Published February 2002 

K-OS

K-OS is building. After a three-year self-imposed hiatus, Toronto's hip-hop word master has emerged on the musical scene with a crisper, more conscious flow. And he couldn't have picked a better time. The explosion of hip-hop artists instructing fans to shake, toss, break, bob, throw, and jump is popular, but no longer mind-blowing. K-OS, also known as Kevin Brereton, is daring music lovers to use their heads for more than just nodding to any heavy beat. It's a challenge that flies in the face of the industry's movers and shakers. No doubt heads will be butting, but this unassuming artist is more concerned about representing his message in its truest form. Despite having signed with EMI Music Canada and Capitol Records in the U.S., K-OS has made moves that aren't common in the music game. But with such a promising debut album, it's becoming clear that playing was never this K-OS' thing.

To look closely at K-OS is to see how he's not about posing or posturing. Arriving quietly at the Irie Joint at 745 Queen St., this soft-spoken artist slips behind a table and waits patiently to answer questions on his long-awaited album Exit. "I think that if one person realizes how hip-hop has been in a degenerated state - one person, boy or girl, if that one thing happens, then it's cool," says the 29-year-old lyricist.

Simple enough. Or is it?

Putting together Exit wasn't so straightforward, so maybe its consciousness might be too heavy for musical fans fed on fluff. That prospect doesn't deter K-OS. He's on a mission to spread the word. After the success of his songs Musical Essence in 1993 and Rise Like the Sun in 1996, K-OS took a three-year break to escape and make music for himself. He re-entered armed with a new acoustic sound and his own soothing vocals. Top that with head-banging lyrics and you've got the likes of "Follow Me," K-OS' well-received single featuring Red One from the Rascalz. Another track, "Heaven Only Knows" is a masterpiece in minimalism, set to nothing more than K-OS' smooth voice and a classical guitar. Exit is as free flowing as K-OS' lyrics, showing off a range of styles. Some critics praise his eclectic approach, pointing out he was inspired by rockers like RadioHead, soulsters like Prince, and lyricists like The Roots.

K-OS accepts that people will rush to fit him somewhere, using labels and comparisons, all the while touting him as alternative."People can't really focus on something without a comparison, I find today," says the rapper."You're going to get labelled. And in a way, that label allows you to break out of it too, if you're intelligent. Because that same label gives you a springboard. So it can be good if you keep moving."

When asked if he's worried about burning bridges with his critique on the state of the music industry, K-OS shakes his head. He prefers not to be paralyzed by the future.

"You do what you do in the moment because you love it," explains K-OS. "That's why I say this is my first and last album, because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I can't be worried about burning a bridge. Who says I'll need that bridge?" Citing the game, "Snakes and Ladders," K-OS says only people concerned about their own high expectations and places to go worry about such things.

Still, K-OS' profundity is not so cut and dry. He admits sometimes he does wonder if he'll make a second album. What he does know is, at this moment, he's not feeling it."How many times can you say, 'Heaven only knows?' People start smelling pretentiousness. Having one album is a way of understanding within myself that these things can't be frivolous. They can't be things I'm saying as catch phrases. The industry has a way of labeling and making it a marketing scheme."

Perhaps it all might seem like a marketing strategy: tales of him growing up in the predominantly White suburb of Whitby, Ontario, while loving off the music of Depeche Mode, Slick Rick and Boogie Down Productions; his family of Jehovah's Witnesses; his study of different religions at Carleton University. Even the tales of his hiatus, and how he'd be content with one successful album, might seem contrived. But it's all true. Only thing is, K-OS seems more comfortable talking about the message rather than focusing on the messenger.

And just two months ago, K-OS sent a strong message to the observers in the music industry. He opted to do away with the status quo by managing himself. It's a move that has people raising their eyebrows and talking low. Still, K-OS remains resolute.

"The word career in Latin means life, and no one can manage your life. So no one should manage your career. B, the record industry is somewhat set up in a slave mentality, where everyone wants to reap the benefits of being popular, and writing or having girls or whatever, but no one wants to figure out how things works, or wake up early in the morning and carry things to the van the way a gracious person like Sol Guy does.

"It's like riding a bike and not using the pedals. You can coast, but what happens when it comes time to pedal? So by managing myself doesn't mean I don't want people helping me. But I won't have to be concerned about people making certain decisions for me. I have to be in that driver's seat," he contends.

Sol Guy, of FigureIV Productions still works closely with

K-OS and their friendship remains sound. Still, K-OS admits his decision is bittersweet. "It's sweet because you know you control what you're doing. It's bitter because people in the industry want a buffer between the artist and the manager."

Tony Young, a veteran in the music industry, agrees with that point. Known as Master T, Young gained his own notoriety as MuchMusic's middleman between the media and the musicians looking to branch out in Canada. He also ensured Canadian urban musicians got their time on X-Tendamix, the popular three-hour program created by Young and his wife. Last summer, after giving the corporation more than 16 years, Young said good-bye to MuchMusic; but he left having gleaned a lot about the workings of what has become an ostentatious industry.

"The industry wants to say the tough things to the manager," says Young, who has talked with K-OS several times. "Kevin will have to have the strength to take the criticism. These guys with the labels are in a position where they have to do their job, and they're not all bad. It's a spiritual thing. You have to believe that person is there for you. It's a tough call to trust someone."

Young says K-OS will find it difficult to be creative as an artist, and handle the "business b.s." He concedes it'll be a tough challenge, but stops short of saying K-OS can't manage it all. "Strategically, I think (Kevin) has thought about what he needs at this point as an artist, and as a person. The guy is intelligent. I want to believe he knows what he can handle."

No doubt, K-OS is balancing a lot on his plate. Not too many new artists willingly take on the artistic and analytical sides to gaining success in the music industry. Something might spill over. Indeed, K-OS' decision might be a bitter pill for American executives. Young is a lot more wary of how Capitol records will feel about K-OS managing himself, noting that it's an unprecedented move. "In terms of breaking in the U.S., it takes a lot of legwork, and positioning. You have to have realistic ambitions and a lot of financing." Young adds that people want to hear what K-OS has to say, and that we only need to look at the success of one of Brooklyn's finest, Mos Def, to see there is a market.

"I think it's early in the game for Kevin to be doing this, but he wants to retain a certain amount of control," says Young.

It's hard to fault a brother wanting something as crucial as control. But it's a paradox. The more K-OS insists on having, the more he risks losing - not a fact that escapes this artist. "This business is designed on egonomics," says K-OS. "The more I get involved, the bigger my ego gets, and that bothers me."

With Exit slated to drop in Canadian music stores on March 26th, the one determining factor right now is the sound. K-OS' work has to stand on its own merit. Listeners have to like what he says and how he says it, in order to spend their dollars. Sure, K-OS seems to be breaking rules. But one can't deny he's building something else with a set of new tools.

"K-OS is a talent to be reckoned with," says Young. "He has the ability to touch people. At the end of the day, whatever comes out of it, the labels will respect him for trying. That's all he's looking for."

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