AKA flies in tomorrow for Shoko Festival

By Tafadzwa Zimoyo

South African award-winning hip-hop rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbes — affectionately known as AKA — is arriving tomorrow afternoon ahead of his show at Shoko Festival later that night.

The famous rapper will join other local musicians such as Winky D, Jah Prayzah, Ammara Brown and Vee Mukarati, among others who are performing during the three-day festival. Some of the hip-hop rappers who will headline the opening show where AKA is performing include Tehn Diamond, Simba Tagz and The Monkey Nuts.

The Festival is running under the theme “Come Alive” and will feature music, dance, spoken word and comedy among other genres. According to organisers, this year’s event will have a focus on a new environmental initiative dubbed “up-cycling.”

A major focus of the event is “Peace In The Hood” initiative, reflecting the urban nature of the festival content. High school students will get to participate through the Let Them Schools fiesta that will be part of the festival.

In an interview Shoko Festival’s Natalie Kombe said there ready for the festival to begin.

“I can confirm that the SA rapper AKA is arriving on Friday afternoon for his performance on the opening night,” she said.

He has won many awards including “Best Street Urban Music Album” and “Male Artiste of the Year” at the 18th South African Music Awards (SAMA) South African equivalent to the Grammys.

Meanwhile DStv’s Zambezi Magic Channel is partnering with the Festival, partly to provide financial support and provide a platform for showcasing the Zimbabwean talent that will appear at the three-day event.

“We are delighted to have Zambezi Magic partnering with Shoko Festival, which was launched in 2011 and established itself as one of the premier arts and entertainment activities in Zimbabwe each year,” she said.

Shoko Festival events will be held at Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences and in Chitungwiza.

“The goal of Zambezi Magic is to showcase talent from Southern Africa and the gathering of local and international talent at Shoko provides an unrivalled opportunity for the channel to highlight the festival and its content to a wider audience, not only in Zimbabwe but across the region,” said Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe.

Dziva said Zambezi Magic’s sponsorship is for the Winky D concert.

“It’s a platform that has proved very popular in the past five years, so it was a natural thing for Zambezi Magic to link up and share the vision of the Shoko organisers in not only providing entertainment to the people but also in being creative and developmental,” said Dziva.

Shoko Festival events will be held at Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences and in Chitungwiza. The Herald