My Shadow Weighs A Ton

So, one hip hop artist that I absolutely love is K-Os. He's consistent, but rarely the same. He uses (and plays) live instruments, raps and sings, and successfully blends the borders between hip hop, blues, soul, rock, reggae, folk, and on and on. Clever concepts, witty lyrics, beautiful song structure. K-Os comes from Canada, a land with a flourishing hip hop scene right now. I'm afraid I'm gonna forget some, but a few other notables from Canada in recent years include Kardinal Official (Akon's label now), Saukrates (Redman's label, I think), DL Incognito, producer Marco Polo (most recently released an album with Torae on Duck Down), and, of course, the mainstream's current golden child (though undeniably talented on the mic) Drake.

I first heard of K-Os when I saw the video for "Commandante" off of 2004's Joyful Rebellion (Exit is the album prior). I thought it was cool, but it kind of got put on the back burner and then disappeared from my mind. Later, completely by accident, I came across his album online, remembered who he was, and decided to download track by track. I was amazed at what I heard. I must've listened to that CD 20 times in a row. Later, I made the purchase to support such a fresh voice in hip hop, and music in general. In 2007, K-Os released Atlantis, and this year brings a brand new album entitled Yes! Check it out and buy a copy if you like it. The first vid is a live performance. The sound quality's not great, but live footage rarely is unless professionally done. Just wanted to give a look at a show of his, live band, K-Os playing harmonica, etc. I have yet to witness him live myself. Vid#2 is the studio version of the same song though. Also, below is a third clip - the actual video for another track on the new album. Right now, I have to say that I like his last two a little better, but Yes! is growing on me by the day. Enjoy...