SOUTH AFRICAN HIP HOP31 JUL 2026‘We want to be a reference point’: K.Keed and Orish on SA hip-hop’s futureIn an era where South African hip-hop is increasingly shaped by global sounds, K.Keed and Orish’s latest project,…Lesego Chepape6 min read

In an era where South African hip-hop is increasingly shaped by global sounds and viral moments, K.Keed and Orish are looking in the opposite direction. Their latest collaborative project,Umgaranto II, is less concerned with international validation than with documenting the people, places and culture that shaped them. “When the world is looking at our music and the visual representation of it, they need to see what South Africa is.” That intention sits at the heart of Umgaranto II.

The eight-track collaborative album doesn’t present itself as a grand reinvention of South African hip-hop. Instead, it feels like a carefully considered reminder that authenticity has currency. Every beat, language choice and cultural reference is rooted in the neighbourhoods the two artists call home, making the project feel unmistakably local without sounding dated.

Even before pressing play, the album signals its intentions. The cover art features Gundi no Mazwi, the puppet duo familiar to many South Africans through spaza shop skits and township comedy. It is an instantly recognisable image that evokes a shared cultural memory.

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Much like the music itself, the artwork embraces everyday South African life instead of trying to aestheticise or sanitise it. “We both have our individual careers,” K.Keed explains. “Once we have time, we take an ad break and give the people something. Apart from him dropping his own stuff and me dropping my own stuff, we come together again and give people what we’ve been working on.”

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