AKA: Rags to riches - the rise of SA’s favourite hip-hop rap star

AKA: Rags to riches - the rise of SA’s favourite hip-hop rap star

- The award-winning South African rapper, AKA, has not always lived the life of a superstar, rising from the lows of the Cape Flats to heights on international stages

- His complicated love life and sense of style contribute to his worldwide following

- At the top of his game in SA's rap and hip-hop scene, he remains a person we can identidy with

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AKA is a name well-known to South Africa and in music circles abroad, but most fans are not aware of the humble beginnings of the hip-hop rap artist who was named Kiernan Jarryd Forbes at birth.

Born in Cape Town in 1988, the 31-year-old spent most of his younger years growing up on the Cape Flats of Mitchell's Plain with his grandmother and younger brother, witnessing firsthand the life of poverty.

He later moved with his mother, a teacher, to Johannesburg, where he attended high school at St. John's college and started a hip-hop rap band, Entity, which disbanded in 2006.

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In 2009 he embarked on his solo career and soared to heights with singles such as "Do It" and "Mistakes In My Walk". This caught the attention of the international scene, leading to the achievement of numerous awards, including a Channel O Music Video Award, aside form his SA music accolades.

READ ALSO: 10 Best AKA Songs with Videos

AKA has also been hailed as a style icon with his unique and tasteful sense of fashion, earning him the title of QC Best Dressed Man.

His love life is also a source of interest for fans who follow his relationships with zeal, particularly the drama served up in his time spent dating Bonang Matheba, another well-known celebrity in South African circles.

AKA has affiliations with several charities and keeps his home community close to heart.

It is clear that AKA's career is still heading full-steam ahead, with little chance of SA's favourite rapper disappearing off the radar and time soon.

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Source: Briefly News

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