CD Odyssey Disc 519: K-OS

I had the craziest dream last night; imagining I was Chuck Norris.  The rest of the dream was even weirder, but I am not going to write about it here, because I think it can be molded into a good short story and I don’t want to spend all that energy in a second hand description.  Instead I’ll take some time on my coming week off and write it up properly.  Minus the Chuck Norris part, of course.  That’s just silly.

Following, you will find not a fascinating dream sequence, but instead another music review.  If you want to read my other writing, you’ll have to wait until I’m published.  I live in hope…

Disc 519 is…. Exit

Artist: K-OS

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover?  I call this “Exit Sign in Green.”  I assume it is supposed to imply that exits can be positives (green means go) not just negatives.  At least that’s my take.  K-OS tells us in the liner notes that “It seems that we all fear the ending of our ‘selves’, but in reality we fear losing all the things we ‘know’ especially who we THINK we are.  So, in reference to this album, ‘exit’ means to leave your SELF behind.”

So that’s K-OS’ take, which is fair enough, but he really needs to express himself without ALL CAPS.  That stuff just looks awkward.

How I Came To Know It:  I got into K-OS in 2004 when I heard some songs from his follow up album, “Joyful Rebellion.”  I decided to drill into his back catalogue, which at the time was pretty much just “Exit.”

How It Stacks Up:  We only have two K-OS albums, and I prefer “Joyful Rebellion” pretty strongly, so I’ll put “Exit” second.  It is better than “Atlantis” though, which was so disappointing I sold it long ago.

Rating:  3 stars.

Most modern hip hop artists think of themselves as being lovers of all music.  They prove their point by sampling from a wide range of music, but the truth is most of it is from one or two genres.  Few artists actually demonstrate a deep love for many different styles, but K-OS is one of them.

You can tell because he doesn’t just sample a tiny lick from some other musical style to serve hip hop, he brings in extensive explorations of other styles into hip hop wholesale, and lets you appreciate them as equals.  Despite its incredibly ridiculous title, “Superstarr Pt. 1” is built entirely on a reggae beat, with hip hop layered on top and works well together.  “Patience” incorporates smooth techno sounds and “Higher” has a soulful jazz sound that belongs on a Sade album not a rap record.

This is probably a bad time to say that none of these songs are my favourites.  They are all OK, and they are catchy enough but they don’t overwhelm me.  I mention them because I admire the way K-OS respects the other genres he incorporates into his chosen art form of hip hop.

The two songs I like the best – “Fantastique” and “Freeze” are two that are the most traditional rap/hip hop songs on the record.  “Freeze” is particularly awesome, with a funky beat and a verse that is so catchy, I found myself singing it out loud at a couple of street corners before I caught myself.

“Freeze” also cleverly takes a common theme in early rap – the “I can rap better than you” beginnings of the genre, and combines it with K-OS’ longstanding mission to speak out against egotism.  In the song, he basically calls out an MC for telling kids to pursue ‘dough’ over character, and not being a role model.  Yeah, it sounds like a bad after-school special theme song, but K-OS makes it work.

K-OS takes on this humility trip so much, he even apologizes in the liner notes for his record having too much ‘ego’.  Of course, as a rapper he acknowledges that is an intrinsic part of his art form, but he at least recognizes the nature of his own hypocrisy.  We’ve all got some of that, and recognizing it keeps it in check.  I’m not sure how K-OS is scoring himself these days (I tuned out after “Atlantis” in 2006), but back on his first record I believe him.

Back to the music, and something I always admire about K-OS, which is his strong singing voice.  He can rap pretty furiously, and he puts together some great rhymes, but he also can hold a tune.  A lot of modern rappers bring other singers in to do harmony hooks, and they rap around them, but K-OS does it all on his own.

I found some of the songs near the end of the record a bit directionless but none are truly terrible.  Even the indulgent answering machine message full of freestyling from his buddy at the end of “Masquerade” works in its way.  That said, none of the songs other than “Freeze” really blew me away either, so I can’t recommend this album above a solid three stars.

Best tracks:  Fantastique, Freeze, The Anthem

CD Odyssey Disc 178: K-OS

Another day, another disc. This time, I found myself enjoying an album a little bit less with the passage of time, after being pretty impressed at first blush.

Disc 178 is...Joyful Rebellion
Artist: K-OS

Year of Release: 2004

What’s Up With The Cover?: The album's title on a yellow background. That's about it - very understated, as at one point K-OS was very much against self-promotion.

How I Came To Know It: I saw the videos for "Crabbuckit" and "B Boy Stance" on MuchMusic and liked the sound of it, so I bought this record.

How It Stacks Up: I have two K-OS albums. I had three, but his third record (Atlantis) was not very good, so I sold it.

Rating: 3 stars.

It is fitting that I should roll this album right now, when I am enjoying K'Naan's new album "Troubadour". K-OS is the K'Naan of five years ago. They are both hip hop guys from Canada, who like to rap about fairly innovative stuff, and have a good singing voice that goes beyond the phrasing and timing that defines most rap and hip hop artists.

As I noted in the teaser, when I first heard this album I was thrilled by it. It took hip hop in a positive direction, without sounding preachy. K-OS' message on "Joyful Rebellion" is to himself, but indirectly to all similar rappers. It is, don't take yourself too seriously, and don't let the music industry turn you into something you aren't. Always keep it about the music.

This is evident throughout, but I particularly like "Man I Used To Be" which starts out:

"Things I thought I'd never do - I did 'em"

From the top, K-OS admits he's already off the path he set for himself. In fact, I recall he used to say he'd make a record or two and then quit the music industry. Of course, we know he didn't do that after all, so the lyrics that follow: "Now I just got to get back to be/back to the man I used to be" are more than a little ironic with the passage of time.

This theme culminates near the end of the album with "Neutroniks", an exceptionally clever rap about how to bring the music back to the pure form in which it started. To reprint the lyrics without the rap wouldn't do them justice, but through the song he manages to rap about metabolic rates, impressionist paintings, Duke Ellington and Megatron. And he makes it all not only work, he makes the subject matter important and interesting.

Along the way, he samples Ray Charles' "Hit The Road, Jack" in "Crabbuckit" and James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now" in "B Boy Stance", both to good effect. "Crabbuckit" also provides insightful social commentary, as K-OS shows how captured crabs could escape a bucket if only they would just stop pulling each other down as they reach for the top, and start working together.

Put all this together, and this album would be a solid four stars, but there are problems.

First, the album doesn't end with the amazing, "Neutroniks." Instead, we are 'treated' to three very average songs which cause the album to fade away when it could have gone out like a rocket. In particular, the ten minute plus, self-indulgent "Paper Cutz" rambles on and on, and has very little to say. Along the way it features strange voice effects that K-OS uses to make himself sound like a space baby, and also about two minutes of dead air. Don't even get me started with the spelling of the title. Know when to say when, Kevin.

Finally, this disc has annoying copy control technology on it that makes it difficult to upload to a portable device like my MP3 player. Even when you succeed, it has little cuts in the sound, so you can't listen to it properly. I have three of these songs uploaded to my PC right now (Sheila managed it somehow). When I put the disc in the PC disc drive to play it (I usually listen to a disc again while I review it) I was advised by windows I would "have to add files in order to play this CD." I can only imagine what kind of files and no, thank you.

I can understand artists protecting their work, and I am firmly in the camp of paying for the music I enjoy (hence this neverending CD Odyssey I'm in the middle of). That said, here's a situation where I bought this album to enjoy it, happily supporting the artist, only to find barriers in the way of me doing so.

Is that the kind of thing the man you used to be would go for, K-OS? Things you thought you wouldn't do - you did 'em. Minus one spirit point to an otherwise excellent record.

Best tracks: Man I Used To Be, B Boy Stance, The Love Song, Neutroniks.