South African music icon Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, at the launch of the Northern Cape Talent Expo in Kimberley. Picture: Soraya Crowie
THE NORTHERN Cape MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Desery Fienies, said that South African hip hop superstar Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, made a life-changing difference in the lives of artists in the Province.
Forbes died after he was shot in Durban on Friday night.
The iconic musician had recently partnered with Northern Cape Talent Expo in a competition aimed at developing vocalists in the Province.
The winner of the 2022 Northern Cape Talent Expo clinched an opportunity to collaborate with AKA on his latest album, which is still to be released.
Fienies said AKA’s passing has left a great gap in the music industry.
“AKA had a distinct and well-defined footprint in the Northern Cape as he was the ambassador of the Northern Cape Talent Expo show,” said Fienies. “The Northern Cape Talent Expo is a competition intended to help artists and the arts sector grow.
“The inaugural winner of the competition, Tyrone Phillips, with the stage name ‘Weathrd’, recorded a single with AKA, which is expected to be released on his latest album later this month.
“It was an opportunity of a lifetime for Weathrd, all the way from Steinkopf in the Namakwa District, to be afforded the opportunity to record a single with AKA …
“His death is a great loss not only to the country but to the Northern Cape as well as the cultural and creative industry, just as we were embarking on a developmental campaign of our musicians in the Northern Cape with AKA.
“His passing leaves a big gap in the music industry and will have saddened his many admirers in South Africa and many overseas countries,” Fienies concluded.
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