Memorial And Funeral Details For South African Rapper AKA Announced

The family of South African rap star Kiernan Jarryd Forbes popularly known as AKA has announced details for a memorial and funeral service for the musician.

The family in a statement acknowledged and thanked everyone for the outpouring of love since their ‘son’ passed away.

“We as the Forbes family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love we have received over the past few days. Kiernan wasn’t just loved by us as a family, but by the nation, as we’ve seen from loved ones, friends, media tributes and the MEGACY.”

They announced AKA’s memorial will be open to the public and streamed online as part of celebrating his life and the impact he made within the short time he lived.

“It is our wish to celebrate the life of Kiernan with those he touched and impacted through his gift of music. His memorial will therefore be open to the public as well as streamed online on YouTube.”

AKA will be laid to rest in a private provincial ceremony on February 17, 2023.

AKA together with his long-time friend Tebello Motsoane, known as Tibzfriend was shot dead outside a popular restaurant on Florida Rd in Durban where he was due to perform at a nightclub.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 28 January 1988, AKA broke into the music scene in 2002 when he formed a hip-hop group called Entity alongside fellow performers Vice Versa and Greyhound.

They went on to receive a nomination for a KORA Award in the Best African Hip Hop category before disbanding in 2006.

AKA went on to create music as a solo artist leading up to the release of his debut album, Alter Ego, which was released in 2011.

He went on to release three further albums – with the most recent being the 2018 record Touch My Blood.

In his personal life, AKA had an on-off relationship with 39-year-old music producer DJ Zinhle, real name Ntombezinhle Jiyane.

They welcomed a daughter named Kairo Olwethu Forbes in 2015 – and the couple split up that same year before reconciling in 2018 and splitting again in 2019.

Tragically, AKA found love with Nelli Tembe, with the pair becoming engaged in February 2021 – but Nelli fell from a balcony and died in April of that same year.

Until his untimely death, AKA was dating South African rapper Nadia Nakai