download new 2018 Touch My Blood Album AKA Releases Album Cover For “Touch My Blood” Album, Picks Fan Favorite for Back Cover. AKA has released the album cover for his forthcoming album Touch My Blood. The rapper last month urged fans to be creative by designing an album cover for him him to use, but the rapper didn’t use any of the submissions that came through. AKA in fact went for the submission made by his parent company Beam Group which has led to controversies on social media with fans questioning why the rapper made creatives go all the way if he won’t use their work. AKA however used the cover created by a fan for the back of the album. The back page featured AKA’s daughter Kairo. Check it out below. Download aka new album 2018 Touch My Blood Album. 1) Select a file to send by clicking the "Browse" button. You can then select photos, audio, video, documents or anything else you want to send. The maximum file size is 500 MB. 2) Click the "Start Upload" button to start uploading the file. You will see the progress of the file transfer. Please don't close your browser window while uploading or it will cancel the upload. 3) After a succesfull upload you'll receive a unique link to the download site, which you can place anywhere: on your homepage, blog, forum or send it via IM or e-mail to your friends. AKA’s Touch My Blood is certified platinum. AKA finally cuts the suspense on social media with the news of his album Touch My Blood, certified platinum. This means that his album got 30,000 copies sales. The rapper is so excited and words did not fail him as he’s been tweeting about this great achievement. He is grateful to his team, supporters, fam base and those who bought the album. He narrated the obstacles he faced while working on the album. He referred to the album as the Album Of The Year as he thanked the Beam Group team and staff for their sleepless night and sacrifice. “Thank You to the entire Beam Group Team and staff. Thank You for all the sleepless nights and sacrifice. Thank You NYCE Music and the entire team who dedicated their hard work and knowledge.” He said. “Consistency is everything in this game … I remember when I started working on this album I wasn’t sure what I wanted people to hear me talk about or how I wanted to sound. As time went on I realized that I needed to go deeper than I ever had. This album took so much out of me. I had always maintained that this would be my best work. It is so gratifying to have this happen TEN YEARS after I dropped my first single; for those who don’t remember, it was called “Do it” Captioned his Instagram post. He added; “Thank You to my fans, The Megacy, for making my dreams come true. Thank you to NYCE music and Beam Group. We did this one all by ourselves. 100% Independent. Thank You God for blessing me with this talent. Thank You to all the amazing talents who helped me make this work of art. I am so happy right now. Megacy this is for you. TOUCH MY BLOOD IS OFFICIALLY PLATINUM.” Watch AKA’s excitement and some of the things he tweeted: I said that Touch My Blood is my best and favorite AKA album … i told you we would run 2018. I told you we would seal these deals, collect these bags and RUN THE AIRWAVES. — AKA (@akaworldwide) November 9, 2018. Firstly, I want to say Thank You to the megacy for everything. You are the most supportive, passionate fam base I could ever have asked for. — AKA (@akaworldwide) November 9, 2018. Consistency is everything in this game … we faced a lot of obstacles, myself personally … it took a lot out of me to make this album. — AKA (@akaworldwide) November 9, 2018. Listen to AKA’s ‘Touch My Blood’ Album. One of the most anticipated South African is here. Touch My Blood , AKA 's highly anticipated third studio album is finally here. The album features the likes of , Yanga Chief , JR , Stogie T , L-Tido , and Kiddorminant . Kairo , AKA's daughter also appears on the closing track "Daddy Issues II." Production on TMB is handled by Master A Flat , , Kiddominant , Makwa Beats , Buks , and AKA himself, among a few others. At16 tracks, Touch My Blood is AKA's second longest album after Altar Ego (2011). Levels (2014) and Be Careful What You Wish For (2017), his joint album with , had 11 and 10 songs respectively. TMB consists mostly of melodic songs, which is no surprise after AKA had been perfecting his pop sound and, as a result, rapping less for the past few years. The rapper said the album is his last, as he plans to focus on his business. If he lives up to his word, then the man has had one of the most prosperous careers in South African hip-hop—he has managed to remain a head honcho, dropping hits consistently since 2011 when he released "Victory Lap," his breakout hit. TMB is the first album AKA has released under his own company Beam Group. His previous projects were all released by Vth Season, the label he left two years ago. Read: In Photos: AKA's 'Touch My Blood' Listening Session. Listen to Touch My Blood below or download it here: The Touch My Blood launch party will take place in Zone 6 in Soweto tomorrow. Tickets are available here and Touch My Blood merchandise can be purchased here. Ruger Is Afrobeats' New Swashbuckling Star. We talk to the Nigerian artist about his breakout year and "Bounce" reaching number one on Apple Music charts. No breakout artist has been more assertive than Ruger in 2021. With his pink hair, left eye patch, alluring bravado, and lyrics such as "Ruger is the lockdown, Ruger is the pandemic" , no other afrobeats artist has commanded attention and staked a claim to be heard like he has. It's late in the afternoon when I meet Ruger at the Jonzing World headquarters, the Nigerian and talent management company. He steps into the room without any of the gusto he usually displays on TV. At this moment, he is Michael Adebayo Olayinka , a bright-eyed youngster who jokes about everything and watches an obscene amount of Instagram comedy. "I no sabi do anything o, just watch films and Instagram. Anyone that is funny and interesting", the Afro-dancehall artist says of his hobbies. It was on Instagram that D'prince — the head honcho of Jonzing World — discovered Ruger. Two years before Ruger was unveiled, D'Prince had revealed Rema and has since turned him into the vanguard of new age afrobeats artists. With such precedence, Ruger's excitement undoubtedly shot through the roof the first time D'Prince messaged him. "I used to do freestyles on Instagram every Saturday. I was getting like 12 to 30 comments and I had four hundred followers — I was just enjoying it. It wasn't even up to a year before I'd started putting out freestyles when I saw a DM from D'Prince." In February this year, Ruger released his self-titled debut single, which instantly thrust him into the throes of the spotlight. A month later, he shared his six-track debut Pandemic EP . Since then, his fame has stretched stealthily across Nigeria, with his innuendo-filled record "Bounce", creeping to the top of the biggest songs in Nigeria. At one point, the record peaked at number on Nigeria's most reliable charting metric Apple Music. Despite his machismo-like swagger, at his core Ruger remains zesty and comical. He's quick to crack a joke about his journey so far, and eager to burst into a captivating rendition of Fuji legend Wasiu Ayinde Marshall's music when asked what tunes he grew up on. Beneath all of Ruger's mystery is a boy who calms the air around him with jokes that easily roll off his lips, and a passionate artist determined to get his chance in the spotlight — no matter the cost. How did you get the name Ruger? D'prince gave me the name. Did he name you the first time you met? It took time. We were working, and one day, he just started calling me Ruger. I had to go search for the meaning of the name and found out it was a gun. How did you start making music? Music for me started fully when I was in secondary school. This one time, I composed a particular song that became popular among my classmates and it, even, spread to other classes. Why did you name the EP Pandemic ? Because I made those vibes during the pandemic. I'll always say this, 'You can't control the situation you find yourself in but you can control your reaction toward that situation.' I just used that energy when making music. "Mona Lisa" and "Yekpa" were made in 2019, but the rest of the songs on that EP were made during the pandemic. You must have seen the tweets, "Ruger is the lockdown, Ruger is the pandemic". What was the inspiration behind that line? [Chuckles] I brought the pandemic back, you dey on lockdown as you dey so, I brought it back. I feel like it's been a while since someone came out with a confrontational line like that one. When I released "Ruger", I feel like people were a bit confused but when the full project dropped, it dawned on them for real that Ruger was here to stay! What's your favourite song on your tape? "Bow" is definitely my favourite song because it's very personal. I made that song without a beat. It just came to me. My producer Kukbeats heard it and immediately said, 'Let's make this happen!' He made a beat on the spot — it was mad! I have to ask, why the eye patch and the pink hair? The eye-patch is really hard, so I felt let's give them a sweet vibe. Pink is sweet. The idea was to create a contrast between this sweet and hard guy. You get some things like sugarcane that are both sweet and hard [chuckles]. The eye-patch is in honour of someone I'm not ready to talk about. The first time I saw the eye patch, it reminded me of veteran Nigerian musician Baba Fryo. Baba Fryo wears his on the right eye. The person I drew my inspiration from wears it on the left. There was a pirate flag in the "Ruger" video and a pirate emoji on your posts. What does that represent? If you go to a pirate ship they're always unified, like a team that you can't break down. I'm preaching the unity that they enjoy. What next after the EP? More music. Firstly, you'll get to see more of Ruger. I'm an advocate of good music, I don't do music just for the sake of doing it. I once tweeted that good music eventually wins. Some songs start popping immediately and make you want to boogie. But some songs first have to marinate before making their impact — and that's what matters. I want people to see me as someone who always puts real music out. What does greatness mean to you? Greatness is being able to remain humble while impacting people's lives positively, even while you are winning. I feel like when most people start winning, they shut out a lot of people and voices. True greatness comes when you are humble enough to still thank, embrace and hear others out. ‘Touch My Blood’ Is AKA’s Most Layered Album. Thematically and sonically, this is AKA's most diverse album. One which sees him shouting out legends and mentioning his coloured identity. Two days before the release of his third studio album, AKA makes a grand entrance at one of the many enclaves of Moyo Restaurant in Melrose Arch at Johannesburg's posh north. This particular enclave, which is filled to the brim with journalists, family and friends of AKA's, media personalities and artists, boasts decoration that doesn't tell you there's a listening session for a hip-hop album being held here—it looks upmarket with helium balloons floating all over. "I didn't want it to be some small event with a bunch of journalists in some studio somewhere," says AKA when he eventually gets to speak. This is after he has sent salutations to those close to him present at the event—he hugs his mother, dances with her for a few seconds, hugs and shouts out some of his goons. Later, he will recognize Tibz , his first ever manager, in the audience and pay respect to him. This event is fitting for an album of Touch My Blood's stature—one of the most anticipated albums of the year in South African music, not just hip- hop. AKA, since 2016, has been reluctant to consider himself a rapper, or hip-hop artist. He prefers to be called a pop artist. "Yes, I'm a hip-hop artist," he will say later just before playing "Fela In Versace," a song in which he features Nigerian artist Kiddominant , and appropriates the afrobeats sound of Nigeria. He jokes that he will make a corny Naija style video for the song. "With a mansion," he says, "The Don Jazzy style of videos." Explaining why he made a song of this kind, he says, "I'm a pop artist in my own mind, so I wanted to make different types of music." AKA and Kiddominant perfrom "Fela In Versace" at the Touch My Blood release party at Zone 6 Venue in Diepkloof, Soweto. Photo by Sabelo MKhabela. A pop artist he is. His song "Baddest" was one of the most played songs in South African radio in 2016. The Burna Boy and Da L.E.S -assisted "All Eyez on Me" from his sophomore album Levels (2014), has been streamed more than 3.8 million times on Spotify South Africa, according to the website. AKA didn't just go against the odds by being one of the first rappers who use mostly English in their lyrics to properly blow up in South Africa, paving the way for the likes of Nasty C , A-Reece , Rouge , and more. He also went on to have the longest reign in the mainstream, having been the top dawg since 2011 when he dropped the single "Victoty Lap." What then happens when he wants more? Just like with most of his moves, it starts with the music—AKA is one artist who lets his music do the talking. Touch My Blood , even though it features a reasonable amount of rapping, isn't a straight rap album. No one expected it to be, anyway. "Touch My Blood," the album's opening song, which is the first one to play tonight, is reminiscent of "Bryanston Drive," the opening song of Be Careful What You Wish For , his collaborative album with Anati i. On both songs, he raps as if to prove that he still can. He displays comfort, a facile tongue, impeccable breath control, and combines bravado and vulnerability effectively. "When he raps, you can tell he spends a lot of time with Tumi ," a friend of mine at the listening party whispers in my ear as our faces contort to how in control AKA is on the song. He raps in lines of varying lengths, using pauses to fit his lines in the beat's pockets. Shouting Out Legends and His Coloured Identity. A few things strike me about the lyrics on "Touch My Blood." One is him name-dropping legendary South African hip-hop crew, Brasse Vannie Kaap . On the song "Me and You," he also shouts the legacy of Grandmaster Ready D , who is a member of Prophets of da City , one of the first South African hip-hop crews. In general, South African hip-hop is ahistorical—so AKA mentioning these legends is refreshing. Secondly, on "Touch My Blood," he mentions his coloured identity, which he hardly ever did in his previous albums. He raps: Here, AKA, is subtly calling out the wholesale grouping of a race. "Identity is definitely linked to where you're from," he said in an interview with Slikour On Life , "I was born in Cape Town, my family is from Cape Town. I identify as a coloured from Cape Town. But at the same time, I think in 2018, not all coloured people are one way; we don't all wear Dickies, I wear Reebok." On Touch My Blood , AKA uses more coloured slang than he has before. He has mostly been using Joburg slang from the black townships throughout his career. But on Touch My Blood , AKA reaches out to the coloured community. In the video for the album's lead single "Fully In," which he will screen for the first time tonight, he's in a coloured neighborhood, interacting with young people. It reminds me of YoungstaCPT 's videos. It makes me ask myself what the existence of YoungstaCPT means for South African hip-hop. Since YoungstaCPT emerged, he has always been about being shamelessly coloured. He gave coloured kids something to look up to in an industry and a country where they are seemingly not allowed to be themselves. Mainstream TV mostly shows coloured people in a negative light— as gangsters and drug addicts. YoungstaCPT counters this negative narrative with videos that show coloured people for who they are from a lens of a person who looks like them. Read: How AKA's Sampling Is Preserving South African Classics. Politics. The third thing that strikes me about "Touch My Blood" is the mention of the leader of South Africa's official opposition party Democratic Alliance. On the first verse, AKA raps: Save for the likes of Reason, YoungstaCPT and Stogie T , South African mainstream rap is disturbingly apolitical, in a country that is, to put it mildly, imploding. AKA has been one of the few mainstream rappers who have been vocal about politics—mostly by showing his support for the leading party ANC on Twitter and in their election campaigns. But this is the first time he makes a directly political statement on a song. In the lines quoted above, the rapper dismisses Maimane's claims that South Africa's economy will eventually crash, like Zimbabwe's did. AKA doesn't see that happening. Why? Because he checks in at the exorbitant Zimbali Resort. This stance is ripe for analysis by the scholars, and not by this writer at this moment. On the song "Amen," AKA proves he's not all far removed from the realities of everyday-South Africa. Him and the rapper L-Tido trade some bars over a loop of Hollis P Monroe's "This Is Goodbye." AKA expresses his willingness to uplift young South Africans growing up in the hood. He raps: "I'm not a politician, or a freedom fighter or anything like that," says AKA before he plays "Mame," the second last song on Touch My Blood during the listening event. "But I do feel on touching on these subjects, kind of providing inspiration to people." "Mame" is that mandatory "political" song on TMB . But, even though catchy, AKA's sentiments on issues of that kind sound more convincing when they slip through the cracks in other songs. "Mame" is, however, anthemic, and is one of the songs, alongside most of the album, in which AKA's pop vision makes sense. Relationships and Too Much Information. On "Beyoncé," which is obviously about his relationship with ex-girlfriend Bonang Matheba , AKA is not shy to be vulnerable. He gives some make-up to break-up anecdotes of the relationship. On the second verse, he misguidedly attributes him cheating on his baby mama to a flaw in his girlfriend's character. He sings, "Waited two years just to see you without your weave on/ Tell me what does that say about your character?/ You was fucking me when I was busy paying damages." Like, what? What's admirable about the songs on Touch My Blood , though, is how AKA seeks to tell his story and express his feelings more than political correctness. Which is why he will mourn a break-up, like he does on "Sweet Fire," and reflect on "Daddy Issues II," a song in which he sings, "My nigga, never love a woman more than she loves you." It sounds visceral and honest—break-ups tend to get messy, and even Supa Mega can get out of his element when the feels take over. Touch My Blood lives up to its title. Apart from boasting the man's most ambitious and experimental songs, it's a body of work that introduces you to the man behind one of the biggest names in South African music. While on his previous albums, Altar Ego (2011) and Levels , he still told personal stories, his life wasn't as public, so it wasn't always clear if the songs, especially those about relationships, were fact or fiction. But this time around, a lot of lines and songs can be decoded and pointed to a specific person and event—and he gives vivid vignettes about his life, sometimes getting a bit TMI. Like when he sings on "Beyoncé," "Remember in London when I took you to see Miguel?/ Remember when I kicked you out the hotel?/ 50 minutes later I was blowing up on your cell?/ We was crazy since the pool on some TMZ shit." Read: In Photos: AKA's 'Touch My Blood' Listening Session. Hip-Hop Roots. Even with this transition to pop, AKA, however doesn't abandon his hip-hop roots. As mentioned earlier, he raps impressively on the album opener, trades some bars with Stogie T on "StarSigns," and with Kwesta on "Magriza." "Fully In" is the closest he gets to trap, he raps and renders a chant hook. "Reset," which features OkMalumKoolKat , also has some raps, but the melodic hook dominates. Stogie T and AKA. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela. "Magriza," which features Kwesta , is one of the most definitive songs on TMB . It's produced by Buks , who, alongside AKA and Kamza , used to be part of the production trio IV League , which was formidable in the early 2010s, producing hits for the likes of K huli Chana, Pro, ProVerb , among others. AKA and Kwesta came up around the same time, in the late 2000s. "We had to do some rap records, you know," says AKA. "If you listen to ['Magriza'], it has that whole IV League kind of AKA before AKA laughed in auto-tune type of vibe." He laughs, but not in auto-tune this time around, and repeats the statement, "Laughs in auto-tune," trolling those who troll him about his heavy use of the pitch-altering software in his music. "I believe that besides me, Kwesta is the guy," he says explaining why he chose to collaborate with the K1 MC. "In some days, he might even be more of it than me. Jokes. No ways (laughs) . But he's my brother, I love him. And this is the song that me and him did. It's also produced by Buks. Buks from IV League, who started out with me. I thought it would be cool to come full circle and do a song with him, the first person that I started making music with." With Touch My Blood , AKA delivered a great pop-rap album with strong songs that also sound great together. He gathered songwriters such as JR and Yanga Chief , and producers like Tweezy , Makwa Beats and Kiddorminant to see his vision through. Touch My Blood puts those who were skeptical about his pop forays (myself included) into shame. I listen to songs like "Reset," "Zone," "Fela In Versace," "Jika," "Mame," and picture myself doing a sloppy Madiba Dance to them in my old age. TMB combines pop and hip-hop seamlessly. It's a combination of the AKA who released Altar Ego and the one we encountered on Levels , who incorporated dance music into his hip-hop. TMB is like AKA's thesis, in which he applies the tricks that gave us his first two masterpieces. While a lot of rappers, especially in South Africa, fail to have a signature sound, AKA has found it. It meshes AKA's influences—hip-hop, kwaito, '90s R&B, 80s pop, old school South African house, among others—into a colourful and tasty monolithic sound. If this is indeed his last album, as he announced earlier this year, then AKA boasts one of the most solid discographies in South African hip-hop. Short, but rock-solid. This piece is part of Sabelo Mkhabela 's South African hip-hop column. He's happy to debate you on Twitter: @sabzamk.