𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗬

Kiernan Jerryd Forbes is a name hard to go unnoticed. The culmination of his successful music career saw the release of his 3rd solo studio album, ‘Touch My Blood’, in 2018 featuring chart-topping songs such as Fela in Versace, Fully In and The World Is Yours. Post 2018, we’ve also seen the release of conceptual EP, ‘Bhovamania’, and a joint project with fellow rapper Costa Titch titled, ‘You’re Welcome’.

The road to the upcoming release of his 4th solo studio album, ‘Mass Country’, began on Thursday the 15th of September 2022 with the official release of Lemons (Lemonade) with Nasty C. The track features a futuristic cross of genres while maintaining an authentic AKA sound. In subsequent weeks to its release, the track went on to top radio and streaming charts, accumulating over 3.6 million streams on Spotify alone. Unbeknownst to the masses [at the time] is this would be the golden sound of his upcoming 4th solo studio album, ‘Mass Country‘.

Following the massive success of Lemons (Lemonade), AKA further went on to release Paradise featuring Musa Keys, Zadok, and Ghanaian R&B/afro-fusion singer Gyakie. The track diverts from the traditional hip-hop soundscape and enters the world of afro-pop. With the subject matter being one of love and the luxury splurges accompanying it, the track is smooth and fitting for any sunset occasion.

Mass Country serves as a change in AKA’s soundscape thus far. In several interviews done as promotion of the project, the LP is described as a “country album”. This could be a misleading term at 1st glance, however, in a multi-cultural country such as South Africa, country music leaves room for an artist to tap into numerous sounds which bend the typical genre of hip-hop. Through hosting multiple musical camps over the course of the past few months, AKA, alongside his team and collaborative artists, have clearly gave time to craft the sound of the album. In an interview on SlikourOnLife, the album is described as touching on different South African traditional sounds laced with hip-hop, kwaito and pop influence. The title, Mass Country, is a play on the term ‘Maskandi’ which is a genre of South African traditional music.

With a scheduled release date of 24 February 2023, the album will be filled with no less than raring expectations from fans and critics alike!