K.O
K.O (Ntokozo Mdluli) is a South African hip hop artist, rapper, songwriter and businessman from Mpumalanga. He was a member of Teargas, a hip hop group which released its debut album titled K’shubile K’bovu in 2006, followed by Wafa Wafa in 2008, Dark or Blue in 2009 and Num8er Num8er in 2012. He released his debut album Skhanda Republic in 2014, followed by Skhanda Republic 2 in 2017 under Sony Music Entertainment Africa.
In 2005 while employed in the Public Relations, K.O and brothers from Soweto; Ma-E and Ntukza, they decided to form a Hip Hop group called Teargas. “We realised it would be better to join since we were already good friends who knew each other’s rhyming style”, K.O was quoted by the City Press. In 2006 Teargas released their debut album, K’shubile K’bovu, the album was a smash hit and a runaway success. The fifteen (15) track album featured a timeless smash hit titled “chance”. “Chance”, a Hip Hop song chronicling a life of a township gangster seeking redemption, was reminiscent of the early days of Kwaito. In 2008 Teargas released their second studio album titled “Wafa Wafa”; in the sixteen (16) track album the group worked with Bongo Riot on two songs, “Champions” and “Sunshine”.
In 2009 they released their third studio album titled “Dark or Blue”, in the thirteen (13) track album Teargas collaborated with Tamarsha on the song titled “Life”, with DJ Tira and Liesl Penniken on the song called “Party 101”, with Hip Hop Pantsula and Pro (formerly Pro Kid) on the song “Goodfellaz” and with Danny K on the song “T.L.C. (Tender, Love and Care)”. In 2012 Teargas released their fourth studio album called “Number Number” (stylized “Num8er Num8er”); in the fifteen (15) track album they worked with 2Face “Turning Tables”, Lilly Million on “Forgive Me”, Toya Delazy on “Paradise” and Ziyon on “Put U On”.
In 2013 K.O joined forces with Teargas band mate, Ma-E, and music and marketing executive Thabiso Khati to form an entertainment company, Cashtime Life, which he (K.O) became its first artist. This was followed by the release of the first official single of K.O’s debut solo album, “Mission Statement”, which became a critical success and enjoyed massive airplay across South Africa.
In 2014 K.O was featured on AKA‘s hit single, “Run Jozi (Godly)”.
In March 2014 he released a second official single off his then upcoming debut album, “Caracara”, and it went on to an even bigger success. The song reached one million views on YouTube and broke the record for most views of a South African hip-hop video. “Caracara” was nominated for Best Hit Single, Best Collaboration and Best Music Video at the 14th Annual Metro FM Awards.
K.O later released, “Son of a Gun”, a third official single for his then upcoming debut album titled “Skhanda Republic”.
In November 2014 K.O’s debut solo album, Skhanda Republic, was released. In the 11 track album K.O collaborated with Kid X on “Caracara”, Nandi Mngoma on “Skhanda Love” and Ma-E, Maggz and Masandi on “One Time”. Skhanda Republic was nominated for Best Hip Hop album and Best Male Album at the 14th Annual Metro FM Awards.