The late South African rapper and producer, Kiernan “AKA” Forbes has delivered his fifth studio album, Mass Country to his fans/supporters. Tragically, the rapper is not present to celebrate this monumentous shift in the South African hip-hop community.
Gearing up for this release since 2021, AKA promised his fans this album and was scheduled to be released on October of 2022 when his lead single, “Lemons (Lemonade)” featuring Nasty C became an instant viral hit, awarding him another platinum single. With being a perfectionist, AKA postponed the October album drop to early 2023, and in January of 2023 is when we’d get the official release date, being the 24th of February 2023.
On the day of his sudden death, 10 February 2023, hours before the incident, AKA had announced a new date stating; “MASS COUNTRY 27/02/2023”. Little did we know that would be the end of his presence.
The entertainment industry, worldwide mourned the loss of one of South Africa’s biggest music moguls and had come to acceptance that this is the end of a beautiful era in South African music.
While keeping his legacy alive, the Megacy (his fanbase), music team and family have been active with the album promo since his death and have made a promise to continue supporting his final album until it reaches platinum status because good music lives on beyond death.
Two weeks after his death, the Forbes family and AKA’s team release his highly anticipated studio album, Mass Country since we last received an album of his in 2018 with “Touch My Blood”. Mass Country is equal parts of a love letter to the country and the sounds he grew up with, and a cathartic journey through grief, healing and self-rediscovery.
I wanted to make an album that had an undercurrent of super South African country music… I grew up listening to a lot of Jackson Brown and Cat Steves, and all these weird guys that my dad played me, and it was kind of cathartic for me after my fiancée passed away.”
Kiernan “AKA” Forbes.
Mass Country was an idea that was sparked shortly after the heartbreaking loss of his fiancée, Anele “Nellie” Tembe, who passed away in April 2021. Mass Country is an offering of love in its many forms. This fifth studio album also cements AKA’s legacy as a producer who used an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of South Africa’s most beloved hits to reinterpret them through captivating samples and interpolations.
AKA recruited producers Christer, Fdeezus, Oriah, 031Choppa, KDDO, SayFar, Nlcno, Tshepo “Teddy” Moloi and Loud Haileer, alongside co-executive producers Nhlanhla “Niv” Ndimande, Tshiamo Letshwene and Zādok.
AKA also enlisted features from Thato Saul, Emtee, Manana, Nasty C, Khuli Chana, Sjava, 031Choppa, Baby S.O.N, KDDO, Musa Keys, Gyakie, Blxckie, Yanga Chief, Laylizzy, Weathrd and Nadia Nakai.
Check it out below;
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