It is just hours away from the official memorial of legendary local rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes. This entire week has been mostly dedicated to honouring the legendary rapper following his assassination on Friday, 10 February 2023. However, throughout the mourning period, there have been tributes to the rapper which prove that his legacy will be carried by his family, friends, and team.
The most recent of those was the announcement that his much-anticipated studio album Mass Country will be released as scheduled. As reported at the time of the confirmation:
AKA had been gearing up for the release of his album Mass Country for 2 years and like his family stated, "he always kept the album release momentum and anticipation high."
His death came days before the release date, which is on the 24th of February 2023. His family issued a statement revealing plans to keep the release date as is.
AKA gave us a taste of what his album is going to sound like with the release of the lead single Lemons (Lemonade) featuring Nasty C. We do believe without a doubt the album will be a banger, should it be up to standard like the hit single which went Gold weeks after its release.
In the statement, the Forbes family said the album will still be released on the 24th in order to celebrate the late rapper. In the statement Vth Season, T Effect and Sony Music Entertainment Africa, said they are going to go ahead and release the project.
Now ahead of the release of the album, the last official lead single has been released.
AKA’s last single, Company, released
Taking to AKA’s official social media accounts, his team confirmed the release of his last official lead single Company. A mid-tempo single featuring Nigeria’s KDDO. The single continues to highlight why AKA was the master of being able to sample a track while making it uniquely his.
Company is a blend of Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, and murmurs of Amapiano through the Kwaito sample of one of Mdu's classics. However, due to AKA’s unique ear, the single is layered but simple, telling the story of men that are unsatisfied with just one woman until they meet the right one.
This is the genius of KIERNAN. We fought so much about this record but look now… pic.twitter.com/b3gkhYChuF
Anticipation for Mass Country continues to climax as many believe that this album will mark the return of AKA’s classic album releases. More so as the album is seemingly dedicated to his last partner Nadia Nakai. As reported at the time:
Most of his fans were excited to see that AKA was returning to his signature face portraits for his upcoming release as the last arguable hit album he released was his alleged Bonang Matheba-dedicated albumTouch My Blood in 2018. His subsequent albums and projects did not feature his face, hence superstition would have it that this album will be a hit too.
Especially, when considering that it seems that AKA produces hit singles when he is openly and publicly in love and happy in his relationship. As such, it does seem that this upcoming album will have a number of singles that are dedicated to his girlfriend, Nadia Nakai as she shared a snippet of a song which sounds like it is dedicated to her.
AKA playing Nadia Nakai unreleased music from his upcoming album which drops next month! pic.twitter.com/AjuaMlCLvs
