self-importance have proved to be essential ingredients. AKA is
known to have a reputation for being highly strung. Feigning modesty, he says
he is not arrogant. In fact, he displays some displeasure at the notion.
“I don’t pay any mind to anybody who says I’m stuck up.
I don’t even talk about it. It doesn’t excite my thinking
and doesn’t factor into who I am,” he says. “My attitude has always been it
doesn’t really matter what people say. It doesn’t affect the truth. The truth
is what I’m living in, that’s that. The only person I have to please when it
comes to stuff like that is myself.”
Our conversation takes a serious turn as we talk about
lessons from the music industry.
“I’ve learnt to choose my words better, to ignore
negativity, to speak up when you really believe in something in terms of
creating music or videos or content – because at the end of the day you’re the
one who has to perform and represent what people see and you need to follow
through with your vision,” he says. “I’ve also learnt to be a private person
and keep a small circle of friends.”
Rise to fame
January 28 1988 – AKA is born in Cape Town and
moves to Joburg a few years later.
2002 – AKA joins friends to form hip-hop group
Entity and releases their first single Touch & Go.
2005 – Entity nominated for a Kora All Africa
Music Award.
2006 – Entity splits and AKA finds an office
job.
2007 – hooks up with music collective IV League.\
Alongside it he helps to produce some of SA’s biggest stars
such as Pro (Dankie San), Tuks (The Monopoly), Khuli Chana (MotswakOriginator),
Teargas (Wafa Wafa), Psyfo (The Afterparty), JR (Y.B.R.F) and Proverb (Super
Official).
2009 – Wins Best Newcomer at the Hype Awards as
a solo act.
2010 – Features on MTV Base Brand New Artist
show, a stamp of approval that launches him on a bigger platform. He adopts the
nickname SA’s Prince of Hip-Hop and opens for Rick Ross in Cape Town.
2011 – Releases his first single Victory Lap
that goes on to top the charts MetroFM for five weeks. Releases his debut album
Alter Ego. And picks up gongs at the Channel O Awards and the Metro FM Music
Awards and the Hip Hop Awards. He places fourth on GQ South Africa’s Top 10
Best Dressed Men.
2012 – Wins major categories at the SA Music
Awards and the South African Hip-Hop Awards. Releases Jealousy off his upcoming
untitled second album, the video features top South African celebrities such as
Bonang Matheba, Benny McCarthy and DJ Cleo
2013 – Opens for Ne-Yo and Kanye West at their
respective concerts in Joburg.
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