Born and bred in South Africa’s club music capital Durban, Nkalipho Andile Mkhize (aka Akiid) had an early start, teaching himself how to make beats when he was just 18. He’d spent his childhood hopping from township to township, picking up ideas and rhythms from wherever he happened to find himself, and it’s this open-minded, voracious attitude to music that makes his output so unique. After a string of local hits, Akiid has proven himself to be one of Durban’s most promising underground operatives, infusing the local rhythms he’s absorbed meticulously with echoes from across the global club continuum. There’s a damn good reason why his performance at Nyege Nyege Festival in 2025, that boomed across the landscape as the sun rose over Kalagala Falls, was unquestionably one of the festival’s highlights.

Skeffu is Akiid’s first set for Hakuna Kulala and lays out the DJ and producer’s idiosyncratic sonic identity with 11 dancefloor rollers, the kind of infectious and energetic hybrid sounds that have made him notorious back home. And it doesn’t take long to witness his scope: opening track “Space Impact” widens the boundaries of gqom and Afrotech with distorted acid stabs, dub techno stings and unsettling EDM risers, maintaining its momentum with urgent isiZulu calls. On ‘Moon Walk’, subtle references to Jersey club, psychedelic trance and Atlanta trap snake through Akiid’s hollow, syncopated beats, while the album’s pneumatic title track presents a rubbery mesh of amapiano, jazz, gqom and minimal techno that neatly characterizes the album’s scope. 

Keeping his ears wide open, Akiid integrates seemingly alien elements without ever disrupting his own distinct sense of pace. There’s a swing throughout ‘Skeffu’ that’s completely his own, even when it’s interacting with undulating hardpsy triplets or ear-mangling drill basslines. On ‘Emotional Damage’ the various elements – ear-tickling psychedelic synths, booming cinematic pads, vinyl scratches and rushing clusters of kicks – hang together with an eerie air of familiarity, while the brassy analogue basses and stirring arpeggios on ‘Moon Walk Two’ sound as if they might have been stripped from Johnny Jewel’s iconic ‘Drive’ soundtrack, anchored by Akiid to a slow stomping pulse and haunting metallic clangs.  

It’s music for the dancers that’s fueled by Akiid’s restless creativity and curiosity, a breakthrough for gqom that highlights the genre’s perpetual forward motion.

CREDITS

All tracks produced by Akiid
Mastered by Declared Sound
Artwork by Marc Armand
HK068 – all rights reserved
© & ℗ 2026 Hakuna Kulala

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