K.O Releases New Single ‘K: HOVA’ Produced by Lunatik

In 2015, K.O released the era-defining classic debut Skhanda Republic. Most of the album was produced by a then-teenage Lunatik, the sonic architect of the skhanda rap sound that K.O championed in the mid-2010s alongside KiD X, Moozlie and MaE.

In his latest single, "K: HOVA", K.O teams up with Lunatik Beats who hasn't worked with since SR. And the song is as good as one would expect.

Read: K.O's 20 Best Verses Ranked

The veteran South African emcee owns the beat which references both amapiano and kwaito. The beat is an exercise that speaks to the relationship between the two genres. Lunatik has been merging hip-hop with kwaito in a large percentage of his beats, especially from the skhanda era.

K.O's longevity is based on him being a ridiculously gifted emcee who is able to reinvent himself to suit music's ever-changing trends. He is the latest of many South African rappers to incorporate the yanos in their music. But, just like he did circa 2014, he keeps the essence of lyricism alive in "K: HOVA". He sounds comfortable over production that isn't just both nostalgic and vogue but is familiar territory—he uses different delivery styles which are tied together by his charisma and undeniable presence. The song's title is of course a nod to Jay-Z's nickname J Hova—one can imply K.O either aspires or sees himself playing the same position as the rap legend in South African hip-hop.

The song was released simultaneously with the music video. The visuals see K.O perform in the gully streets with cameos coming from his Skhanda World imprint artists such as Loki and Ma-E.

Stream "K: HOVA" on Apple Music and Spotify.

Watch the music video for "K: HOVA" below.

K.O - K:HOVA (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com