Award winning hip-hop artist and one of the UK’s biggest upcoming MCs, Akala is touring Australia for the first time. If you don’t know that much about this prolific poet, now’s your chance to school up.
Akala is ready to set audiences ablaze with with his debut Australian tour. If you consider yourself a hip-hop fan then this an MC you can’t miss.
As an established poet and rapper, Akala is one of the most exciting MC’s to come out of the UK. The man of the moment is also known as Black Shakespeare, The Rap Rock Electro Kid and known for being a dark horse in the rap world on an international level. With the likes of Skepta, Lowkey and general British Grime existing in the current rap landscape, it’s easy to see how he has found his place amongst contemporary rap and the culture of evolutionary hip-hop.
Having a lot of creative influences growing up in the eighties and nineties, Akala started out rap in 2003 before he found his current name which means “Immovable” in Buddhist language. Akala’s music is very wordy, but in a good way. He manages to get a lot into his raps and in such a short breath. Although he began his rap career as a grime artist he recently moved away from the genre in order to become a sophisticated and complex hip-hop artist. All his tracks include thorough research into historical and societal happenings. All which are a huge part of his music and overall message as a rapper.
Lyrically, the majority of his songs tend to focus and draw references from national struggles, social conditioning and the division that exists between the marginalised in his community. Unlike a lot of other rappers, Akala refrains from using the N-word which he has gone to the effort of censoring from his previous album Shakespeare and replacing it with the words “Brother” or “Son” instead.
Akala’s style of rap is very modern in the way that it addresses current issues head on in order to inform humans around the world. He has even spoken on two TED talks, one about hip-hop and another on Shakespearean poetry, which is obviously a huge influence in his creative style. He has a talent in addressing issues in which he believes are important enough to get through to the masses and also being a voice for those in London.
This adds to his personalised, dark and perhaps repressed brand of rap. With lyrics such as “We idolise them and we despise them cause we remember we the ones that are silent” in Murder Runs the Globe he has a mission to make sure he is heard while educating people who may not be politically inclined.
Mr Fire in a Booth is Akala’s latest single and it is a glimpse at his warm and humble personality. He shows wisdom as a well-established and welcoming MC, yet offers more of his enchanting rap character. Surrounded by flames and dark vibes, the music video offers a do or die approach while giving light to his creative and playful side.
Be sure not to miss his first tour, it is bound to be a lesson in life, politics and entertainment.
December 12th – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
December 18th – The Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane
December 19th – The Newtown Social Club, Sydney
