Debuting the forerunning trailer for his latest single “Push It” last week, South African rapper, singer-songwriter, and businessman Ntokozo “K.O” Mdluli’s rollout has been a cinematic spectacle. Depicting him clad in mafia-style black leather garments, the short film sees the former Teargas constituent riding around under the night sky, searching for a place in which he eventually immolates all the clothes he wore in his happy-go-lucky eras as a musician, particularly the artist he was on “Shimmy” and “Supa Dupa”. Opting for an edgier aesthetic, which best suits his straightlaced yet cutthroat lyricism, the release of “Push It” heralds an about-face for K.O creatively.
“Push It” is a three-minute-and-nineteen-second hip-hop song tinctured with trap influences and elements of chipmunk soul vocal drops to inject a youthful feel to the track. Backed by a sonorous bass, distorted guitars, and lingering siren-like violins, the multi-SAMA-winning Mpumalanga hip-hop star’s newest outing doesn’t stray sonically from the sound tailoring he has been sporting for his raps in the past two to three years. The arrangement and creative direction of the sound is gritty and street in every sense of the word, giving Mdluli ample leeway to flex his lyrical chops without having to worry about blending melodies to make the song commercially friendly.
“Push It” artwork | SUPPLIED
On “Push It”, K.O retreats to his confort zone, doing what he does best: bloating his songwriting with braggadocious raps, running the gamut from his longenvity in the game to the sacrifices he had to stake his success on in order to make it as a big-time star.
Lacing his lyrics with interpolations of DMX’s 2000 smash hit “Party Up” as well as Mgarimbe’s 2006 hit single “Sister Bethina”, Ntokozo also seeks to re-establish himself as a rapper by tracing his steps all the way back to his roots: the early 2000s, which is coincidentally the same time period that he blew up as a part of the legendary three-man crew, Teargas, which succeeded Skwatta Kamp.
Listen to “Push It”:
