K.O (rapper)

Ntokozo Mdluli (born 13 October 1980), known professionally as K.O, is a South African rapper. He began his career as a member of Teargas, 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 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa (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 also certified platinum by RISA.

Early life
K.O was born Ntokozo Mdluli in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, in 1980. He is the son of Thembisile Mdluli and Jabulani Mdluli. He went to Vaal University of Technology where he studied for a National Diploma in Public Relations Management.

While at Vaal University of Technology, Mdluli met his would-be bandmates Ezee "Ma-E" Hanabe and Bantu "Ntukza" Hanabe. He completed his studies and graduated with a Public Relations Management National Diploma. He spent two years unemployed before his mother sent his CV to the South African Police Service but he never followed up. "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.

2004–2009: Teargas
In 2004, while he was employed in Public Relations, K.O, Ma-E and Ntukza decided to form a hip hop group called Teargas. 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, was reminiscent of the early days of Kwaito.

In 2008 Teargas released their second studio album titled 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 titled Dark or Blue. In the thirteen-track album, Teargas collaborated with Tamarsha on the song titled "Life", with DJ Tira and Liesl Penniken on the song titled "Party 101", with Hip Hop Pantsula and Pro on the song "Goodfellaz" and with Danny K 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 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," K.O said.

2013–15: 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 hit 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 official single from his first album, "Caracara", and it went on to an even bigger success, reaching one million views on YouTube and breaking the record for most views of a South African hip-hop video. "Caracara" would then become the first SA hip hop song to win record of the year at the annual South African Music Awards (SAMA). "Caracara" was also 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 from his first album.

In November 2014, K.O's first 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 would go on to win 3 SAMA awards, including the Rap Album of the year. Skhanda Republic was also nominated for Best Hip Hop Album and Best Male Album at the 14th Annual Metro FM Awards.

K.O also won the MTV Base MC of the year crown in 2014.

2016–19: SR2, PTY UnLTD
In July 2017, Ntokozo signed a partnership & distribution with Sony Entertainment. He released his single "No Feelings" on 21 July. Production was handled by Hylton Brooker and Gemini Major. The song was certified platinum, with sales of 25,000 copies. He released a single, "Don Dada", featuring Okmalumkoolkat, 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. The song was certified 2× gold, with sales of 20,000 copies. "Say U Will" was released as the second single. He went on to follow-up with his third solo album, titled PTY UnLTD, in 2019.

"Supa Dupa" is the only South African hip hop song to receive a gold plaque in the 2019.

2021–present: Skhanda Republic 3
In September 2021, he announced his upcoming fourth album Skhanda Republic 3, and released "Playback" on October 15, 2021.

The second single "Emoyeni" was released on March 25, 2022. It was followed up by a freestyle titled "SKHANDAVILLE FREESTYLE" on July 25, 2022, which was the first single to the upcoming album and a follow-up to "No Fear (Freestyle)".

In August 2022, K.O released "SETE," featuring Young Stunna and Blxckie. The single was certified double platinum by RISA and is the fastest single to reach gold in South African streaming history. The music video was released on 1 September. The latter was certified platinum status in 16 days by RISA.

On 20 August 2022 rapper Big Zulu released a diss track aimed at K.O and other renowned South African rappers. On 22 August, K.O released a response titled "Omega".

Sjava, Msaki, Zuma, Pabi Cooper and Sarkodie will be featured on Skhanda Republic 3. It will have 14 songs.

The album debuted at number one on Spotify Weekly Top Albums SA Chart and was certified platinum by RISA. It became the first album by a South African hip hop artist to debut at number one on the list.

On 2 February 2023, K.O released a song responding to amapiano artist Lady Du, who had predicted that SETE would not get certified gold. In that song, K.O also said that there would be no reunion of Teargas.

Personal life
In May 2014, K.O lost a significant amount of weight. Rumours appeared on social media that K.O was HIV-positive. 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 and Instagram pages showing that he was HIV negative.

Channel O Africa Music Video Awards
!Ref
 * rowspan="5"|2014
 * rowspan="5"|"Caracara"
 * Most Gifted Male
 * Most Gifted Duo/Group or Featuring Artist
 * Most Gifted Hip Hop
 * Most Gifted Southern Artist
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Duo/Group or Featuring Artist
 * Most Gifted Hip Hop
 * Most Gifted Southern Artist
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Hip Hop
 * Most Gifted Southern Artist
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Southern Artist
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year
 * Most Gifted Video of the Year

South African Music Awards

 * rowspan="3"|2015
 * rowspan="3"|"Skhanda Republic"
 * Record of The Year ("Caracara")
 * Won
 * Rap Album of The Year
 * Won
 * Best Collaboration ("Caracara" ft Kid X)
 * Won
 * rowspan="3"|2020
 * rowspan="3"|"PtyUnltd"
 * Record of The Year ("Supa Dupa")
 * Rap Album of The Year
 * Best Collaboration ("Say You Will ft Nandi Madida")
 * Won
 * 2021
 * "Lucky Star"
 * Best Produced Music Video
 * rowspan=7|2023
 * rowspan=2| SR3
 * Male Artist of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Album of the Year
 * Nominated
 * rowspan=4|"SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Blxckie
 * Best Collaboration
 * Nominated
 * Best Produced Music Video
 * Nominated
 * SAMRO Highest AirPlay Composer
 * Won
 * CAPASSO Most Streamed Song
 * Won
 * "SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Oxlade and Diamond Platnumz
 * Remix of the Year
 * Nominated
 * rowspan=4|"SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Blxckie
 * Best Collaboration
 * Nominated
 * Best Produced Music Video
 * Nominated
 * SAMRO Highest AirPlay Composer
 * Won
 * CAPASSO Most Streamed Song
 * Won
 * "SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Oxlade and Diamond Platnumz
 * Remix of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Won
 * "SETE" featuring Young Stunna, Oxlade and Diamond Platnumz
 * Remix of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

South African Hip Hop Awards
!Ref.
 * rowspan=3|2022
 * rowspan=3| "SETE"
 * Best Video
 * Won
 * rowspan=3|
 * Best Collaboration
 * Won
 * Song of the Year
 * Won
 * Song of the Year
 * Won
 * Won

Studio albums

 * Skhanda Republic (2014)
 * Skhanda Republic 2 (2017)
 * PTY UnLTD (2019)
 * Skhanda Republic 3 (2022)

Extended plays

 * 2Piece (2018)

As member of Teargas

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