K.O Turns 41: 6 Cool Facts in Celebration of the Talented Rapper's Birthday
Popular Mzansi rapper K.O, whose real name is Ntokozo Mdluli, is celebrating his birthday this Wednesday, 13 October. The popular star is turning 41 years of age.
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The lyricist has worked with a lot of artists in the Mzansi music industry and is one of the best rappers in the game. He has collaborated with the likes of AKA, Cassper Nyovest, Nandi Madida and Kid X, among others.
Source: Instagram
K.O has been loyal to the rap genre since he came into the scene in 2006. He has never switched to other genres but has always adapted to new styles of rapping and has remained relevant for more than 10 years.
In celebration of his birthday, Briefly News takes a look at his life from an early age and successful rap career. Check out six cool facts about the hip-hop artist below:
1. Place of birth
K.O was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1980. The star's parents are Thembisile Mdluli and Jabulani Mdluli. He relocated to Mpumalanga province with his family while he was still a baby. That's where he spent most of his childhood until he decided it was time to go back to Johannesburg to fulfil his dream of becoming a rapper.
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2. Early rap career
The musician was a member of the hit hip-hop group Teargas. K.O, Ma-E and Ntukza were part of the band that shook the Mzansi rap game when they came to the scene. They dropped their first album titled K’shubile K’bovu in 2006. the project featured the smash hit, Chance. Chance was on high rotation on radio and TV and it was popular in clubs and music festivals.
3. Debut album
The Caracara hitmaker went solo and dropped his debut album Skhanda Republic in 2014. It had 11 tracks. He worked with the likes of Kid X, Nandi Madida, Maggz and Ma-E on the project. Caracara and Skhanda Love were the most popular hits on the album which earned K.O a couple of nominations on Channel O Africa Music Awards.
4. Awards
K.O has never been lucky when it comes to winning major awards for his good work. Even though he has bagged a couple of nominations, K.O only bagged his biggest award in 2020. The star walked away with the Best Collaboration accolade at the South African Music Awards for his hit Say U Will featuring Nandi Madida.
5. K.O the businessman
The veteran rapper owns a successful clothing label named Skhanda World. He sells jackets, T-Shirts, tracksuits, shorts and bags, among other things. He is also the boss at Skhanda World, an independent record label. His artists include the likes of young talented rappers Lokii and Roii.
6. Building his brand
Briefly News previously reported that the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown has not deterred Mzansi rapper K.O's work ethic. The star recently took to social media to share details of the hard work he has been putting into his brand lately. The Supa Dupa hitmaker has released new music and has also dropped a few videos amid the pandemic. He has also been working on the winter range of his fashion line, Skhanda World. K.O said he is really motivated to put more effort on himself this year. He tweeted:
"I've really been on my grind lately, the music we making, the record label, the 2020 winter range. So motivated."
AKA and K.O perform their classic 'Run Jozi'
In other entertainment news, Briefly News reported that K.O and AKA got together recently and performed their classic hit, Run Jozi. The rappers performed the song live during Yanga Chief’s Famous Friends event. Yanga also does the hook on the track.
The three stars took their hip-hop fans down memory lane with their lit live set. The song was huge in Mzansi when it was released back in 2014. The epic song features on Supa Mega's album, Levels.
The epic tune paved the way for local hip-hop as it ruled the airwaves and inspired a lot of Mzansi artists to switch from Kwaito to rap music. According to SAHipHopMag, K.O took to Instagram to post the video of their performance.
Source: Briefly News
