Times have been tough for artists in South Africa, some have suffered immensely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations not allowing promoters to have crowds gather in numbers.
Some have had to make sacrifices such as sell their homes or have their vehicles repossessed. Many artists, to this day still complain about not having received the COVID-19 relief fund issued by the Department of Arts and Culture.
Revealed to Buzz Life News by a close friend and source, rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes has suffered immensely from both the COVID-19 pandemic and following the negative publicity he received after the passing of his finance Anele “Nelli” Tembe after she fell from the tenth floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town in April, this year.
“The incident was truly sad and it affected Kiernan’s business,” says the friend.
“He is currently one of the least paid artists in the country. He recently took a gig for R25 k with Costa Titch for their song Super Soft. That’s depressing. Even Kamo Mphela got paid more than him and she is the least paid artist in the game,” he says.
“This is not to bash anyone or to make everyone feel bad, but it just shows that times are really tough. Artists are suffering. Most have taken less than their regular booking fees because they are desperate, they are willing to take anything, just so they can keep working. Kiernan deserves better than R25 k, its an insult to his career and character.”
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According to a club promoter, Mthokozisi Radebe, many artists have taken a finacial knock since the pandemic.
“I cant says much about AKA, but many artists have taken a pay cut due to the pandemic. Its happened across the country. However, things are slowly picking up again,” he says.
“Hopefully we will not be going back to strict lockdown levels where artists will not be getting at ll.”
Bongi Sikelo 