YoungstaCPT mourns AKA: 'I never thought I'd lose Kiernan in that way'

Rapper YoungstaCPT and Shaney Jay have released a song titled Benni McCarthy in dedication to Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy and the memory of the late rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes.

In a Q&A with TshisaLIVE, YoungstaCPT and Shaney Jay, talked about the single, which is a first from their forthcoming project.

When did you write this song? Why is this song important to you?

YoungstaCPT: I wrote the song Benni McCarthy in 2022 around the time the news broke that he was going to be coaching Manchester United. It was a magical moment for all Capetonians and seeing him on the same field as Ronaldo who also returned to the football club, I wanted to capture that feeling of pride and patriotism in music. He has always been a beloved South African icon but for Cape Town the respect and admiration for him runs deeper and I just wanted to pay respects to all his accomplishments knowing his back story.

I’ve never made a song about a famous personality before. People have done songs and albums for international figures like Pablo Escobar to local stars such as Bob Mabena, David Genero, Doc Shebeleza and so on ... I was surprised no-one had ever done a song about Benni McCarthy and when the spotlight fell on him I felt it was the perfect time. I think the song will become an anthem and serve as an ode to him and Cape Town ...

Shaney Jay: This song is important to me because it’s a dope way of acknowledging one of our hometown heroes who we should all be proud of.

You shot Main Ou’s in Hanover Park. Please tell me what this video now means to you?

YoungstaCPT: I never thought I’d look back on that experience now with such sadness, I wrote Benni McCarthy in 2022 with that day in mind being that Kiernan (AKA) was a huge Benni fan & called him that day to show him that we were on his home ground. It was such a powerful moment for me because I had brought these powerhouses together, from the streets soldier to a music megastar to a football hero, all at the same time.

It was a full circle moment and was definitely a top 3 moment in my life even before the tragedy that occurred. I lost so many people that are in that music video due to gang violence but never thought I would lose Kiernan in that way. It really hurts. South African hip hop truly won’t ever be the same. 

This is the first single from your forthcoming project with Shaney Jay. What can we expect from the project?

YoungstaCPT: Our 1st project was Dream Don’t Pay Bills which I like to call the pandemic mixtape. The title of this next project is Suffer for Beauty and it’s amazing how all this is happening to us a nation. Whether it’s load-shedding or looting or corruption and violence, we deal with a lot of recurring trauma as South Africans and then being in the entertainment industry comes with its own set of trials. We’re living in a TikTok generation where music only lasts 15 seconds and fans expect you to drop something new on a weekly basis not knowing the process of what goes into it, from mixing, mastering, promoting, touring, music video rollouts and so on which all cost money.

So as artists — and myself personally being independent — we are under a great deal of pressure to feed our audience which comes with a lot of strain and struggle but when you hear our music or see our visuals it sounds great and looks beautiful. So that’s what I’m highlighting with this project, the amount of pain we go through to emerge on the other side and deliver something beautiful. 

Shaney Jay: You can expect a whole lot of different vibes, hard raps with an international touch as well ...

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