Rapper AKA went from wanting to lie low, away from the spotlight, to being completely off the radar. According to a statement shared by Daily Sun, AKA will also be temporarily parting ways with one of his biggest collaborators Cruz Vodka.
In respect of Anele Tembe's memory and all the heartache her family and friends carry to this day, AKA feels it is necessary to take a step back. This will also be for his benefit so he can work on his mental and physical health.
Starting off his statement, he speaks once again about the love of his life and how she was not perfect but they loved each other nonetheless. Not being in denial of his flaws as well, AKA admits they were not perfect at all.
“Beyond dealing with the loss of Anele, the love of my life, I am also having to deal with the snippets taken out of context of our relationship that found their way to social media,” he said, referring to the disturbing images and videos of what indicates a toxic relationship.
The videos show Nellie in a deranged state and in one of them AKA insinuates that she was high on a certain drug. Addressing the videos he says they were taken completely out of context and he will speak about them in due time when he is ready.
“I will share my side of the story in a sincere and honest manner, which will afford me the greatest of respect to the relationship I shared with Anele and both our families. I am not perfect, she was not without her flaws. But I’m not what events of the last few days have painted me to be. We were in love and had committed to each other,” he shared.
AKA has also decided to take a step back from his duties at Cruz Vodka temporarily so he can deal with his personal issues.
“Having had time to reflect on the past few days, I have engaged with my business partners and I feel that it is best that I temporarily step back from my duties with Cruz Vodka as I need this time to focus on the way forward and deal with my personal matter.
“I have done this for the sake of Anele’s memory which will forever be entrenched in my heart, our families and my fans. I am grateful to my business partners at Cruz Vodka for all their support and understanding of this decision to give me time. Daily I wake up to the reality that the person I was building a future with is no more, the pain is unbearable. With God’s grace I will remain strong and pick up the pieces,” he announced.
An organisation called 'Women For Change' calls for AKA's music to be muted and for all his business partners to take a step back. The group opposes gender-based violence (GBV) so following the videos of AKA and Nellie, they started a hashtag #MuteAKA which has gained momentum.
