AKA shot dead: Local event
MBABANE – Sad day in music!
Yesterday morning the world woke up to the tragic news of the passing of one of South Africa’s top Hip Hop rappers, Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known to many as AKA or Super Mega.
According to News 24 reports, the 35-year-old award winning artist was gunned down in Durban at Florida Road, South Africa on Friday night, just after 10pm.
Information shared by South African Police Service (SAPS), to News 24, was that AKA was dining at Wish Restaurant, with a close friend Tebello Motsoane, popularly known as Tibz, when unknown gunmen open fire on them.
The gunmen are said to have been on foot and walked up to the AKA and Tibz, fired the deadly shots, before boarding a getaway car.
PERFORM
It is alleged AKA was declared dead on the scene by paramedics. He was scheduled to perform at Yugo Nightclub for his birthday celebration show on the fateful night.
His family confirmed his passing yesterday via a press statement which read: “Our son was loved and he gave love in return. In this time of grief we appeal for your compassion, space and time to congregate as family to decide on the upcoming days,” his family said in a statement. It remains unclear what the motive for the shooting was.
The spate of killings of artists is increasing in neighbouring SA as the most recent one was DJ Sumbody. The South African DJ and producer was murdered in Johannesburg on November 20, last year. The Pretoria-born artist was killed in a drive-by shooting .
TRAGIC
Another tragic death was that of Reggae superstar Lucky Dube back in October 18, 2007.
Dube was killed by hijackers in Rosettenville, a suburb in southern Johannesburg, shortly after dropping two of his seven children off at their uncle’s house. Dube was driving his Chrysler 300C, which the assailants attempted to hijack.
The Entertainment Desk reached out to a few local promoters who worked with AKA on past shows and they shared their experience and what they would miss about the megastar.
He last performed in the country back in 2019 at the MTN Spotlight finale at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre, to over 300 revellers.
At that time he told his fans that he loved performing in Eswatini as the was something majestic about the atmosphere in the kingdom.
He also performed at the Hipnotik Festival back in 2012 and the prestigious MTN Bushfire Festival in 2016 among other places.