Octopizzo and Khaligraph Jones are two of the best rappers from Kenya. Since their genesis in music, they have achieved great heights and in return put Kenya on the global map as a force to reckon with when it comes to music. Other than great music and video releases these two have been recognized on international stages, wining different awards in Africa and outside Africa. The biggest one yet for the Khaligraph came when he was nominated for BET Hip Hop awards in 2020 under the International flow category. Although he did not win but the recognition of his work made all Kenyans proud. Octopizzo has been on the consideration for Grammy Awards nomination list twice, recently in 2022 where the academy proposed Octopizzo to be nominated in four categories: Best Global Album (Jungle Fever), Best Global Music Performance (Lela), Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, Best Rap Song (Pockets, Interlude), and Best Rap Performance (Pockets, Interlude).
It’s pretty much human nature for two main competitors in any pursuit to have a complicated relationship. In most cases, there’s always some sort of rivalry between them. Despite all these achievements – and many more yet to come – Khaligraph Jones and Octopizzo have always been going at each other. The origin of bad blood between them is not clear since each party points fingers at the other as the source of their alleged beef. They have been seen or heard throwing shade at each other during interviews and even in their songs. Many of their fans and other music fans in Kenya have been left wondering all these years what would happen if these two dropped their egos and squashed their beef, how many good music would they make together? This is food for thought for many and a prayer that music fans across the globe are waiting to be answered.
If we’re being honest, in the past few years, Khaligraph Jones has had a more mature approach towards the issue. Unlike Octopizzo, Khaligraph Jones has tried several times to cool things down as well as urging the Kibera native to jump on a collaboration with him but all in vain. In 2021 Khaligraph Jones released a song titled “Champez” and in the midst of the song’s massive wave, Khaligraph posted a picture of him a picture of him and Octopizzo with a caption “Champez”. Octopizzo responded by leaving the Islamic expression, “ALAAA ALAA Allahu akbar,” along with two laughing emojis.
In a recent interview with one the Kenyan youtubers, Khaligraph Jones when he was asked if there is bad blood between them he responded by saying that he respects Octopizzo very much as an artist and a mentor to many artists. Khaligraph Jones added that he was inspired by the musical journey of Octopizzo and the achievement he has made in the music scene. This is still a gesture that Khaligraph Jones is still very open to working with Octopizzo. A question now in many people’s minds is that, is this the end of an era and the beginning of a new dawn?. Again its a question fans are yet to receive an answer.