What We Do

Homerton’s hometown hero KO shakes things up, expanding his soundscape with an unconfined delivery on weighted new single ‘What We Do’. 

The wordsmith holds a stoic presence, pattering atop a potent instrumental via Maniac throughout, riddled with clashing hit hats, rattling kicks and subtle 808 slides that could lay the foundation to any potential stand out drill instrumental. Maniac takes the beat down another path, clouding the idle space with distant tender harmonies that could comfortably hold a feature from alt rappers such as Knucks or DC. 

Coasting along the pensive instrumental, KO breaks down the last few bars in the first verse explaining how some of his people got caught up in the system, all before backing the claims of being ‘criminally underrated’ in the unexpected hook. Flooring us with heavy subject matter smoothly wrapped within a string of raw melodies, KO acknowledges the harsh realities of getting caught up in the world he has become so accustomed to. The call to shadow these melodies with a layer of free flowing harmonies within the ether was a nice touch, exhibiting impressive versatility. KO’s capability to curate such an infectious soundscape that’s shrouded in so much weight is nothing short of hypnotizing. Truly stepping into his title of ‘Drilliam Shakespeare’.

‘What We Do’ is accompanied by a Teeeezy C directed video displaying an insight into the collectives’ ongoing fight with the justice system. The visual presents KO alongside a crowd of people sporting the same coloured sweats and identical masks facing off in a game of chess with the police and court – potentially forecasting the on-going generalisation within our communities held by figures of power. 

With listeners in the comment section sensing the ‘smell’ of an album in the works, it’ll be interesting to see if KO brings this experimental approach into the studio once he does lock into album mode. But for now go stream ‘What We Do’ on all platforms and check the striking visuals!