Following the commercial success and positive reception of PTY unLTD (2019), the Skhanda movement originator, K.O has returned with his fourth solo studio LP SR3, the third instalment of the Skhanda Republic series, which began in 2014. Much of Ko’s works after Skhanda Republic has been about pushing already-set boundary stones, from growing more confident in his singing voice to embracing mellower production.
In that regard, SR3’s texture is more consistent, veering from rap to melody, almost seamlessly. With the helping hands of Msaki, Blxckie, Pabi Cooper, Sarkodie, and Young Stunna, to name a few, K.O has taken a step closer to perfecting album-making alchemy, ensuring his records retain a lengthy shelf life just as how he has survived eras in the rap game since his Teargas days in the mid-2000s.
Before the album dropped, K.O – real name Ntokozo Mdluli – found himself (and other Mzansi rappers) thrust into the spotlight after Big Zulu called them out on ‘150 Bars’. Nkabi Nation founder called out K.O for denying him a feature back in the day, which prompted the Skhanda God to respond in part with “Omega Freestyle” which further built tension and anticipation for SR3. The relatively short spectacle from the ‘Mission Statement’ hitmaker reeked of the energy found in the freestyle scene, with most on social media touting the new version of K.O being the rebuffed version from 2014. In a way, he is.
On the album, his energies are backward-looking. With him having even admitted previously that the original from 2014 was the template for his latest offering. Yet, in as much as he attempted to recreate it, life experiences and maturity from his follow-up albums poke their heads through, blunting K.O’s usual carefree-cum-crass style, albeit not in a bad way.
Much of what made the top-selling SR a success could be chalked up to the creative pocket Lunatik was able to coax K.O to play around. Those trademark smug and unorthodox poly-syllabic flows sprinkled with sexual innuendos, dirty wordplay, and threats of violence. The melee-mouthed energy is evident in songs like “Moshito”, which sounds eerily like a brash throwback of “Son of a Gun”, the hit from the 2014 volume. A good thing – that’s what K.O’s known best for and can exploit well.
Watch “Moshito” here:
Part of K.O’s sustained success in the SA hip hop game has been his formulaic approach in crafting albums, singles in particular, a thing Teargas was known for back in their active, accolade-laden run from 2006 to the early 2010s. Think about how each album walked hand-in-hand with a smash-hit single. “Chance” from K’shubile K’bovu (2006), “Champions” from Wafa Wafa (2008), and “Mhlobo Wami” from Dark or Blue (2009). It’s easy to see how K.O extracted this approach and tailored it for his albums, “Caracara”, “Call Me”, and “Say You Will”, from his first three albums, respectively. For SR3, “Sete”, with Blxckie and Young Stunna, carries on the tradition, ensuring that K.O remains the star on top of the Christmas tree of charting songs without compromising his core rap values his fanbase adores him for. This particular lesson, taken from his Teargas days, is what makes it endearing and equally heartbreaking when he references his falling out with Ntukza and what Teargas would be if they were still together.
Check out “Sete” here:
SR3 is a pure rap album, and it’s designed with K.O’s signature techniques of macho-man performances, catchy hooks, and well-chosen collaborations – the Bermuda Triangle – that can easily send the listener onto a musical trip the moment they hit play. Most Mzansi artists skew the process, watering down their original flavour by lacing their albums with too many pop-focused songs, resulting in a project so deviant from the artist’s true nature that it fosters conversations of selling out. On the other hand, others remain too abstract and lack creative diversity, ending up with an album with a single-minded and one-dimensional focus. SR3 is a balance of both extremes, mainstream appeal and fringe interests packaged and sealed with K.O’s special touch.
