Since his very public private life woes, AKA has been on a comeback of sorts with every release. While he has never quite reached the heights of his previous streak, there’s a concerted effort from the “Fela In Versace” hitmaker to re-establish himself as the trailblazing superstar he sees himself as.
The new single “Lemons (Lemonade)” may be a step in the right direction to this end. Featuring the exceptional KZN native Nasty C, AKA gets back into his tried and tested bag of sample heavy musical grooves that allow him to flex his talk, while also addressing some personal issues. He opens with the lines, “More life, peng ting a sight for sore eyes, dark days friends were few is alright, turn that pain to fuel to survive…”
The accompanying Nate Thomas directed music video is also a nice touch, as they cleverly re-imagine the popular South Africa dance TV show, Jika Ma Jika, by cheekily calling it Jika Ma Jiva and enlisting Nadia Nakai and Robot Boii as the fun hosts. The music video pays homage to days past with its retro sheen and overall feel, perfectly complementing the sonics of the song.
AKA and Nasty C have great chemistry as they feed off each other seamlessly. Despite both being mammoth superstars in their own individual rights, it’s refreshing to see them existing without clashing, as Nasty rightly assumes the background role, until it’s time for him to strut his stuff. He borrows AKA’s unassuming demeanour and delivers a masterful verse with the greatest of ease.
“Lemons (Lemonade)” is a classic summer groove from AKA in the same vein of his previous hit singles such as “Congratulate”, “One Time”, “Sweet Fire”, etc. It samples the classic dance/electronic song by Stardust called “Music Feels Better With You”, which itself samples Chaka Khan’s “Fate”. This continues the love affair AKA has with sampling dance/house music to churn out hits.
Listen to “Lemonade” here and watch the music video below: