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Hip Hop Legends: Akala
RnB/Hip Hop | Thursday 7th January 2016 | Omari
Listen to Akala, Fire in the Booth Part 1 and immediately watch the other two. Be amazed at his content, blown away by his skill and inspired by his message.
As a young, black man you could have found no better inspiration. In a world where being black comes with waves of prejudgement and insecurity, Akala appeared like an oasis in the desert.
His message was one of love, yet he was militant, strong and stood against the prejudice. When I first saw this video, it genuinely changed everything: My perception of who I was, where I could go and what I could be.
So who is Akala? What does he do and what is he about?
Akala made his debut in 2003 when he began releasing music from his own independent lable, Illa State Records starting with his debut album The War Mixtape in 2004.
In 2006 he released his breakthrough album It's Not a Rumor which contained the hit single; Shakespeare, in which he compares himself to a present day, black Shakespeare and comically marks the differences and how he is both more talented and 'much more handsome' (Akala, Shakespeare, 2006).
As an artist he has gone through some very big changes over the years, most poignantly, he no longer uses the n-word in any of his tracks, and refrains from using it in tracks that formerly contained it. This is admirable and is one of the many ways in which he has grown as an artist.
Moving away from the stereotypical hip hop cliches over his career, Akala transitioned into the stellar performer, lecturer, poet and political spokesperson that he is respected as today.
His message is one of positive advancement and self-determination for black people and all people in the UK and all over the world.
Akala has recently finished touring his latest album entitled Knowledge is Power Vol. 2. He is a confident and energising performer and very nice in person too.
Check him out if you haven't already!
Omari Daniel
A very old school interview with Akala
