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You can usually spot a boardroom collaboration a mile away. K Keed and Orish’s isn’t one of them.
They’re connected by more than music. Both artists grew up in the same part of Gugulethu and their friendship naturally evolved into a creative partnership. Their first collaborative project landed in 2023, and judging by the response, a second was less a decision than a matter of time.
They only had to post a snippet of the lead single to learn how much people were still interested in their sound. The audience made their feelings known, and the two took the energy straight back into the studio, which resulted in uMgaranto II.
The project is a reflection of where they’ve come and what shaped them along the way without making their upbringing sound bigger than it was. Instead, they look at the details; what they watched after school, how they dressed, the friends they hung out with, the mischief they got up to and the moments they still laugh about years later.
Growing up in Gugulethu means there’s already plenty they don’t have to explain to each other. They share the same references and the same understanding that growing up could be messy, chaotic and completely normal. To an outsider, some of their stories sound extreme. To them, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
That shared understanding carries over into the music. They’ve spent enough time in the studio together to know what clicks and what doesn’t. They know each other well enough to be blunt. If something isn’t working, they’ll call it out and move on. Their friendship brings a certain ease to the music, allowing parts of both artists to come out more naturally when they’re working together.
For Orish, it’s also a chance to remind people that there’s an artist behind the producer. His move to Johannesburg has brought his work as a rapper further into the spotlight. Still, writing and producing remain a big part of his identity.
“I just want them to know that when they’re looking for stuff, they can come to me and get everything holistically in one,” Orish says.
K Keed is still based in Cape Town and her side of the story starts from a different place. Several years into her career, and after working alongside artists such as A-Reece and Nasty C, she says growth has come gradually through experience, mentorship and more industry exposure. She isn’t trying to become someone else. If anything, the journey has been about getting more comfortable with herself.
All of that makes the song Abenam feel like the right centrepiece of the project. The song revolves around the story of a girl and her armed boyfriend, with the two artists finding themselves on the wrong end of the chase. The result is energetic storytelling.
Take some time to listen to their new album uMgaranto.
It’s the kind of story you can laugh about afterwards, even if it probably wasn’t very funny at the time. The production gives the story its cinematic feel, while the verses bring the details to life as the story unravels. It’s a good example of how an everyday memory can become a song when you capture both the story and the feeling behind it.
“It’s an ad break in between our individual careers. We’re just having fun. What’s next? We don’t know what’s about to happen next.”
They don’t seem too concerned with figuring out what their brand needs to become. For now, they have years of shared history, stories worth telling and electric chemistry in the studio.
uMgaranto II gives them room to have fun, tell their stories and see where the music takes them.