Johannesburg, Monday, 27th March 2023 – Following the phenomenal success of “SETE” – South Africa’s multiple award- winning-ambassador of Hip Hop, K.O – ups the stakes with a hotly anticipated new remix. Joining three corners of the continent together, KO calls upon East Africa’s superstar Diamond Platnumz and West Africa’s trailblazer – Oxlade to deliver a stunning Afrobeats’ inspired track set for global supremacy – available today on all digital platforms.
Taken from the rapper’s critically acclaimed album ‘SR3’, the original version of “SETE”, featuring SA’s Young Stunna and Blxckie was released last September and has had an unprecedented run. Dominating the Official Charts in South Africa, it spent 20 weeks at no.1, topping the airplay chart and numerous playlists and racked up a plethora of accolades including being cited by Rolling Stone as one ‘Top 40 Best Afropop Songs of 2022’. The accompanying video achieved an SA first too – 10 million YouTube views in one month, currently sitting at over 28 million views and counting.
Fuelled by an unstoppable momentum K.O shares, “I was never big on remixes, but I believed it could be a great chance for us to take “SETE” it to the next level, especially bringing in some amazing acts from the continent.” Speaking on his choice of collaborators – Oxlade and Diamond Platnumz, he adds “I chose Oxlade and Diamond Platnumz because I wanted to make it organic, and they both bring the West and East of Africa together which is what I had hoped for.”
The SETE Remix debuted strongly over the weekend on multiple streaming charts across the continent;
- Deezer Top Songs Nigeria – #1
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Tanzania – #5
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Botswana – #26
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Namibia – #26
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 South Africa – #29
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Swaziland – #32
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Malawi – #33
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Zimbabwe – #54
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Kenya – #60
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 100 Sierra Leone – #88
- Apple Music Charts, Daily Top 200 Nigeria – #196
The audio has already crossed 220,000 views on YouTube and is currently trending at #5
K.O is currently in the studio cooking up a new project, drawing a lot of lessons from the success of ‘SETE’ the rapper plans to produce easily exportable sounds in the upcoming body of work.
ABOUT K.O
Growing up in Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, K.O (real name Ntokozo Mdluli) dreamt about becoming a world-renowned MC, looking up to West Coast greats like Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg from an early age, in the hopes of forging a similar path that spearheaded his culture.
It was only when K.O met future Teargas members Ntukza and Ma-E at Vaal University of Technology, that the Soweto-born rapper made the decision to pursue music as a full-time career. Without a blueprint for success, Teargas blazed their own trail and laid the foundation for the next generation of SA hip hop to thrive.
Their four critically acclaimed, award-winning and commercially successful albums K’shubile K’bovu (2006), Wafa Wafa (2008), Dark Or Blue (2009), and Num8er Num8er (2012), ensured their status as SA hip hop royalty and established K.O as a charismatic, breakout star.
Alongside Teargas member Ma-E, K.O formed entertainment and lifestyle company Cashtime Life in 2013, releasing his scene-changing SAMA-winning debut album Skhanda Republic (2014) soon after. But it was the album’s second single “Caracara” that completely changed the game, capturing a mood and signalling the birth of The Skhanda sound. Mixing kwaito and hip hop, The Skhanda sound defined an era that many consider to be the peak of SA hip hop.
Township slang for the VW Caravelle minibus, “Caracara” is K.O’s ode to the legendary vehicle and its prominent feature in SA township lifestyle circa 1990. Just like its namesake, “Caracara” ushered in a new era of cool, changing the landscape of SA urban youth music. It also became the first song to top all 5 EMA charts – SA Local Music Top 40 Playlist, SA Local Music Top 40 RAMS, SA Television Top 40 Playlist, SA Top 100 Playlist and SA Top 100 RAMS, at the same time. It was also the first SA hip hop song to reach 1 million views on YouTube.
Picking up the SAMA for Best Collaboration and Record of The Year (a first for a hip-hop song) in 2015, “Caracara” became the biggest song in SA that year and over time, the most significant SA hip hop song ever released.
As a consummate risk-taker, K.O. continued to push the envelope sonically on his socially conscious second album, SR2 (2017), and R&B, pop and amapiano-tinged third album, PTY unLTD (2019), with the evolution of his sound at the core of every release, ultimately influencing the culture and impacting the game.
Now, with his newly launched imprint and clothing line, Skhanda World, K.O has emerged enlightened and invigorated, ready to take on the airwaves and stages with his future music and entrepreneurial endeavours, proof that the streets will always find a way.