'Disgraceful!' - AKA calls out SAA again for not supporting SA music

Rapper AKA has once again taken jabs at South African Airways (SAA) for allegedly not supporting local music.

AKA is known for speaking his mind, and after noticing a lack of SA music on a flight this week, took to Twitter to label the airline a “disgrace” for not playing South African music to its passengers.

AKA wrote, “Dear SAA why do you play anything that is not South African in our planes? You are the flag carrier airline of our country. Furthermore, you are a state-owned entity. Please explain to us why I am listening to Michael Buble as I disembark? Disgraceful!”

Oh, but the rapper didn't stop there.

In another tweet, he added: “You are embarrassing us SAA. When people from overseas land in our country, out of all the great artists from our rich musical history, you play and presumably pay royalties to people that have nothing to do with SA?”

This is not the first time that the rapper has called out the airline for not playing local music.

In July, AKA also shaded SAA for its choice of music and challenged the airline to support local music.

“Dear SAA, as I sit waiting to take off, I'm wondering why the playlist, while we board, does not consist of solely 100% South African music. Please. It would be much appreciated.” 

Last year, AKA took to social media and called out the airline’s “bad service” while also criticising the airline’s lack of local ambassadors. He said that it did not make him “feel valued as a South African”.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, SAA’s spokesperson Tlali Tlali explained some of the challenges that a 100% local bouquet of music could present.

“There must be no doubt in the minds of our local artists about opportunities to showcase their music on our platforms. We support local content and will continue to carry it on our onboard platforms as part of our in-flight entertainment content. We are equally cognisant of the space in which we operate. We are a pan-African airline with a global footprint. This means we must accommodate the preferences of all our customers.”