Rouge Laments The State Of SA Hip Hop Without AKA

Rouge Laments The State Of SA Hip Hop Without AKA. The South African Hip Hop scene has been noticeably dimmer since the tragic passing of AKA last year, with his absence leaving a profound void. Prominent figures like Rouge have openly acknowledged that AKA’s influence and presence in the rap culture of South Africa are sorely missed.

Taking to Twitter (X), the Bongo Zaka hitmaker expressed her sentiment towards missing the late rapper by posting AKA’s name and a heartbreak emoji. The rapper’s remarks garnered attention amongst her followers with one of them expressing that AKA‘s absence is deeply felt. “SA hip-hop went quite since he’s gone,” read the post.

In reaction, Rouge admitted that the SA hip-hop scene has fundamentally shifted without AKA, reflecting on how Kiernan Forbes had been a driving force behind her career aspirations. She recalled how his inspiration motivated her to persevere, with the ultimate goal of collaborating with him, a dream she eventually realized.

“I won’t lie it has… it’s just not the same without him. I remember when I started he was the one artists that would make me write and write cause one day “ I could work with AKA” so I had to keep going to meet my idol,” she wrote.

Despite being inspired by AKA, Rouge’s working relationship with the Supa Mega was immense as the two worked together. Their most well-known work together is the song “One by One” which came out in 2020. The song took a more pop-oriented direction than Rouge’s usual style [Rouge’s song with AKA isn’t “rappy” | She reveals reason for collaborating with Supa Mega]. She described AKA as her favourite rapper stating that she didn’t want to do only a rap song with him.

“He is my favourite rapper in South Africa and he was always a dream feature.. And I knew I didn’t just want to do a rap song with him,” she said. While they haven’t done other songs together, it seems there was mutual respect between them.