AKA to perform all his hits

HITMAKER: Hip hop artist AKA is among the headline acts set down for the annual London Roots extravaganza on Boxing Day next week Picture: SIBONGILE NGALWA
HITMAKER: Hip hop artist AKA is among the headline acts set down for the annual London Roots extravaganza on Boxing Day next week Picture: SIBONGILE NGALWA
One of the country’s top hitmakers, AKA, is in East London for his SupaMega show at the Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium tomorrow.

>https://youtu.be/dRUdEluU55s

He will be joined by Anatii, DJ Tira, Mozzlie, PH, Mdu and Yanga, among many others.

Speaking with the Daily Dispatch yesterday, AKA said he was looking forward to the show. “This will be a big event. My band is coming down and we’ve been working hard for this show for months now,” he said.

Since the release of his debut album Alar Ego, AKA has produced a number of hits and made a name for himself outside the country, and has been nominated for the BET Awards and MTV Africa Music Awards, among many others.

Some of his latest hits include World is Mine, Angelz, Caiphus Song and 10 Fingers.

The rapper said his intention was always to make authentic music.

“The reason I make these hits is because I don’t go into the studio and try to make hits. We don’t say anything, we just get in and make music.

“I write songs from the heart and the message is always authentic,” he said.

“If you are worried about how people are going to receive you, what they will say, you will also worry about what they will say about your music. Take that out of your thinking, do the best that you can and don’t wait for good or bad feedback.”

This year, AKA received his third consecutive nod at the BET Awards in the category Best International Act: Africa.

Wizkid won it, fellow South African DJ Black Coffee took it last year and in 2015 Ghanaian superstar Stonebwoy bagged the award.

“I’ve taken a different approach to awards now. It’s nice to be recognised by my peers and the industry, but for me the biggest award is longevity, and still being here after my first album came out in 2011 and still being at the top of my game and relevant.

“People still enjoy my music and they are packing up the show and buying the merchandise. That for me is the biggest award,” he said, adding that awards used to mean everything to him.

“But now my fans mean more to me than they ever have.”

Responding on how social media treats celebrities, the vocal AKA, who has been criticised for what he posts, said it all came with the territory.

“If people didn’t care, then I wouldn’t have people supporting me. You have to take the good and the bad.

“The key is to put down your phone, don’t go on Twitter or the internet. People are stuck in their phones and they shouldn’t be.

“Live your life.”

AKA said he would be performing all his hits.

“I will be on stage for an hour, it’s going to be a great show,” he said. Catch him today at a pop-up store in Hemingways.

l General tickets for the show cost R100 at Computicket. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za

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