WATCH | AKA: You know I’m the one who got Anatii to rap in Xhosa?

AKA has spoken candidly about his friendship with Anatii, and how working with him has left them both better and greater artists.

With his personal news making more headlines than he'd like, people may forget that AKA is actually a gifted artist who has contributed to the Mzansi music scene.

Speaking to Helen Herimbi on her YouTube i(m)bali series, the rapper opened up about his joint album, Be Careful What You Wish For, with Anatii, and how he "activated" Anatii's Xhosa creativity while recording the song 10 Fingers for the project .

"You know I’m the one who got Anatii to rap in Xhosa? I'm the one who said: 'Dude why are you rapping in English. Start rapping in your language.' Do you know Yanga Chief actually wrote [the 10 Fingers] chorus? I called Yanga in and said: ‘Yo, please can you activate this man’s juice," the rapper said.

Anatii went on to use Xhosa heavily on his next album, and AKA said he has ultimate respect for his artistry.

"That time I spent with Anatii, he really embraced it and can you hear the artist he is today? Anatii is another one of my lil bros. I've got the most ultimate respect for Anatii. Ha! But Anatii and I also didn't like each other at some point."

AKA's working relationships have often resulted in major hits being created, like Run Jozi with K.O, and Baddest with Burna Boy and Da L.E.S, but they have also been the beginning of beef.

AKA and Anatii fell out in 2015 when AKA accused Anatii of charging him R80,000 for a beat. What followed was all kinds of pettiness, from Anatii replacing AKA with the rapper's biggest rival and even blurring AKA's face out of artwork they had shot together.

However, speaking on Beat 1 radio, AKA said they both came to a realisation that the beef was dumb and they needed to work together. 

“It’s important that we as African artists stick together. There’s so much beef, so much egos. You know it’s hip-hop at the end of the day, and everybody wants to be the best.

"I just got to a point in my life where I became a father, I started growing up a little bit more. It just reached a point where I saw him in the lobby at the BETs and thought, why are we still doing this? Let’s get home and give the fans what they want,” AKA said at the time.

Meanwhile, the megacy is still waiting for AKA's album, which will be huge if it lives up to the vibe he's attached to it.

He claimed it would be his best work yet...