Kiernan Forbes, on paper arguably one of the best Hip Hop artists to come out of South Africa and even the African continent. Possessing all the intangible metrics a modern Hip Hop artist should have. With a career spanning over 10 years and armed with a great ear for hits. It’s a no brainer why AKA has managed to stay relevant throughout his career with only two solo albums and a collaborative effort with Anatii. His career has boasted the best strategic placement for any artist and that has kept him at the centre of relevance. He has been a paramount component to South African Hip Hop and it’s culture, that it has become hard to mention one without the other.

Touch My Blood, his third solo effort and fourth studio album as a recording artist. AKA has constantly been evolving, from Altar Ego to Levels you could pick up a change in his sound. On the latter project the core rap elements were stripped down to venture towards a more musically inclined sound. With the release of Levels, there was a longing for Altar Ego AKA amongst his fans, a very common phenomenon when artists go through a metamorphosis. This change gave birth to lead singles off Levels such as Jealousy and the JR assisted Congratulate. The two songs are without a doubt classical offerings within their own rights. Within the album there were similar songs that didn’t have a similar success as the latter such as Let Me Show You. This was a firm introduction to the new AKA, a pop star AKA.

On Touch My Blood, he opens up with the namesake song. It possess a mixture of Hip Hop AKA and pop star Mega. It gives you a positive feel about the LP, the use of melody and a thick layer of cultural references, it gives you a comfortable feeling. It’s where he tells a narrative that’s purely AKA before the success, it becomes easy to draw parallels between it and Bryanston Drive off Be Careful What You Wish For and Dreamwork. The song proves to be one of the very few moments where he raps in the album, with chart success from his pop sound he hasn’t really had to rap since Composure. Which put an end to his rap beef with Cassper Nyovest.

The album at first, as a whole sounds awkward and uncomfortable to listen to. It sounds disjointed and confusing. With ever changing sounds from the controversial single Beyonce which is about his love affair with Bonang. Beyonce sounds like an attempt at a Kanye West 808’s And Heartbreak son. A successful attempt when looking from a commercial perspective. The switch up from that sound to the smooth Reset with JR and OKMALUMKOOLKAT is extremely uncomfortable at first. These are some elements that make it awkward to listen to for the first few times. Reset is a masterpiece conceptually, a lot of the songs on the album are of an acquired taste – like understanding why JR is there. OKMALUMKOOLKAT perfectly ties up the song with the the best verse on the song and on the LP for a featured artist; Stogie T’s verse on Starsigns is up there.

Throughout Touch My Blood, you realise that the album is a grower and sounds better after every listen. The only way an album can sound better is if you listen to it repeatedly. It doesn’t give you the best first listen ever but AKA manages to grab you and make you want to listen to it again. You listen to it again and again trying to understand the narrative, the soundscape, the constant sonic changes and the creative direction. Filled with political and cultural references, from getting back the land and Mmusi Maimane saying that South Africa is the next Zimbabwe and even Bheki Cele’s “shoot to kill” phrase that he sings on the hook of Fully In. It makes Touch My Blood sound so authentic in a South African context. His use of vernac in the album is just right. From going platinum “without a vernac record”, to having a song titled Magriza on his album all but signifies his metamorphosis. The Kwesta feature is a moment in the album that bangs for the pure Hip Hop heads but you can’t help but feel that the two rappers held back on the record.

Then there’s a collective of beautiful clean pop gems on the project that make the core spine of Touch My Blood. The Master A Flat produced Sweet Fire is a classic in the making, a classic for all four seasons, for years to come. It’s a song for heartbreak; a song for good times. Caphius Song is the Sweet Fire equivalent if not better. His love life with Bonang was an omnipresent character in the story of Touch My Blood. Fela In Versace, which is named after the Nigerian superstar Fela Kuti. The brilliance of this song easily makes it one of the best songs on the album. Kiddominant makes the song so memorable, like 2014’s All Eyes On Me revisited in pop. The World Is Yours also joins in on the group of beautiful pop songs on the album, with its chart topping success. The song samples Løb Stop Stå by Boom Clap Bachelors and that makes up the best moment of the song. His use of samples has been second to none in South Africa and at times it can present a stance of safety within his work.

Touch My Blood is Levels perfected, with a number of hits and chart topping records, it’s built for immediate success. The classic records embedded in it such as Caphius Song, Sweet Fire, Fela In Versace and The World Is Yours will guarantee the albums longevity. It dips into various sounds at once and it will take some time for it to be outdated in the current market. Plenty of people will feel it lacks where Levels succeeded but it just proves that fans tend to not want to see artists grow in a different direction. At times AKA puts away the hits and he speaks to heart, the candid Daddy Issues II is the most heartfelt song on the album. There’s a different feel to it compared to the other songs that touch on the same topic and subject matter. His vulnerability is so real. Daddy Issues on Levels, was and is a classic. He managed to surpass that in every aspect. Daddy Issues II is the best way to usher out an album, it is one of the best outros in South African Hip Hop. Ending the song with him and his daughter Kairo wrapping things up in the studio is a touch of class. At first the outro sounded too good to be on this album but you realise it is really where it’s suppose be after the album grows on you.