JR Clarifies His Role In AKA’s “Congratulate”: “He Would Never Let Anybody Do Anything for Him”
JR Clarifies His Role In AKA’s “Congratulate”: “He Would Never Let Anybody Do Anything for Him.” In a candid and revealing interview, music veteran JR addressed long-standing assumptions about his contribution to the late AKA’s hit single “Congratulate,” offering deeper insight into the collaborative magic behind one of South Africa’s most iconic hip-hop tracks.
When asked about his role in writing “Congratulate,” JR quickly dismantled the myth that he penned the hit solely for AKA, known offstage as Kiernan Forbes. “People like to say, I wrote this for AKA, I wrote that for AKA,” JR responded. “If you know AKA, and you know how arrogant he was, he would never let anybody do anything for him. He wanted to do everything himself when it came to his music.”
JR highlighted AKA’s hands-on nature and unwavering commitment to his artistry, while also acknowledging the late rapper’s rare ability to remain objective about his creative limitations. “Musically, he was very objective,” JR said. “He knew his strong points.”
It was this self-awareness, JR explained, that led AKA to tap Kay Gee from Morafe—an artist better known for his Setswana bars, specifically for his melodic abilities. “That record specifically, he actually went out and sourced Kay Gee to co-write or write the chorus… What people didn’t realise was how great Kay Gee was melodically,” JR said.
JR confirmed that he co-wrote parts of the song alongside AKA and played a multifaceted role in the Levels album. “I was producing Levels anyway. So I was bound to be in the studio. I was bound to write on this song, do backing vocals there or do co-production there, so it was bound to happen.”
