Congratulate (song)

"Congratulate"
Single by AKA
from the album Levels
Released28 February 2014 (2014-02-28)[1]
Recorded2013
GenreHip hop
Length3:45
LabelVth Season
Songwriter(s)
  • Kiernan Forbes
  • T. Lehutso
  • JR
Producer(s)Tazzy
AKA singles chronology
"Kontrol"
(2013) 		"Congratulate"
(2014) 		"Run Jozi (Godly)"
(2014)

"Congratulate" is a song by South African rapper AKA. It was released as the third single from his second studio album, Levels (2014). The song was sent to radio stations across South Africa in March 2014, and debuted at number one on Metro FM, 5FM and YFM.[2] Moreover, it peaked at number two on South Africa's official music chart.[3] "Congratulate" was produced by Tazzy, a member of the funk band Muzart.[4]

Composition and meaning

"Congratulate" samples Harrison Crump's "Ride". An electric piano chord was played simultaneously with the sample. Three verses and a hook comprise the song. Throughout the song, the bassline changes. Singer JR contributed background vocals to the song. In "Congratulate", AKA raps about his journey to success.[5] In early 2014, he told SABC he recorded "Congratulate" to relate with ordinary people and that the song is about one celebrating the positive milestones in their lives.[6] In May 2015, "Congratulate" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry of South Africa.[7]

Cover art and music video

AKA shared the artwork for "Congratulate" prior to releasing it. He posted the cover art on Twitter and tagged it with the hash-tag "#AKACongratulate".[8] On 1 May 2014, the accompanying music video for the song was released and uploaded to YouTube at a total length of 4 minutes and 2 seconds.[9]

Accolades

The music video for "Congratulate" won Most Gifted Hip-hop and was nominated for Most Gifted Southern, as well as Most Gifted Video of the Year at the 2014 Channel O Music Video Awards.[10]

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
South Africa (EMA)[3] 2

References

  1. ^ "iTunes - Music - Congratulate - Single by AKA". Itunes.apple.com. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  2. ^ 10 March 2014 Time: 11:04 am (10 March 2014). "AKA's latest single 'Congratulate' hits no.1 on iTunes SA". Kick Off. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b "Entertainment Monitoring Africa :: Charts". Sa-ema.com. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  4. ^ "AKA Releases Artwork For New Single 'Congratulate'". Miznformed. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  5. ^ Dorobucci (13 May 2014). "AKA | Congratulate". Vibrationfactorke.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  6. ^ "AKA on his latest single "Congratulate"". YouTube. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  7. ^ "AKA's #LEVELS album reaches gold | YoMzansi™ BLOG |". YoMzansi™ BLOG | HIGHEST GRADE SOURCE of SA Entertainment News. 17 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  8. ^ Source: Siyathemba Ben (@Siyathembab) (5 March 2014). "AKA drops "Congratulate"". MTV Base. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  9. ^ "New Music Video. AKA - Congratulate - we-are-awesome". we-are-awesome. 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  10. ^ Marshall, Rhodé (5 September 2014). "Channel O Africa announces Music Video Awards nominees". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.