K.O announces no new music until 2026: commits to 8 music videos from latest album

Ntokozo Mdluli, famously known as K.O, has announced that he will not be releasing any new music until June 2026. 

The announcement came during a brief exchange on X with a fan, sparking both surprise and admiration from followers. 

The conversation began when user @Wasshanneni_ng praised K.O, tweeting, “@MrCashtime the album is dope, you never disappoint always. Greatest MC period! No debate.” 

K.O replied, “Thank you, fam.” 

Shortly after, another fan, @MoneriMandla, urged the artist not to let his plans interfere with the album’s promotion, requesting more music videos: “Please, whatever plans you have for this year or next year, let it not interfere with this album; we need more visuals for a lot of songs here.” 

Responding in a quote tweet, K.O clarified his intentions: “No new music on my end til next June. Deliberately aiming to put out at least 8 videos from this project.” 

This commitment to visual content was met with enthusiasm from fans. 

One user expressed gratitude, saying, “Thank you for this; maybe other people will see the value of music videos. We are tired of people dropping albums and not giving us music videos.” 

Others showed respect for K.O’s approach, with comments like “Big respect” and “Yes, you are moving differently now.” 

This announcement follows the release of K.O’s fifth studio album, “Phara City”, which dropped on June 13. 

Fans are still revelling in the album, especially since it has been a while since his previous studio project, “SR3”, released in 2022. 

K.O revealed that “Phara City” was more than a year in the making, carefully crafted to create timeless moments with lasting impact. His deliberate pace shows his dedication to quality over quantity, preferring to take time to ensure every detail is perfect. 

In a recent interview discussing the motivations behind the album’s timing, K.O spoke about the profound significance of “Phara City” in South Africa’s current socio-political climate. 

“I think the age where I'm at right now, I don't only just want to be remembered as a dope rapper ... I now want to be even more intentional, especially in the climate that we are subjected to as a country right now,” said the multi-award-winning artist. 

“I don’t want to shy away from the fact that there are socio-economic issues that we are growing up under, and whether we want to mask them and hide those things from the rest of the world or not, they are a reality.” 

Diving into the meaning behind Phara, K.O elaborated: “Phara is a thug, I'm going to use the word loosely, why?? Because Tupac came and he owned this thing called ‘Thug Life’.”

“That entire mentality he talked about is not only just the unflattering things; it describes a background that is both positive and negative. Pharas are largely outcasts within society, ostracised people. But if you think about it, a Phara is not only that person in today's South Africa,” said the “Sete” hitmaker. 

With this clear vision and careful strategy, K.O is poised to keep fans engaged with his current work through multiple music videos while taking a deliberate break from new music releases until mid-2026. 

This approach underscores his commitment to meaningful artistry and his desire to make a lasting impact on the music scene and beyond.