Ntokozo Mdluli (born 13 October 1980), known professionally as K.O, is a South African rapper, songwriter, record producer and businessman He began his career as a member of

Teargas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce ...

, a hip hop group which released its debut album, ''K'shubile K'bovu'', in 2006, followed by ''Wafa Wafa'' (2008), ''Dark or Blue'' (2009) and ''Num8er Num8er'' (2012). After leaving Teargas, K.O pursued a solo career and released his solo debut album, '' Skhanda Republic'' (2014). It debuted at #1 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry of South Africa Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) is a trade association representing the interests of major and independent record labels of South Africa. Located in Randburg, RiSA is responsible for running the annual South African Music Awards (SAMA ...

(RISA). K.O's second studio album, ''Skhanda Republic 2'' (2017), was released in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Africa. His fourth studio album, '' SR3'' (2022), was certified platinum by Recording Industry of South Africa. It spawned a single, "SETE", which debuted at number one on Radio Monitor Charts, where it stayed for 19 consecutive weeks, his first single to reach that summit. His accolades includes six

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...

, three

South African Hip Hop Awards The South African Hip Hop Awards (commonly abbreviated as SAHHA) are an annual hip hop award ceremony, that celebrates achievements within the South African hip hop culture, established in 2012. The awards are presented annually, and are broadca ...

and an

MTV Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

Early life

Ntokozo Mdluli was born 13 October 1980 in

Piet Retief Pieter Mauritz Retief (12 November 1780 – 6 February 1838) was a '' Voortrekker'' leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he later assumed command of punitive expeditions during the sixth Xhosa War. He became a s ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

. He is the son of Thembisile Mdluli and Jabulani Mdluli. K.O attended

Vaal University of Technology Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is a higher education institution in South Africa. It attracts students from all over the country. It is one of the largest residential universities of technology, with about 20 000 students, 40 programs, al ...

and obtained a National Diploma in Public Relations Management. After graduating, he spent two years unemployed before his mother submitted his résumé to the South African Police Service, although he ultimately did not attend the interview. While attending

, Mdluli met his would-be bandmates Ezee "Ma-E" Hanabe and Bantu "Ntukza" Hanabe. After completing his studies, K.O spent two years unemployed before his mother sent his CV to the

South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the Provinces of South Africa, provincial borders, and a Provincial Commis ...

. "I was trying to make demos with funding from my parents and they believed in my dream but I eventually started giving up. My mother sent my CV to the SAPS but I didn't go for the interview. The day of the interview I knew I was struggling but I couldn't go through with it," K.O was quoted saying in the ''

Sowetan ''The Sowetan'' is an English-language South African daily newspaper that started in 1981 as a Internal resistance to apartheid, liberation struggle newspaper and was freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township ( ...

''.

Music career

2004–2009: Teargas

In 2004, while he was employed in Public Relations, K.O, Ma-E and Ntukza formed a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group called

. In 2005, Teargas signed with Electromode Music. "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 ''News24''. In 2006, Teargas released their debut album, ''K'shubile K'bovu''. The album was very successful. The fifteen-track album featured "Chance", a hip hop song chronicling a life of a township gangster seeking redemption, reminiscent of the early days of Kwaito. In 2008, Teargas released their second studio album, ''Wafa Wafa''. In the sixteen-track album, the group worked with Bongo Riot on two songs, "Champions" and "Sunshine". In 2009, they released their third studio album, ''Dark or Blue''. In the thirteen-track album, Teargas collaborated with Tamarsha on the song titled "Life", with

DJ Tira Mthokozisi Khathi (born 24 August 1976) popularly known as DJ Tira, is a South African DJ, record producer, and businessman. Early life Khathi was born in KwaHlabisa Village, KwaZulu-Natal, and his family relocated to Durban in 1979. Khathi ...

and Liesl Penniken on the song titled "Party 101", with

Hip Hop Pantsula Jabulani Tsambo (14 September 1980 – 24 October 2018), better known by his stage name Hip Hop Pantsula, later shortened to HHP, was a South African Motswako rapper (Motswakolista) who performed in several languages, mostly in Setswana. He was p ...

and

Pro Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African ret ...

on the song "Goodfellaz" and with

Danny K Daniel Koppel (born 8 September 1977), known professionally as Danny K, is a South African singer, songwriter and actor. Early life and education He was raised by Jewish parents, Gavin and Pam Koppel in Johannesburg. He is the eldest of their ...

on the song "T.L.C. (Tender, Love and Care)". In 2012, Teargas released their fourth and final studio album, called ''Number Number'' (stylized ''Num8er Num8er''). In the fifteen-track album, they worked with 2Face on "Turning Tables", with Lilly Million on "Forgive Me", with

Toya Delazy Latoya Nontokozo Buthelezi, who is known professionally as Toya Delazy, is a London-based South African singer, producer, pianist, dancer and performer from KwaZulu-Natal. She is known for her music genre called Afro rave, which fuses techno, ...

on "Paradise" and Ziyon on "Put U On". In an interview with the Sunday World K.O dismissed claims that Teargas split: "We have decided to individually try new things just like Mafikizolo did. We are taking a break but it does not mean we are a dead group."

2013–2015: ''Skhanda Republic''

In 2013, K.O joined forces with Teargas bandmate Ma-E and music and marketing executive Thabiso Khati to form an entertainment company, Cashtime Life. K.O became its first artist. In 2014, K.O was featured on AKA's single "Run Jozi (Godly)". The verse by K.O was ranked as one of the greatest verses in South African hip hop. In March 2014, he released a second single from his debut studio album, " Caracara", and it garnered over one million views on YouTube. "Caracara" won Record of the Year and Best Collaboration at the 20th annual ceremony of South African Music Awards. In addition, "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 single from his first album. In November 2014, K.O's first solo album, '' Skhanda Republic'', was released. ''Skhanda Republic'' was nominated for Male artist of the Year and Album of the Year, and won Best Rap Album at 20th ceremony of South African Music Awards. In addition, ''Skhanda Republic'' was nominated for Best Hip Hop Album and Best Male Album at the 14th Annual Metro FM Awards. K.O won the MTV Base MC of the year crown in November 2014.

2016–2019: ''SR2'', ''PTY UnLTD''

In July 2017, Ntokozo signed a partnership and distribution with

Sony Entertainment Sony Entertainment, Inc. is the umbrella entertainment division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by its American subsidiary, established in 2012 to oversee the corporation's ventures in film, televisio ...

. He released his single "No Feelings" on 21 July. Production was handled by Hylton Brooker and

Gemini Major Benn Gilbert Kamoto (born 14 June 1990), better known by his stage name Gemini Major, is a Malawian-born South African record producer and singer-songwriter. He was signed to Family Tree Records, a South African independent record label founded ...

. The song was certified platinum, with sales of 25,000 copies. He released a single, "Don Dada", featuring

Okmalumkoolkat Simiso Zwane (born Brian Simiso Zwane; 27 July 1983), commonly known by his stage name Okmalumkoolkat (sometimes stylized as OkMalumKoolKat) is a South African rapper and half of the rap/ electronic duo Dirty Paraffin from Umlazi Township in D ...

, on 14 October. Ntokozo released his second album, ''Skhanda Republic 2'', in October 2017. In March 2019, his single "Supa Dupa" was released as his third album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

. The song was certified 2× gold, with sales of 20,000 copies. "Say U Will" was released as the second single. He followed up with his third solo album, titled ''PTY UnLTD'', in 2019. "Supa Dupa" was the only South African hip hop song to receive a gold plaque in 2019.

2021–2023: ''Skhanda Republic 3''

In September 2021, he announced his fourth album, ''Skhanda Republic 3'', and released "Playback" on October 15, 2021. The second single, "Emoyeni", was released on March 25, 2022. His single "SETE" featuring

Young Stunna Sandile Fortune Msimango, popularly known by his stage name Young Stunna is a South African Amapiano singer. He is known for his hit singles "Bopha" and "Adiwele". He has also extensively worked with record producers DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De S ...

and

Blxckie Sihle Sithole (born 24 November 1999), known professionally as Blxckie, is a South African rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Sydenham Heights, Durban. His debut studio album '' B4Now'' (2021) was certified gold in South Africa. ...

was released on 22 August 2022, along with a music video. The song debuted at number one on Radio Monitor Charts and remained there for 19 consecutive weeks, became the longest-charting single. It also entered Local and International Radio Chart Top 10 at number 1. In addition, "SETE" was number 1 on Official SA Charts list of SA's most streamed songs of 2022. The song was certified Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa. His fourth studio album, ''Skhanda Republic 3'', was released on 16 September 2022. It features

Sjava Jabulani Hadebe (born 2 December 1983), known professionally as Sjava, is a South African singer, rapper, and actor. He began his acting career in 2005, starring in several drama series and films including '' uGugu no Andile'' (2009). He then r ...

Msaki Asanda Lusaseni Mvana (born 31 December 1988) known professionally as Msaki, is a South African composer, singer, and songwriter. Born and grew up in East London, during her childhood she was involved in musical activities. Her career in music ...

, Zuma, Pabi Cooper and Sarkodie. Upon its release the album debuted at number one on Spotify Weekly Top Albums SA Chart and was certified platinum by RISA.

2024–present: Upcoming album

His single "Too Much" with Nasty C was released on 15 August 2024. It debuted at number 10 on Local Streaming Charts. In August 2024, K.O announced his fifth studio album, ''I Think You Spoke Too Soon'', set to be released on October 18. On October 16 2024, K.O took to

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

to announce that he has decided to push his album to the first quarter of 2025. As of May 2025, the album has not been released. K.O's new album, titled "Phara City" is scheduled to be released on June 13th, 2025.

Personal life

In May 2014, K.O lost a significant amount of weight. Rumours appeared on social media that K.O was

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

. His manager, Thabiso Khati, denied those rumours, stating that K.O had undergone a strict diet plan and was exercising regularly. K.O later released a statement regarding his health and posted a picture of his blood test results on his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and

pages showing that he was HIV negative.

Awards and nominations

Channel O Africa Music Video Awards

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South African Music Awards

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, rowspan="3", "Skhanda Republic" , Record of The Year ("Caracara") , , - , Rap Album of The Year , , - , Best Collaboration ("Caracara" ft Kid X) , , - , rowspan="3",

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, "Lucky Star" , Best Produced Music Video , , - , rowspan=7, 2023 , rowspan=2, ''SR3'' , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=4, "SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Blxckie , Best Collaboration , , - , Best Produced Music Video , , - , SAMRO Highest AirPlay Composer , , - , CAPASSO Most Streamed Song , , - , "SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Oxlade and

Diamond Platnumz Naseeb Abdul Juma Issack, professionally known as Diamond Platnumz, is a Tanzanian bongo flava recording artist, dancer, philanthropist and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of WCB Wasafi Record Label, Wasafi Bet and Wasafi Media. Diamo ...

, Remix of the Year ,

South African Hip Hop Awards The South African Hip Hop Awards (commonly abbreviated as SAHHA) are an annual hip hop award ceremony, that celebrates achievements within the South African hip hop culture, established in 2012. The awards are presented annually, and are broadca ...

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" SETE"

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Metro FM Music Awards The 15th installment of the annual Metro FM Music Awards is an award ceremony in the South African music industry honouring musicians who did exceedingly well in their field throughout 2015. The show first aired on SABC 1 on February 27, 2016. The ...

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Skhanda Republic'' (2014) * ''Skhanda Republic 2'' (2017) * ''PTY UnLTD'' (2019) * '' Skhanda Republic 3'' (2022) * Phara City (2025)

Extended plays

*''2Piece'' (2018)

As member of Teargas

* ''K'shubile K'bovu'' (2006) * ''Wafa Wafa'' (2008) * ''Dark or Blue'' (2009) * ''Num8er Num8er'' (2012)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:K.O Living people South African rappers South African record producers 1980 births English-language singers from South Africa South Africa Mbombela