Who is Akala?

Akala, born Kingslee James McLean Daley, is a British rap­per and polit­i­cal activist who has caught the atten­tion of Hol­ly­wood star Angeli­na Jolie. The 40-year-old artist start­ed his career in music before tran­si­tion­ing into polit­i­cal activism and authorship.

Akala’s Musical Career and Background

Akala’s break­through came with his 2006 album “It’s Not a Rumour,” which earned him a MOBO Award for Best Hip Hop Act. He went on to release two more albums, “Free­dom Las­so” (2007) and “Dou­ble Think” (2010), and per­formed at numer­ous fes­ti­vals across the UK.

Akala’s ori­gins are in West Sus­sex, where he was born to a Scot­tish moth­er and Jamaican father who sep­a­rat­ed before his birth. His old­er sis­ter is the famous singer and rap­per Ms. Dyna­mite, who enjoyed a string of hits in the ear­ly 2000s with her debut album “A Lit­tle Deeper.”

Akala’s Activism and Advocacy

In addi­tion to his music, Akala has ded­i­cat­ed his career to speak­ing up about race, class, and social issues. He has been an out­spo­ken crit­ic of the idea that more police and tougher sen­tences are the solu­tion to knife crime, instead blam­ing the epi­dem­ic on a lack of edu­ca­tion and poverty.

Akala is also the founder of The Hip-hop Shake­speare Com­pa­ny, a music the­atre pro­duc­tion com­pa­ny that com­bines the works of William Shake­speare with mod­ern-day hip-hop artists.

Akala’s Friendship with Angelina Jolie

Akala’s con­nec­tion to Angeli­na Jolie has been the sub­ject of much spec­u­la­tion, with the two report­ed­ly becom­ing close friends over the past year. The pair are said to have bond­ed over their shared pas­sions for activism and glob­al issues, and Akala is said to get along well with Jolie’s children.

While the duo was ini­tial­ly rumored to be roman­ti­cal­ly involved, it has been con­firmed that they are sim­ply close friends who are sup­port­ing each oth­er dur­ing Jolie’s split from Brad Pitt.