RAPPERS IN POLITICS. . .

Image by: AKA Instagram

Sipho Ramaru

I believe we are now well aware of what political party AKA is promoting, or “supports” as he puts it on twitter. Kiernan Forbes has never been the one to bite his tongue when it comes to sharing his views and that’s one of the reasons he is the most loved and most hated.

The Congratulate Me hit maker went public to express his aversion for the Economic Freedom Fighters and Democratic Alliance on twitter, which newspapers make it seem as if he went “head to head” with Mbuyiseni Ndlozi aka the people’s bae on a public platform.

I believe this is just another matter of difference in opinion, and being as dramatic as we are, journalists made it seem as if it’s way more than just two public figures supporting different movements for their own personal reasons.

One has to admit though that AKA is too confrontational whenever he express his views. The rapper went on to say that the ANC is the only party he believes has the capability to lead South Africa into a new day. Further stating that he will not be performing at the DA and EFF’s events because he does not support the parties and doesn’t “need the money that bad”. AKA says his views are influenced by the fact that he has a child now has to think about her future and the South Africa she’s going to live in.

It is AKA’s constitutional right to support the political party he wants and believes in. One other thing is, we need to be aware of the fact that there is a thin line between publicly supporting a political party and promoting it especially by public figures.

We are now going through a season of political rallies, and political parties are booking artists to perform at their events. A gig is a gig and this is how artists put bread on the table. . .but my problem comes in when artists promote political parties because as people we go through different struggles and believe in different systems even though we support the same artist, not all parties acknowledge and attend to our needs the way we want and need them to.

Just like AKA, fans should be given a chance to voice out their concerns and support a party they believe it best address issues they are faced with on a daily. The EFF might not be a party for me based on whatever reasons only I know, but the DA might be the party for me, or maybe the IFP might be the party for me, or the even ANC. What I’m saying is, public figures have a strong influence on the youth but in most cases do not always relate to their struggles, so not every party my favorite artist promotes or publicly “supports” is the one that has been attending to the needs of my people in my region.