Canadian singer and rapper (born 1972)
Kevin Brereton (born February 20, 1972), better known by his stage name k-os (; "chaos"), is a Canadian alternative rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. His given 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-One. 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 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.
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, which is traditionally uncommon in the hip hop genre. He sometimes plays guitar and keyboard both during live performances and in the studio.
k-os received his first musical exposure with the single "Musical Essence", released in 1995. 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 second album "Joyful Rebellion" in 2004, which received platinum status in Canada. A third album, "", was released in 2006 and also went platinum. His fourth album, "Yes!", was released in 2009. His fifth album "Black on Blonde" was released in 2013. He released his sixth album, "Can't Fly Without Gravity", in 2015. From 1996 to 2016, K-os was the third best-selling Canadian hip hop artist in Canada (behind Drake and Swollen Members).
Early life and childhood.
k-os was born at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. He and his two younger brothers Joshua and Andrew Richard were raised by Trinidadian Jehovah's Witness parents. His father was a minister at two congregations in the Greater Toronto Area. 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. He returned to Canada with his mother in his teen years, taking up residence in Whitby, Ontario, a town east of Toronto, while attending Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute. His father temporarily stayed behind in Trinidad to continue his work. His father worked as a computer engineer and became Director of Communications for BWIA, the national Trinidadian airline, while his mother owned a cosmetics company.
Growing up, k-os was a fan of artists and groups as diverse as New Order, Depeche Mode, Rx Bandits, Michael Jackson, Boogie Down Productions, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Beatles. 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 University in Ottawa for one semester to please his father. 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".
Music career.
Early career.
While attending York University, k-os gained his first exposure in the music industry in 1995 when he released the single "Musical Essence" 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; currently, Risto is one half of the production duo known as Midi Mafia (produced the 50 Cent single "21 Questions"). After winning a MuchMusic Video Award for the single, k-os was noticed by NBA player John Salley, 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 Rascalz and Ghetto Concept. Salley and Raphael Saadiq 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 BMG. 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 Angeles. Soon after, Red1 of the Rascalz, whom k-os befriended at the 1995 "Explosion Tour", invited him to move to Vancouver, British Columbia. 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", but was unable to participate due to other commitments. 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.
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."
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 another label, Astralwerks, co-owned by Virgin Records, 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 "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&amp;B, and a touch of reggae" by "Stylus Magazine".
"Billboard Magazine" 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 Arie 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 SoundScan. 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 Chemical Brothers on their single "Get Yourself High". 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 Brothers sent him 5 tracks and he picked the one they wanted him to pick ("Get Yourself High") and he freestyled to it. In the same year, the song "Freeze" was featured in the songlist for SSX 3.
2004–2005.
Despite suggesting that "Exit" might be his only album,
k-os released his second album "Joyful Rebellion" 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 iTunes Store in Canada upon their release. The album also earned the number two spot on "Rolling Stone" critic Karen Bliss's 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, to quote the Canadian Press, "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", and "The 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 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 and footage from the 2005 concert at the Molson Amphitheatre, Canada's highest attended Hip Hop concert.
According to the Canadian Recording Industry Association, the DVD became platinum in 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'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. 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 Avocado 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 Orchestra 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 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. During the year, k-os also recorded a version of John Lennon's song "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". 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