A week after BK released her debut mainstream EP, Ta Fego, she shows up for our interview looking radiant. It’s clear – in her thorough body of work and punctuality – that this is something she has been waiting (and steadily preparing) for.

We settle into a corner of a coffee house and I amused that her black cap is accented by a gilded Mickey Mouse face. But make no mistake, the 20-something has no time for child’s play. “No one is telling me it’s bullshit yet,” the musician who was born Bokamoso Gumbi leans in and laughs. “Yeah, so far the EP is doing well.” Boasting seven tracks, the EP is a showcase of BK’s dexterity. She raps ferociously, sings sweetly and her lyrical content is unapologetically hood and an example of someone who isn’t ashamed of her sexuality.

The trap-meets-skhanda-meets-soul soundscape was produced by her little brother, Track. BK is clearly big on family as the EP was titled in honour of her father. “My dad’s full name is Felani but his colleagues used to call him Ta Fego. the EP is dedicated to him because he was a contributor to South African music in the 80s,” BK tells me.

“He was a singer, producer, engineer and musician who worked with a lot of artists like Solly Moholo and Phuzekhemisi and Rebecca Malope and record labels. This is me paying homage to him as a great musician and me saying: ‘thanks, Dad, for this gift.’ He passed away in 2004.”

The first single off Ta Fego was Phola where BK raps in English and Zulu. On it, she mocks lames about spending their money and asks God to make her into somebody. I ask her if she feels like music has helped her get on the road to becoming somebody with a capital S. “I think I’m on the journey to that, personally,” she says.

BK may be carving out her lane in rap music but the masses may know her as the incredible voice on house ditties like Friends With Benefits and Bayete by DJ Shimza amongst others. Before that, she was on the boards engineering and producing songs for rappers. At some stage, she wanted to put out an all-female rap mixtape featuring the likes of Miss Nthabi and Supa.

With Ta Fego, she unveils a side to herself that remains current while incorporating her penchant for punchlines in the mix. She even features Reason and Ginger Trill on the Mojito remix. So I ask her what made her settle – albeit fit perfectly – into rap. “I never really knew who I wanted to be in music,” BK confesses.

“I knew i wanted to work in the arts but hadn’t found where exactly i could really grow. I used to make beats then I did backing vocals then i went into some jazzy stuff then I did house music vocals. But I was always so passionate about hip hop from the get-go. When I discovered the ability to rap, I decided this was what i wanted to polish. It was easy because I love it so much.”