Culture Craze

K.O’s Phara City Tracks SA’s Crime and Corruption

Published

2 months ago

July 15, 2025

Chiraag

Phara City album cover, K.O rapper performance, corruption in South African police, crime crisis SA, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh podcast interview, SA hip hop activism, musical social commentary, Joburg ETC

In a nation wrestling with fresh revelations about a criminal syndicate inside the police, K.O’s Phara City lands like a wake‑up call. It isn’t glossy entertainment; it’s a heartbeat from the streets.

Ntokozo “K.O” Mdluli, the award‑winning rapper, sat down with podcaster Sizwe Mpofu‑Walsh to explain how his new album embodies the stark realities of life in South Africa. Released as President Cyril Ramaphosa initiated a judicial inquiry into General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive claims, the timing of Phara City is uncanny.

Reality Before the Headlines

While the media buzzes around corruption in law enforcement, K.O’s lyrics were born from the same tension felt daily in marginalised communities. He says the album shows both sides of the city: the “pharas,” street survivors, and those profiting from luxury and power.

“Music is an anointment,” he reflected, describing how his work almost predicted national unrest. “It becomes prophetic without you realising it.”

His view? Songs must be more than chart fodder.

A Demand for Substance

K.O challenges fellow artists to stop playing safe.

“And depriving your own greatness… just to make people dance? That’s a disservice,” he warned.

To him, artists shoulder a duty to echo the anxieties of their listeners. Escapist tunes may sell, but they don’t heal or inspire.

Gritty Portrait of a Crumbling City

Phara City inhabits a darker world: gangland violence, economic despair, and gender‑based crime. Like Gotham or Sin City, his tracks show how beauty and brutality intermingle in urban South Africa.

Even amid heavy themes, K.O’s message isn’t hopeless. He believes music should be both mirror and medicine: reflecting trauma while offering hope.

“We need motivation. We need therapy,” he explained.

A Soundtrack for Social Change

As the country watches the judicial commission assess what Mkhwanazi labelled state‑sponsored malfeasance, Phara City feels less like an album and more like a cultural manifesto. Rooted in context and charged with urgency, it reminds us that real communities, not just headlines, bear the cost of corruption and crime.

This record is K.O’s line in the sand: a demand for accountability, truth, and art with intention. In the midst of a crisis, it’s a gritty anthem for the change South Africa needs.