A member of trend-setting hip-hop collective Cashtime Fam in the 2010s, Kid X has remained at the cusp of innovation in South African hip-hop. Now rapping less to prove a point than to archive his own life on his third studio album, Kid X is still a top-tier lyricist who can effortlessly devour a trap beat (“Hay’Kancane”) and dance on both amapiano production (“Skeem Saam”) and the groovy kwaito beats that defined Cashtime in the mid- to late 2010s (“Jukebox”). Father of Zen reintroduces a man who’s still in tune with the streets but now prioritises spending time with his family. Mellowing down as he matures, Kid X shares the experience of fatherhood and being a husband over a laidback soundscape which ranges from jazzy boom-bap-leaning beats (“The Cure”, “Do Better”, “Pot of Gold”, “Zen”) to wedding-reception-ready Afropop vibes (“Umraro”, “DMD”). As he settles into a new stage of his life, Kid X sounds comfortable with who he is as both a rapper and a human being. “Been patient and hardwired for the victory,” he raps on “Pot of Gold”. “So unconventional with the rhyme style, that’s not to mention I’ve been ageing like fine wine since the nursery, and still the best of me is yet to come.”