The passing of AKA left not only a void in the music industry but also deep emotional wounds for his family, especially his mother, Lynn Forbes. In the aftermath of his death, Lynn found herself facing a difficult reality, while she wanted nothing more than to grieve privately, she felt a greater sense of responsibility to the public who had loved and supported her son throughout his career.
Speaking in a recent interview on the Ikigai Awakening Podcast, she opened up about the emotional weight of that decision and the reasoning behind making her grief a public matter.
Her first instinct, she says, was to grieve in silence.
“All I wanted was to take my child and bury him quietly and not talk to the media, to anyone,” Lynn said. “I just didn’t wanna do all that, but I couldn’t because that would have not been the right thing to do.”
This deeply personal admission gives us a glimpse into the emotional conflict she faced. In the middle of her own heartbreak, she was also aware that her son wasn’t just hers, he belonged to the world too. As a public figure with a powerful fanbase behind him, AKA’s death left a hole in many lives, and Lynn felt that void just as much as the fans did.
“I had a responsibility towards his fans, I could have chosen not to speak at all but my voice had to be heard, people needed to know what I felt.”
It wasn’t about obligation, pressure, or expectations from outside forces. For her, it was much deeper than that.
“I never felt any pressure, I just felt responsibility,” she explained. “It wasn’t because someone expected me to do it but I believed at that time that this is what my son would have wanted me to do. I needed to be there for him.”
That sense of duty didn’t come from media or public relations, it came from the heart of a mother who knew what her child meant to the world. She chose to stand up, speak out, and be present, not just for her son, but for the people who loved him too.
“The megacy was incredible and more than anything I think for them I needed to speak,” she continued. “They needed to connect with him and he wasn’t there so they needed to connect with me, they needed to connect to somebody. Didn’t have to be me but we couldn’t just cut them out of it. So that is what I felt was my purpose and my duty and it was a duty out of love.”
Lynn didn’t isolate herself. Instead, she became the bridge between her son and the people who admired him. She honored him by standing in his place when he could no longer speak, giving his fans something to hold on to in their own mourning.
Despite the heaviness of the situation, Lynn also shared how deeply moved she was by the support she received.
“People showed up for us in a way that I felt so cared for and loved,” she said. “And that actually, what happened, as much as it was terrible, I felt so much love. And I think for the first time, I realised the love that my son had in the world.”
In the middle of unimaginable pain, that love gave her strength. It reminded her that AKA’s life meant something to many, and that in sharing her truth, she helped others begin to heal too.
