K-os

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The correct title of this article is k-os. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
k-os

Background information
Birth name Kevin Brereton
Born February 20, 1972
Genre(s) Hip hop, alternative rap
Occupation(s) MC
Instrument(s) Vocals, piano, acoustic guitar
Years active 2002 to Present
Label(s) Astralwerks
Website http://www.k-osmusic.com/

k-os (born Kevin Brereton on February 20, 1972 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer of Trinidadian descent. The alias "k-os" is pronounced "chaos" and is an acronym for "Knowledge of Self". His music incorporates a wide variety of music genres including but not limited to rap, funk, rock, and reggae. 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.[1] A musician as well as a producer, k-os has written and produced a large portion of all three of his albums. k-os usually performs with a live band, something that is uncommon in the hip hop genre. He sometimes plays guitar and keyboard both during live performances and in the studio.[2]

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 Exit in 2002. The album received positive reviews but sold relatively few copies. He released his sophomore album Joyful Rebellion in 2004, which received platinum status in Canada. Joyful Rebellion received positive reviews, but at times was criticised for speaking extensively on the state of hip hop. k-os's third album, Atlantis: Hymns for Disco, was released in 2006.

Contents

[edit] Early life

k-os was born in Toronto, Canada on February 20, 1972. He and his younger brother Joshua were raised by Trinidadian Jehovah's Witnesses parents.[3] K-os moved along with his family to Trinidad when he was attending the third grade. In Trinidad, k-os surrounded himself with music to deal with being away from Canada.[4] Around the same time he also became a vegetarian at 8 years of age.[5] He returned to Canada with his mother in his teens, taking up residence in Whitby, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. His father temporarily stayed behind in Trinidad to continue work.[6] His father worked as a computer engineer while his mother owned a cosmetics company. Growing up, k-os was a fan of New Order and Depeche Mode, Boogie Down Productions, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest and The Beatles.[3] He said that he was "insecure" in high school and he pursued his musical ambitions because performing made him feel "powerful and... secure".[7] In 1992, he attended Carleton University in Ottawa for one semester to please his father.[8] He returned to Toronto and enrolled into York University. Being friends with Nigel Williams, a member of the band Pocket Dwellers, Nigel encouraged k-os to continue to develop his musical abilities when he was confronted with "difficult forays".[4]

[edit] Music career

k-os in the Musical Essence music video released in 1993.
Enlarge
k-os in the Musical Essence music video released in 1993.

While attending York University, k-os' gained his first exposure in the music industry in 1993 when he released the single "Musical Essence" sample (help·info) with a music video financed by a VideoFACT grant. He dropped out of the university shortly afterwards. The single was produced with friends Clarence Gruff and Kevin Risto, who are known as the duo Dirty Swift (produced the 50 Cent single 21 Questions).[8] After winning a MuchMusic Video Award for the single, k-os was noticed by John Salley who became his manager. With the single gaining moderate success, k-os was invited and featured on Canadian 1995 Hip-Hop Explosion tour with other Canadian acts such as Rascalz and Ghetto Concept. Salley and Raphael Saadiq began work with k-os on his planned debut Missing Links,[4] 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 BMG. k-os would later say that during this time he had already completed several albums but was dissatisfied with his music. He described it as "pretentious and derivative" and saying at the time he was "still trying to figure out who he was".[3]

He continued to live with his manager Salley in Los Angeles. Soon Red1 of the Rascals, who k-os befriended at the 1995 Explosion tour, invited him to move to Vancouver. There he contributed a verse and few chorus lines to the Rascalz Global Warning album, released in 1999. k-os returned to the music scene by performing at the North by Northeast music festival in 1999. He took stage with the Vancouver band Namedropper.[3]

Inspired by Michael Jackson, A Tribe Called Quest, The Beatles, The Roots and Stevie Wonder, k-os worked on a new debut album. He described his new musical focus on "doing stuff really obscure and making music for myself".[9] He recorded a demo tape and began looking for a record company to sign with, eventually settling on Capitol Records. Later, the parent company EMI transferred his record deal to other label Astralwerks, co-owned by Virgin Records, after some management and scheduling issues.[10] After the transfer k-os was added to the roster of the Toronto based artist management firm Chris Smith Management.

[edit] 2002-2003

On March 26, 2002, k-os released his debut album Exit 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 Magazine.[11] Billboard Magazine called the album "One of the finest hip-hop records Canada has ever produced."[12] The first single and promotional track for the album was Heaven Only Knows sample (help·info). 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.Arie across United States to promote his album. Despite receiving positive reviews, Exit sold only 40,000 albums in the U.S.[13] and 27,000 in Canada according to Nielsen SoundScan.[10] The album went on to win several music awards including the "Album Design of the Year" award at the Juno Awards of 2003. 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 Live. In 2003, k-os collaborated with the The Chemical Brothers on their single "Get Yourself High". The track was nominated for "Best Dance Recording" at the 2005 Grammy Awards.

[edit] 2004-2005

k-os backstage at the 2005 Juno Awards ceremony.
Enlarge
k-os backstage at the 2005 Juno Awards ceremony.

Despite suggesting that Exit might be his final album,[14] k-os released his sophomore album Joyful Rebellion on August 24, 2004. The album was well received and became platinum in Canada in February 2005.[15] The album and the second album single, "Crabbuckit" sample (help·info), were rated the most downloaded "Hip Hop/Rap" album and track on the iTunes store in Canada upon their release. The album also earned the number two spot on Rolling Stone critic Karen Bliss' top ten album list for 2004, where she described the artist as a "destined superstar".[16] The album maintained the same formula as Exit, but was criticized by a few reviews for speaking "extensively about the integrity of hip-hop".[17] k-os himself later described Joyful Rebellion as being a "rant against the state of hip hop".[18] Joyful Rebellion featured a total of six singles. The debut single "B-Boy Stance," was followed by "Crabbuckit", "Man I Used To Be", and "Love Song", each accompanied by a music video. The radio exclusive titles "Crucial" and "Dirty Water" (featuring Sam Roberts) 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 Awards 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 Awards. 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? DVD. The DVD featured singles and concert footage dating back to 1998[10] and footage from the 2005 concert at the Molson Amphitheatre, Canada's highest attended Hip Hop concert.[19] According to the Canadian Recording Industry Association, the DVD became platinum on February of 2006 in Canada.[20]

In a relatively quiet dispute, some lyrics from the single "B-Boy Stance" were interpreted as an insult on the Toronto-based rapper K'naan. 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 Kenya, Africa.[21] K’naan responded in the song Revolutionary Avocado featured on one of his mixtapes 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?".[21] Furthermore K'naan stated in an interview that he thought "[k-os] was out of line".[21]

[edit] 2006

Early in 2006, k-os collaborated with the CBC Radio Orchestra to compose Burning To Shine.[22] A documentary chronicling the production and performance of the song aired on Canadian national television on February 02, 2006 and was titled after the song. k-os then traveled across Canada recording his third album, stopping mainly in Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax. 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. [19] During the year, k-os also recorded a version of John Lennons single "Jealous Guy" for the Make Some Noise campaign of the human rights organization Amnesty International.

Before the release of his third album, Atlantis: Hymns For Disco, k-os wrote derogatory comments on his MySpace page aimed at Jason Richards, a contributing writer at Toronto's NOW 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".[23] Part of the comment called Richards “a black man … manipulated by his indie rock nerd bosses”[24] and called on him to "eat a dick!".[24] k-os later removed the comments, stating in an interview that it was a "personal situation"[25] between himself and Richards and he was angered because the two had previously "had many discussions on music."[25] k-os' comments also received attention from the lead vocalist of the band Danko Jones, who wrote to NOW magazine saying that k-os "had too much sunshine massaged up his ass".[26] k-os responded to the letter, making sarcastic remarks discussing a band named "STANKO JONES", which referred to Danko Jones.[26] He also remarked again upon Jason Richards, comparing him to the "Arnold Jackson" character played by Gary Coleman on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.[26] Jones stated in an interview that he thought k-os' comments were a "lame response".[26]

On October 10, 2006, Atlantis: Hymns For Disco was released in Canada, with a global release scheduled on February 6, 2007. Atlantis, written and produced by k-os, featured collaborations with Sam Roberts, Kevin Drew and Buck 65. The album debuted as number one and number five on the "Digital Albums" and "Current Albums" Canadian charts, respectively.[19] The album reached number five on Music World's top ten in its opening week.[27] 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.[28] Atlantis was also descibed as leaving behind the "social commentaries" and hip hop critique present on his last two albums.[29] The second single off the album was "Sunday Morning" sample (help·info).

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
CAN US UK
1993 Musical Essence - - - -
1996 Rise Like the Sun - - - -
2002 Heaven Only Knows - - - Exit
2002 Superstarr Pt. Zero - - - Exit
2004 Crabbuckit - - - Joyful Rebellion
2004 B-Boy Stance - - - Joyful Rebellion
2005 Man I Used To Be - - - Joyful Rebellion
2005 Love Song - - - Joyful Rebellion
2005 Crucial - - - Joyful Rebellion
2005 Dirty Water featuring Sam Roberts - - - Joyful Rebellion
2006 ELEctrik HeaT - seekwill - - - Atlantis: Hymns for Disco
2006 Sunday Morning 10 - - Atlantis: Hymns for Disco

[edit] Media

[edit] References

  1. ^ Larry LeBlanc. "K-OS starts 'Rebellion': Toronto MC wages war against stereotypes with sophomore set.", Billboard, 4 September 2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  2. ^ Bartley Kives. "The gospelaccording to k-os not about preaching to choir", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 October 2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  3. ^ a b c d Galloway, Matt. "K-OS", NOW. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  4. ^ a b c Del F. Cowie. "K-OS: Organised K-OS", Exclaim!, January 31, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  5. ^ Unknown. K-OS. Peta2. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  6. ^ Stevenson, Jane. "K-os has firm grip on his career", Toronto Sun. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  7. ^ O'Brian, Amy. "Hip-hop artist known as k-os seeking, not always finding peace", Vancouver Sun, October 07, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  8. ^ a b Fateema Sayani. "K-Os, as the spirit moves him", The Ottawa Citizen, October 07, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  9. ^ BET.com Staff. BET.com - The Next: K-Os. BET. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  10. ^ a b c Karen Bliss. America to re-release k-os CD. JAM! Music. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  11. ^ Ed Howard. "k-os", Stylus Magazine, September 1, 2003. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  12. ^ Entertainment Editors. "k-os' Joyful Rebellion Set for Release in September on Astralwerks/Virgin; Joyful Rebellion Set to Follow-up the Award Winning 2003 Release of Exit", Business Wire, May 25, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  13. ^ Karen Bliss (February 02, 2006). The joyful return of k-os. JAM! Music. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  14. ^ Dan Leroy (June 30, 2005). Exit. Yahoo Music Canada. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  15. ^ Audio Certifications February 2005. CRIA (January 21, 2003). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  16. ^ Karen Bliss (December 29, 2004). Critics' Top Ten Lists. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  17. ^ Tom Mantzouranis (April 20, 2005). K-OS. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  18. ^ Cassandra Szklstski (October 12, 2006). Canadian hip-hop artist k-os runs gamut of genres on new CD 'Atlantis'. CBC. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  19. ^ a b c Unknown (October 20, 2006). K-OS 'ATLANTIS – HYMNS FOR DISCO' DEBUTS #1 ON DIGITAL ALBUMS CHART AND #5 ON CURRENT ALBUMS CHART IN CANADA. Virgin Music. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  20. ^ Video Certifications February 2006. CRIA (June 30, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  21. ^ a b c McKinnon, Matthew (June 30, 2005). Kicking Up Dust. CBC. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  22. ^ ChartAttack.com Staff (February 02, 2006). K-OS Goes Orchestral In Burning To Shine. ChartAttack.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  23. ^ Richards, Jason. "K-OS Atlantis: Hymns For Disco", NOW, October 5 - 11, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  24. ^ a b canada.com (October 05, 2006). k-os fires back at reviewer. canada.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  25. ^ a b Harris, Bill. "k-os pulls Internet critic bashing post", Toronto Sun, October 11, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
  26. ^ a b c d ChartAttack.com Staff (October 31, 2006). Danko Jones Ignites Feud With K-OS. Chart. Retrieved on 2006-11-03.
  27. ^ The Canadian Press. "Music World: Evanescence takes top spot in CD sales", Broadcast News, October 17, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  28. ^ Ida Jorgensen. "Exclusive Interview with K-OS", The Concordian, October 11, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  29. ^ Andrea Miller. K-os talks about 'Hymns' inspiration. CANOE Live. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.

[edit] External links

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