Rapper K.O. plans US and Africa performances, and a new album

Rapper KO continues to throw his hat into the international ring as he gears up to perform at the South by Southwest festival (SXSW) in the United States in March.

The annual media and music festival takes place in Austin, Texas and this year will see more than 550 acts from around the world performing on over 100 stages.

After three rounds of announcements, K.O., real name Ntokozo Mdluli, currently reigns supreme as the only African act on the line-up, but more announcements are expected. He takes the stage on March 19.

While the Son of A Gun emcee is no freshman to international audiences after having gone on a tour of the UK with his debut solo album Skhanda Republik last year, this will be his first time performing in the US in his solo capacity.

“It’s exciting but nerve-racking at the same time,” he says of the achievement.  “It’s a beautiful thing because the stage that we’re working on is a mixture of a number of countries,” he adds.

While the Cashtime Life head honcho is thrilled about his international recognition, he maintains that keeping true to who you are and where you come from is the key to global success.

“A lot of times people get it twisted… they wanna go and break out there [overseas] and think that just because they’re getting validation that side, that automatically they’ll get it this side too,” he says.

“My whole sound and career is built on South Africa. Content here is so rich [and] I can take that overseas and people will feel it, even if it’s in vernac [vernacular] because regardless of the language barrier, people will feel it and be able to hear the authenticity.”

He adds, “This is talent, this is art and if you can tell a story and create a connection with an audience beyond the language barrier – that’s ingenious and that is what I want.”

In 2014, the Skhanda Love hit-maker caused waves in the industry after publicly withdrawing from any participation in the annual South African Hip Hop Awards (SAHHA).

In the year, he had released his most successful single to date, Caracara, but was not nominated in the SAHHA, leaving fans and fellow musicians thinking that he had been hit below the belt by the committee of the awards.

“There’s always going to be controversy with awards and lucky for me, I’ve learnt that awards do not break an artist,” he says.

“Eventually, they [awards committees] will take the right steps in changing the whole system or the country [and] their followers will do that for them by disconnecting.”

K.O. says that he plans to knock out 2016 with a number of exciting projects including a new album, due in the second half of the year.

He also says that an important element of his career this year is establishing a strong presence in the rest of the African continent to further grow his brand. “One thing that we are doing an injustice to ourselves on as South African artists, is that we don’t go out there [the rest of Africa]”.

“We see a lot of other African artists coming here and working things here but we aren’t doing the same as they are…We need more of our guys to work the territories there,” he says.