Born and orphaned in the capital city of Al-Campur on the Weequay homeworld of Sriluur, Ak-rev was brought into a monastery of Am-Shak, the Weequay god of thunder. The monks of Am-Shak taught Ak-rev hand-to-hand combat and the art of drumming on the thunder drums. After leaving the monastery, Ak-rev entered the violent underworld of Al-Campur as a street fighter. Despite his involvement in gang violence, Ak-rev continued to perform drum ceremonies in honor of Am-Shak and gave a bit of his money to the monastery. The monks of the monestary served as the only solace and the drums the only joy to Ak-rev during his youth.
Ak-Rev did not trust outlanders and non-Weequays, and while on a visit to Tatooine, Ak had a brawl with Gamorreans. The Gamorreans were in the employment of the Huttcrime lordJabba Desilijic Tiure's, more commonly know as Jabba the Hutt. Jabba was impressed by Ak-Rev's tenacity, and agreed to hire him as a bodyguard. While the Hutt disgusted Ak-Rev, he agreed, if only because there were so many Weequays in Jabba's Palace that he felt at home again. When Jabba the Hutt heard Ak-rev's passionate drum performance at an Am-Shak ceremony, he offered Ak-rev a position in the Max Rebo Band alongside the KlatooinianUmpass-stay. They would occasionally play back up for the band on huge drums.
In 4 ABY, Ak and Umpass, along with the rest of the Max Rebo Band, were playing a song to entertain Jabba's quests, when they witnessed the death of one of Jabba's Twi'lekslavedancers, Oola. Oola had refused to dance closer to the Hutt crimelord, and as a result, the Twi'lek was dropped into a large pit underneath Jabba's throne room that housed his pet Rancor midway threw the song. Oola was subsequently eaten alive by the large predator.
Later that night, Jabba captured the Princess of Alderaan and Rebel Alliance hero Leia Organa, who had been disguised as the bounty hunterBoushh, while she was trying to rescue Han Solo, and as a result, Leia was put into slavery under the Hutt. Solo was an ex-smuggler turned rebellion General who was frozen in carbonite a year earlier for failing to pay back Jabba for dumping a large amount of spice while on a run for the Hutt. The next day, the last Jedi Knight in the galaxy and rebel commanderLuke Skywalker came to Jabba's palace to negotiate the release of Han, Leia, and Solo's Wookiee companion, Chewbacca, who had been brought into Jabba's custody by Leia when she was disguised as Boushh so she could get into the palace, but Skywalker too was captured.
Ak and Umpass stayed behind at Jabba's palace when the Hutt went out into the Dune Sea in his sailbarge and several of his denizens to execute Han, Luke, and Chewbacca at the Great Pit of Carkoon. However, Jabba's prisoners were able to free themselves with the help of Lando Calrissian, who had been disguised as one of Jabba's guards. The Hutt himself was killed when Leia choked the Hutt with chain he had used to keep the Princess imprisoned.
When news of Jabba's death reached Ak-rev and Umpass-stay, the two set out across the Dune Sea, through Tusken Raider territory, bound for Mos Eisley, a small spaceport town. While en route, they were ambushed by a tribe of Sand People whose banthas had been slain by Ak's fellow Weequays in a sacrifice to the Weequays' gods. The Raiders beat Ak-rev to death, returning the favor of sacrifice, although Umpass was able to survive and would live on to serve another Desilijic clan house.
Ak-rev was added to the extended musical number in the Special Edition of Return of the Jedi. The drumming done by he and Umpass-stay was derived from the Japanese art of Taiko drumming.
Hasbro would later release an Ak-rev figure in 2008 including a leg of R7-Z0.