Kevin Brereton better known by his
stage nameA stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
k-os (icon), is a Canadian
rapperRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, singer,
songwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and
record producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. His
given nameA given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
may also be cited as
Kheaven, a spelling he later adopted.
The alias "k-os", spelled with a lower case "k", was intended to be less aggressive than the pseudonyms of other rappers whose names were all upper case, such as
KRS-OneLawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
. It is an acronym for "Knowledge of Self," although in a later interview he said that it originally stood for "Kevin's Original Sound." k-os' music incorporates a wide variety of music genres including
rapHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
,
funkFunk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
,
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and
reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. The lyrics frequently focus on promoting a "positive message" while at times expressing criticism of mainstream hip hop culture's obsession with money, fame and glorification of violence.
A musician as well as a producer, k-os has written and produced nearly every part of all four of his albums. k-os usually performs with a live band, something that is uncommon in the hip hop genre. He sometimes plays
guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and
keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
both during live performances and in the studio.
k-os received his first musical exposure with the single "Musical Essence", released in 1993. After the release of his second single "Rise Like the Sun" in 1996, he withdrew from the industry because he was dissatisfied with his musical style. He reappeared briefly in 1999 and released his debut album
ExitExit is the debut album of underground hip-hop artist k-os, released 26 March 2002 in Canada and 28 January 2003 in the United States by Astralwerks....
in 2002. The album received positive reviews but sold relatively few copies. He released his second album
Joyful RebellionJoyful Rebellion is the second album of alternative hip hop artist k-os, released 13 August 2004 in Canada by EMI and 21 September 2004 in the United States by Virgin Records...
in 2004, which received
platinumMusic Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
status in Canada. A third album,
Atlantis: Hymns for DiscoAtlantis: Hymns for Disco is the third album of hip-hop artist k-os. It was released in Canada on October 10, 2006, and debuted at #1 in music sales. The album was released worldwide on February 20, 2007...
, was released in 2006 and also went platinum. His most recent album,
Yes!Yes! is the fourth album of alternative hip hop artist k-os, released on April 14, 2009 in Canada by Universal Music Canada. The first single, "4 3 2 1", was released to radio in December 2008 and peaked at #98 on the Canadian Hot 100, also the video premiered on February 17, 2009. "Burning...
, was released in 2009.
Early life and childhood
k-os was born at St. Michael's Hospital in
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
,
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He and his two younger brothers Joshua and Andrew Richard were raised by
TrinidadianTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
Jehovah's WitnessJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
parents. His father was a minister at two congregations in the
Greater Toronto AreaThe Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
.
k-os moved along with his family to Trinidad while he was in grade three. In Trinidad, k-os surrounded himself with music to deal with being away from Canada.
Around the same time he also became a vegetarian at 8 years of age.
He returned to Canada with his mother in his teen years, taking up residence in
Whitby, OntarioWhitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
, a town east of Toronto. His father temporarily stayed behind in Trinidad to continue his work.
His father worked as a computer engineer and became Director of Communications for
BWIABWIA West Indies Airways Limited, known locally as "B-wee", was the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago. BWIA was, at the end of its operations, the largest airline operating out of the Caribbean, operating direct services to the USA, Canada, and the UK...
, the national Trinidadian
airlineAn airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
, while his mother owned a cosmetics company. Growing up, k-os was a fan of artists and groups as diverse as
New OrderNew Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
,
Depeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
,
RX BanditsRX Bandits is a four-piece band based in Seal Beach, California. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and at The Bamboozle.-Early years :Originally known as...
,
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
,
Boogie Down ProductionsBoogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
,
Slick RickRichard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
,
A Tribe Called QuestA Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, and
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. He said that he was "insecure" in high school and he pursued his musical ambitions because after performing at an assembly in his high school gym he realized performing attracted people towards him and it made him feel "powerful and... secure".
In 1992, he attended
Carleton UniversityCarleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
for one semester to please his father.
He returned to Toronto and enrolled into
York UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. Being friends with Nigel Williams, a member of the band
Pocket DwellersThe Pocket Dwellers are a seven member experimental hip-hop group from the Toronto area. They have been performing since 1996...
, Nigel encouraged k-os to continue to develop his musical abilities when he was confronted with "difficult forays."
Music career
While attending York University, k-os gained his first exposure in the music industry in 1993 when he released the single "Musical Essence" with a music video financed by a
VideoFACTMuchFACT is a Canadian fund that provides grants to Canadian recording artists to help them produce music videos. FACT stands for Foundation To Assist Canadian Talent...
grant. He dropped out of the university shortly afterwards. The single was produced with friends Clarence Gruff and Kevin Risto; currently, Risto is one half of the production duo known as
Midi MafiaMidi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario...
(produced the
50 CentCurtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
single "
21 Questions"21 Questions" is a song performed by American rapper 50 Cent and Nate Dogg. The song was written by 50 Cent, K. Risto, J. Cameron, and V. Cameron for 50 Cent's commercial debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin . Released in 2003 as the album's second single, it became his second number one song in the...
"). After winning a MuchMusic Video Award for the single, k-os was noticed by
NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player
John SalleyJohn Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....
, who became his manager. With the single gaining moderate success, k-os was invited to perform in the 1995
Hip-Hop Explosion Tour, with other Canadian acts such as
RascalzThe Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, who played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop. The group consists of MCs Red1 and Misfit, and DJ Kemo. Breakdancers, Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.Formed in 1991, the...
and
Ghetto ConceptGhetto Concept is a Canadian hip-hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Kwajo Cinqo and Dolo. Infinite, who is currently a solo artist, is a former member of Ghetto Concept.-History:...
. Salley and
Raphael SaadiqRaphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
began work with k-os on his planned debut
Missing Links, eventually releasing his second single "Rise Like the Sun" in 1996. k-os suddenly withdrew from the music industry in 1996 after receiving an offer from
BMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
. k-os would later say that during this time he had already completed several albums but was dissatisfied with his music. He described his music as "pretentious and derivative," and stated at the time that he was "still trying to figure out who he was."
He continued to live with his manager Salley in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Soon after, Red1 of the
RascalzThe Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, who played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop. The group consists of MCs Red1 and Misfit, and DJ Kemo. Breakdancers, Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.Formed in 1991, the...
, whom k-os befriended at the 1995
Explosion Tour, invited him to move to
VancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. There he contributed a verse and chorus lines to the Rascalz'
Global Warning album, released in 1999. He had also been invited to contribute to Rascalz' groundbreaking single "
Northern Touch"Northern Touch" is a Canadian hip hop single, which was released in 1998 by Rascalz in collaboration with Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust and Choclair...
", but was unable to participate due to other commitments. k-os returned to the music scene by performing at the
North by NortheastNorth by Northeast is an annual five-day live music and film festival and music conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held each June....
music festival in 1999. He took stage with the Vancouver band Namedropper.
Inspired by
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
,
A Tribe Called QuestA Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
,
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
,
The RootsThe Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
and
Stevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, k-os worked on a new debut album. He described his new musical focus on "doing stuff really obscure and making music for myself."
He recorded a demo tape and began looking for a record company to sign with, eventually settling on
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Later, the parent company
EMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
transferred his record deal to another label,
AstralwerksAstralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States....
, co-owned by
Virgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, after some management and scheduling issues.
After the transfer k-os was added to the roster of the Toronto based artist management firm
Chris Smith Management.
2002–2003
On March 26, 2002, k-os released his debut album
ExitExit is the debut album of underground hip-hop artist k-os, released 26 March 2002 in Canada and 28 January 2003 in the United States by Astralwerks....
in Canada to critical acclaim. The United States release followed the next year on January 28, 2003. The album incorporated several music styles, and was described as a "carefully blended pastiche of hip-hop, soul, rock, R&B, and a touch of reggae" by
Stylus MagazineStylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
.
Billboard MagazineBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
called the album "One of the finest hip-hop records Canada has ever produced."
The first single and promotional track for the album was "Heaven Only Knows". Like the "Musical Essence" single, the video for "Heaven Only Knows" was sponsored by a VideoFACT grant. The second single, "Superstarr Pt. Zero," was then released, which won "Best Music Video" award at the 2003 Urban X-Posure Awards.
After the Canadian release of the album, k-os toured with
India.ArieIndia.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...
across United States to promote his album. Despite receiving positive reviews,
Exit sold only 40,000 albums in the U.S.
and 27,000 in Canada according to
Nielsen SoundScanNielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. The album went on to win several music awards including the "Album Design of the Year" award at the
Juno Awards of 2003The Juno Awards of 2003 were presented in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 6 April 2003. The primary awards ceremony was hosted that evening by Shania Twain at the Corel Centre and televised on CTV.- Ceremony highlights :...
. k-os won the "Best International Hip Hop Artist" award at the Source Awards the same year. k-os also appeared and performed on
Jimmy Kimmel LiveJimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
. In 2003, k-os collaborated with
The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
on their single "
Get Yourself High"Get Yourself High" is a 2003 single by The Chemical Brothers. It features Canadian rapper k-os and appeared as a bonus track on their collection Singles 93-03. A music video directed by Joseph Kahn, featuring a digitally enhanced version of an old martial arts film called 2 Champions of Shaolin...
." The track was nominated for "Best Dance Recording" at the 2005 Grammy Awards. k-os said, on the show "profile" on mtv, that
The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
sent him 5 tracks and he picked the one they wanted him to pick ("
Get Yourself High"Get Yourself High" is a 2003 single by The Chemical Brothers. It features Canadian rapper k-os and appeared as a bonus track on their collection Singles 93-03. A music video directed by Joseph Kahn, featuring a digitally enhanced version of an old martial arts film called 2 Champions of Shaolin...
") and he freestyled to it. In the same year, the song "Freeze" was featured in the songlist for
SSX 3SSX 3 is a snowboarding extreme racing game published by Electronic Arts and developed by EA Sports BIG, which was released in late 2003. It is the third installment in the SSX series, and is THX approved. Like the previous installments, the game was critically acclaimed...
.
2004–2005
Despite suggesting that
ExitExit is the debut album of underground hip-hop artist k-os, released 26 March 2002 in Canada and 28 January 2003 in the United States by Astralwerks....
might be his final album,
k-os released his second album
Joyful RebellionJoyful Rebellion is the second album of alternative hip hop artist k-os, released 13 August 2004 in Canada by EMI and 21 September 2004 in the United States by Virgin Records...
on August 24, 2004. The album was well received and became platinum in Canada in February 2005.
The album and the second album single, "Crabbuckit", were rated the most downloaded "Hip Hop/Rap" album and track on the
iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
store in Canada upon their release. The album also earned the number two spot on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
critic Karen Bliss' top ten album list for 2004, where she described the artist as a "destined superstar."
The album maintained the same formula as
Exit; k-os himself later described
Joyful Rebellion as being a "rant against the state of hip hop."
Joyful Rebellion featured a total of six singles. The debut single, "B-Boy Stance," was followed by "Crabbuckit," "
Man I Used to Be"Man I Used to Be" is a 2005 top 20 hit single in Canada by Canadian alternative rapper k-os.-Music video:The video begins with breakdancers in the hallway of an apartment building and k-os is in his room packing to leave, taking a box of seemingly great importance. k-os takes a taxi and two men...
," and "Love Song," each accompanied by a music video. The radio exclusive titles "Crucial" and "Dirty Water" were released shortly after. The single "Crabbuckit" went on to be nominated three times at the 2005 Canadian Radio Music Awards.
k-os was nominated four times at the 2004 Canadian Urban Music Awards and won two awards for the single "B-Boy Stance". In 2005 k-os received three
Juno AwardsThe Juno Awards of 2005 were held April 3 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba and were hosted by comedian Brent Butt. Avril Lavigne and k-os won three awards each, while Billy Talent and Feist won 2 apiece.Nominations were announced 7 February 2005....
for the album. In the same year, the single
Crabbuckit won the "Best Pop Video" award out of four nominations while
Man I Used to Be won "MuchVibe Best Rap Video," "Best Director" and "Best Cinematography" at the annual
MuchMusic Video AwardsThe MuchMusic Video Awards are annual awards presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic to honour the year's best music videos....
. He won the "Best Songwriter" and "Fan Choice Award" at the 2005 Canadian Urban Music Awards. On November 15, 2005, k-os released the
Publicity Stunt DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. The DVD featured singles and concert footage dating back to 1998 and footage from the 2005 concert at the Molson Amphitheatre, Canada's highest attended Hip Hop concert.
According to the
Canadian Recording Industry AssociationMusic Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
, the DVD became platinum on February 2006 in Canada.
In a relatively quiet dispute, some lyrics from the single "B-Boy Stance" were interpreted as an insult on the Toronto-based rapper
K'naanK'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...
. In the single, k-os rapped "They took cameras to Africa for pictures to rhyme/Over; Oh, yes, the great pretenders," and "Religious entertainers who want to be life savers." K’naan interpreted the lyrics as being aimed at him filming the music video for the single
Soobax in
KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Friends say that k-os was simply expressing ideas about the LoveMovement (his videproduction team) who shot the video in Kenya and ex manager Sol guy who was managing K'naan at the time. k-os has been said to believe that hip hop allows friends to express their ideas to each other via song. He was very puzzled by Knaan's personal 'public' angle on the lyrics of "B-Boy Stance" especially because his song Revolutionary Avacado came after Knaan's repeated efforts to collaborate with k-os. Later on k-os told younger brother Josh that he believed it was a way for K'naan to 'get attention' very close to the release date of his album and that Sol guy, who k-os left to be managed by
Chris Smith Management, pit the two against each other
K’naan responded in the song "Revolutionary Avocado" with the lyrics: "You the all-knowing with a beer bottle/Wishing you was Plato and me Aristotle?/...Suburban negro turned hip-hop hero/Is there a reason he really hates me, though?". Furthermore K'naan stated in an interview that he thought "k-os was out of line." The two have since spoken and there is no conflict.
2006
Early in 2006, k-os collaborated with the
CBC Radio OrchestraThe CBC Radio Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Until the early 1980s CBC had a number of orchestras located in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax but due to federal government budget cuts they...
to compose "Burning to Shine."
A documentary produced by new media pioneer McLean Greaves chronicling the production and performance of the song aired on Canadian national television on February 2, 2006 and was titled after the song. k-os then traveled across Canada recording his third album, stopping mainly in Toronto, Vancouver and
HalifaxHalifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...
. In the proceeding summer, the first single from the upcoming album titled "ELEctrick Heat - the seekwiLL" was released. The single became the "#1 most downloaded Single of the Week" on iTunes. During the year, k-os also recorded a version of
John LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's song "
Jealous Guy"Jealous Guy" is a song written and performed by John Lennon which first appeared on his 1971 album Imagine. It is one of the most commonly covered Lennon songs, with at least ninety-two recorded cover versions, the most notable being Roxy Music's version, which reached number one in several...
" for the
Make Some Noise campaign of the
human rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
.
Before the release of his third album,
Atlantis: Hymns For Disco, k-os wrote derogatory comments on his
MySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page aimed at Jason Richards, a contributing writer at Toronto's
NOWNow is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
magazine, for his review of the album. k-os stated that he was angered by Richards referring to him in the review as a "crossover pop artist disguised as a true-school b-boy". He was also disillusioned when he remembered he had granted an interview to Richards when he was a teenager, and that they had similar small town Trinidadian upbringings. Nervousness about the experimental nature of
Atlantis and the passive aggressiveness of Canadian media most likely led to his blow up.
Part of the comment called Richards "a black man ... manipulated by his indie rock nerd bosses"
and called on him to "eat a dick!".
after receiving advice from a psychologist on Myspace k-os later removed the comments, stating in an interview that it was a "personal situation"
between himself and Richards and he was angered because the two had previously "had many discussions on music."
k-os' comments also received attention from the lead vocalist of the band
Danko JonesDanko Jones is a Canadian rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Danko Jones and JC...
, who wrote to NOW magazine saying that k-os "had too much sunshine massaged up his ass."
k-os responded to the letter, making sarcastic remarks discussing a band named "STANKO JONES", which referred to Danko Jones. He also remarked again upon Jason Richards, comparing him to the "Arnold Jackson" character played by
Gary ColemanGary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
on the sitcom
Diff'rent StrokesDiff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
. Jones stated in an interview that he thought k-os' comments were a "lame response," and that "a five-year-old could come up with something wittier." k-os and Danko shared a rehearsal space and often had in depth conversations during their breaks outside the rehearsal space. He was very disappointed that someone whom he considered a friend spoke out in the press before trying to contact him first.
On October 10, 2006,
Atlantis: Hymns For Disco was released in Canada, with a global release scheduled on February 6, 2007. The album went platinum in Canada during December of the same year.
Atlantis, written and produced by k-os, featured collaborations with
Sam RobertsSam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.-Life and career:...
and
Buck 65Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
. The album debuted as number one and number five on the "Digital Albums" and "Current Albums" Canadian charts, respectively. The album reached number five on Music World's top ten in its opening week.
While the album continued to merge several musical genres, k-os described the album as being more vocal due to him becoming more comfortable with his singing voice.
Atlantis was also described as leaving behind the "social commentaries" and hip hop critique present on his last two albums.
Subsequent singles are "Sunday Morning" and "Flypaper".
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's
Sunday NFL CountdownNFL GameDay redirects here. For the video games series, see NFL GameDay Sunday NFL Countdown is a pregame show of all the NFL action for that week. The official name is Sunday NFL Countdown presented by IBM. The show airs on ESPN, ESPN HD, TSN and TSN HD from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time every...
has used the chorus of "Sunday Morning" as an intro returning from commercial break the past two seasons. k-os was one of the top 3 nominees for the
Juno Awards of 2007The Juno Awards of 2007 were hosted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on the weekend ending 1 April 2007. These ceremonies honoured music industry achievements in Canada during most of 2006...
with five nominations although failed to win one.
2007–2009
His fourth studio album, entitled
Yes!Yes! is the fourth album of alternative hip hop artist k-os, released on April 14, 2009 in Canada by Universal Music Canada. The first single, "4 3 2 1", was released to radio in December 2008 and peaked at #98 on the Canadian Hot 100, also the video premiered on February 17, 2009. "Burning...
, was released on April 14, 2009. Four singles were released from the album, "4, 3, 2, 1", "Burning Bridges", "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" and "Zambony".
k-os also held an online contest from 2008–2009 at
Indaba MusicIndaba Music is a web-based company that provides a music collaboration environment for musicians: “a place to build a profile, promote their tunes and collaborate with other musicians” as well as enter opportunities like remixing and songwriting contests with popular artists...
in which he provided the public with 11 tracks from the album
Yes! to be remixed. At the end of the contest, the most voted remixes of each song were selected to be on a remix album of
Yes! entitled
Yes It's Yours (Fan Remix Album), which is set to be released in the spring of 2009. The 11 contest winners were also awarded $1,000 each.
In April 2009, k-os began the Karma Tour across Canada. For this tour, no advance tickets were sold. Fans were simply asked to donate what they think the show was worth as they leave the venue.
In October 2009, k-os paired up with the
Stephen LewisStephen Henry Lewis, is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of the those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party...
Foundation and their campaign A Dare to Remember to raise money for HIV/AIDS affected families in
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The musician will return to his old job at
The BayThe Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
and will help customers select toys in the store's toy department.
In November 2009, Need for Speed Nitro was released. k-os's song "Fun" was featured on the soundtrack, along with the likes of
Taking Back SundayTaking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
,
Rye RyeRye Rye is the stage name of Ryeisha Berrain, an American rapper and dancer from Baltimore, Maryland, United States signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings. She is currently finishing work on her debut album, Go! Pop! Bang!, slated to be released some time in 2012.-Early career:Rye Rye began performing at...
,
Major LazerMajor Lazer is a collaborative musical project from DJ/Producers Diplo and Switch.-Background:Made up of DJs Diplo and Switch, the two were introduced after working with M.I.A.. The duo's first album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do was released on June 16, 2009, on Downtown Records. It was...
, and others.
2010-Present
On February 28, 2010, k-os performed at the
2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremonyThe Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
in Vancouver.
On August 9, 2010, k-os released a follow-up
mixtapeA Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
to
Yes!, entitled
The Anchorman MixtapeThe Anchorman Mixtape is a mixtape by Canadian rapper k-os which was released on August 9, 2010. Following the release of his album Yes! earlier in 2009, The mixtape features collaborations with Drake, Saukrates and Sebastien Grainger, among others....
. Mainly recorded on his tour bus, it featured leftover tracks from
Yes!, as well as new tracks.
On October 4, 2011, in Canada, Much Music released his March 30th, 2011 MTV Unplugged Concert recordings at the Masonic Temple in Toronto as "MuchMusic presents K-OS LIVE", that also includes a DVD of all the Live performances. The CD portion of the release additionally includes "Catch 22", "Faith Part 2" featuring
DrakeAubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
, and 2 versions of "Holy Cow".
Discography
Studio albums
- Exit
Exit is the debut album of underground hip-hop artist k-os, released 26 March 2002 in Canada and 28 January 2003 in the United States by Astralwerks....
(2002)
- Joyful Rebellion
Joyful Rebellion is the second album of alternative hip hop artist k-os, released 13 August 2004 in Canada by EMI and 21 September 2004 in the United States by Virgin Records...
(2004)
- Atlantis: Hymns for Disco
Atlantis: Hymns for Disco is the third album of hip-hop artist k-os. It was released in Canada on October 10, 2006, and debuted at #1 in music sales. The album was released worldwide on February 20, 2007...
(2006)
- Yes!
Yes! is the fourth album of alternative hip hop artist k-os, released on April 14, 2009 in Canada by Universal Music Canada. The first single, "4 3 2 1", was released to radio in December 2008 and peaked at #98 on the Canadian Hot 100, also the video premiered on February 17, 2009. "Burning...
(2009)
- Black On Blonde (2012)
Compilations
- Collected (2007)
- The Trill: A Journey so Far
The Trill: A Journey so Far is the second compilation album by Canadian rapper k-os. The album contains tracks from k-os's first three studio albums as well as some of the hit singles, remixes, and radio edits of a couple singles...
(2009)
- MuchMusic presents K-OS LIVE (2011)
Mixtapes
- The Anchorman Mixtape
The Anchorman Mixtape is a mixtape by Canadian rapper k-os which was released on August 9, 2010. Following the release of his album Yes! earlier in 2009, The mixtape features collaborations with Drake, Saukrates and Sebastien Grainger, among others....
(2010)
See also
- Canadian hip hop
The Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much more slowly than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the...
- Music of Canada
The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
External links