AKA parts ways with Cruz
JOHANNESBURG - South African rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes is making bigger and better moves in his career as he says goodbye to Cruz Vodka ahead of his new business venture.
The ‘Victory Lap’ hitmaker took to social media on Monday to share a statement in which he and the Cruz management team announced the end of their 6-year partnership, as he ventures into the alcoholic beverage business by releasing his own alcohol brand. “Post lengthy discussions, Kiernan Forbes (AKA) has shared his ambition to create his own spirit brand with the Cruz management team. He outlined a change in his business model from AKA partner to AKA-owned brands. We appreciate his vision and agree that it’s the logical next step for him,” said the statement.
The statement further explained that the rapper’s name will be removed from his signature watermelon Cruz Vodka bottles, and that the recently-launched banana flavour will be discontinued after the summer.
“While ‘AKA’ will remain an integral part of the Cruz family and a valued business partner, as per his request, we will be phasing his name off the Cruz Watermelon bottle and will phase Cruz Banana out of the market this summer,” read the statement.
The rapper’s name will now only be used on his products. This new change should come into full effect between May and October 2022, explained the statement.
“Going forward, the ‘AKA’ brand name will be reserved for AKA-owned products. This will happen in a phased manner from May-October 2022,” said Cruz management team.