We called him Supa Mega, Bhova and AKA, but to Lynn Forbes he was “my boy”. On Friday night, award-winning rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes was gunned down in Durban at the age of 35.
Just after 11pm, videos of two bodies covered in silver foil outside Wish restaurant in Durban's Florida Road went viral. It was confirmed that the rapper, along with his friend and celebrity author Tebello 'Tibz' Motsoane had been shot multiple times while standing on the pavement outside.
Having arrived in the city earlier that day, Forbes was scheduled to perform at YūGō, a luxury champagne bar and social club, for his birthday celebration tour.
Hours before, the self-proclaimed “pop star” was dancing in the gym and getting a haircut. Later he enjoyed lobster and tequila toasts with friends at the restaurant. This would be the last time fans would see him.
Having entered the music industry almost 20 years ago, Forbes was one of the biggest hip-hop artists in South Africa with multiple awards including an MTV Africa Music Award, three South African Music Awards (Samas) and six SA Hip Hop Awards.
Born in Cape Town in 1988, Forbes was raised by his grandmother in Mitchells Plain before moving to Johannesburg to live with his mother, Lynn, in 1995.
In 2004, Forbes and two friends, Nhlanhla Makenna and Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, from the prestigious St Johns College in Johannesburg where he attended high school formed hip-hop trio Entity. They released their album Royal School of Hip Hop, executively produced by Siya “Slikour” Metane, in 2005. The group split up the following year.
Metane said Forbes was “misunderstood”.
“He was highly passionate, highly committed and goal driven. The one thing about Kiernan that people didn’t know is that he was a big student. He learnt the craft that he was interested in and then modelled himself around the leaders of that craft and found ways to try to do it better,” he said.
The one thing about Kiernan that people didn’t know is that he was a big student. He learnt the craft that he was interested in and then modelled himself around the leaders of that craft and found ways to try to do it better
— Siya 'Slikour' Metane,
Forbes proved that young children of colour who create urban music were bankable and had value, Metane said. “He opened the doors and fought for people to get value in a deal. He was unapologetic about being AKA. The music will live forever.”
Determined to make it in the industry, after Entity folded Forbes formed the production collective called The I.V League with Buks and Kamza. They produced hit songs for artists such as Khuli Chana, Pro, Reason and Shugasmakx.
By 2009, Forbes was hungry for a solo career and ventured out on his own. After releasing his single Victory Lap, he released his debut album Alter Ego. This was followed by Levels in 2014, Be Careful What You Wish For with Anatii in 2017, Touch My Blood in 2018 and the EP Bhovamania in 2021.
Known in the industry as a consummate professional when it came to his performances, Forbes would take to the stage with a live band, a mic stand draped in the South African flag, and deliver electric performances.
But it wasn’t just his music or social media rants and quips to trolls that garnered the star attention. Or even his collaborations with sneaker brand Reebok and Cruz Vodka. It was his relationships.
His high-profile dalliances included media personality Bonang Matheba, DJ Zinhle with whom he has a child, Anele Tembe and most recently rapper Nadia Nakai.
Having cheated on DJ Zinhle in 2015 when she was pregnant with their daughter Kairo, he started dating Matheba. They broke up in 2017. He later got back together with DJ Zinhle but that reconciliation did not last long.
In an interview with Anele Mdoda at the time, he said: “The start of my relationship [with Matheba] was painful because at the time I was in a relationship with my baby mamma. And she was pregnant. And for me, what we put her through was wrong. And I've apologised for that. And I'm sorry for that. And maybe she [Matheba] will apologise for it one day as well.”
His most tragic relationship was with Anele “Nelli” Tembe, who fell to her death from the couple’s room on the 10th floor at the Pepper Club Hotel in Cape Town.
Kiernan was an extraordinarily talented musician. His music contributed meaningfully to South Africa’s rich musical tapestry
— Moses Tembe, AKA's late fiancée's father
Tembe, 22, was engaged to the rapper and had joined him on a trip he'd made to do a performance. Earlier in the day, the couple were seen enjoying seafood with friends before she joined him for his gig at a popular nightclub.
From cute TikTok videos in the kitchen while preparing meals to posing in matching Bhovamania apparel, the couple appeared to have the perfect romance.
They started dating shortly after AKA broke up with DJ Zinhle in 2020 and in February 2021, he announced their engagement on Instagram.
But after her death, it was revealed that all wasn’t well in their relationship. The rapper told Thando Thabethe in an interview that they had an argument on the day she died and she’d threatened suicide. He said he left the room to calm down and when he returned it was too late. Screen grabs of him barging through a broken door went viral.
Despite police ruling out foul play and the rapper’s possible involvement in Tembe’s death, her father Moses Tembe claimed his daughter was not suicidal.
AKA and Nadia Nakai began their secret romance in 2021, only announcing it on social media last year. They had just returned from a trip to the US, after a family trip to Sun City.
In a statement, Moses Tembe said he felt “deep pain” for Forbes’s parents Tony and Lynn, his daughter Kairo and the extended family.
“Kiernan was an extraordinarily talented musician. His music contributed meaningfully to South Africa’s rich musical tapestry. We extend our condolences to his extended family and his fans,” said Tembe.
Sony Music Entertainment Africa MD Sean Watson said: “Our hearts are broken. We’ve lost not only an icon, but someone who was dear to us as a member of the Sony family. A true creative giant, he leaves behind an eternal void in the music industry.”
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