Indeed, any day this life gon’ flash before your eyes.
He might not have known what was to come when he busted this line in his Jika hit song five years ago.
But it couldn’t have been any closer to reality than it did on Saturday at Crocodile Creek where the annual Joburg Day event was held.
Any other year, he would have been on stage with his band, performing like the superstar that he was but unfortunately this year, his band was alone.
As his slot began and the South African flag hung over the mic just as he would pride himself in his country, thousands of people flocked closer to the stage to pay tribute to the award-winning rapper, Kiernan Jarryd Forbes.
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Among this crowd was one die-hard fan, Tshepo Motloung who had been yearning for this kind of closure to Supamega for over six months now.
From her tribute shirt to her face, it was all evident that it was the one performance she had been looking forward to the whole day.
Of this tribute, the one she couldn’t wait to see though is Nadia Nakai’s bit which she felt would give everyone a sense of how beautiful their love was and how they had planned to deliver the song to their day ones.
During this much anticipated performance of their song together; Dangerous, Nadia Nakai shows up in an arty denim outfit and a long denim jacket with her and AKA’s colourful faces at the back.
Ending it off with a twerk, the musician bowed out to sit on a couch next to the stage where AKA’s parents Lynn and Tony Forbes sat in awe of the love from the crowd.
“His death affected me so much. His music inspires me from the days of Ivy league, from the days of his first records, that’s why I’m wearing this shirt today,” she tells Drum.
From far back, the big, emboldened name ‘AKA’ written in black on white stands out and from the front, his face appears with his notorious eyebrow raised.
“Every song inspires me because he’s a legend in his lyrics, I still speak about him as if he’s still alive. In my soul, in my heart, he’s still alive. It’s sad that this year we are not able to see him play here.”
Getting emotional as she remembers the day she received the news of the rapper’s passing, she says, “Most of my friends know that I’m a fan so when the shooting happened, they called me around the time it happened, and I found myself crying at my boyfriend’s place. I know it sounds weird, but I couldn’t stop crying especially after seeing the video. I still cry now…,” she sheds a tear.
“It felt like I lost a family member and to think that the last time I saw him was at Back to the City festival which he hadn’t performed in a long time there. I’m just grateful for the person that he was,” she adds.
Although Tshepo did not remember the first song she heard of AKA on the spot, she admits that Congratulate is the first song that reached the top for her.
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“Congratulate made him. He’s not only celebrating himself, he’s celebrating everyone and that’s how I felt with the song because it’s remembering that no matter what you go through and you listen to that song, he’s congratulating everybody through their achievements no matter how little it is.”
“His first album that I have of his, is stuck in my CD player, I can’t take it out so when I have those moments, I just play him to feel better,” she says.
After Khuli Chana, Yanga Chief, Maggz, Thato Saul, Nadia Nakai and DA L.E.S performed all the bangers that he had made with them, Kairo closed the show.
And not with any other song but the latest hit song from her dad’s last album, Mass Country.
Standing right behind the mic with the flag still flying high, the 8-year-old sang “Just trust in me, I'll build you a masterpiece. This world not enough for me. Kiss me on the cheek, say "Mcwah" for me.
Oh, close company. Energy, feel no punch from me. This luxury, R.I.P DJ Sumbody.”
Again, from this song, we were all reminded how AKA appreciated life and cherished the music changemakers just as would be found in the Caiphus song.
At this point, tears flowed as everyone admired Kairo’s strength and bravery.
