The New k-os

By: Cheryl Stornelli

Look a little closer at the songs, inspirations and lyrics of k-os, and you'll see he's taken giant steps forward since the beginning of his career when it comes to displaying his many sides to the world. Spouting off melodic words about life and love, rapping and ranting, this artist has clearly had many impacting influences in his life.

The theme of k-os' latest album Yes! is that of a character who puts himself into a corner with a guitar – an image similar to some of the album art. K-os adapted this theme from the contrast between his brothers' lives and his own.

"They're fairly domestic dudes with wives and two daughters," he explains. "I see that and start to think to myself, ‘What are you gonna do now? Ever get married? Start a family?' I do know music is what I love most but how far will I take it? Am I sacrificing too much to do music?"

The album is titled YES! because yes is the answer to his questions about the path he's on. "I am very happy that I'm sacrificing those things," he admits. "It's a fun experience; that's the bottom line. May not have what I could have, but I knew that going in. My music totally consumes me. Thank god I'm still making records and to still be here is almost more fun than in the beginning."

Having grown as an artist from previous releases, k-os delivers tracks on YES! that show him as self-assured and confident. Having written "Zambony" first of the tracks on ther record, k-os says the song brought out a lot of the frustrations he'd been feeling for the past two years and hadn't expressed.

"There's a spellbinding power in hip hop to see how you feel and have it fit using the English language. There's a lot of power describing a problem and it being over it in a minute. It's the best feeling in the world to alleviate stress with music," he explains.

K-os says he wrote about mythology, life situations, new age – basically someone else's – on his first two records. It might have been the result of growing up in a suppressed religious family. But, at some point, he realized, music needs to come from personal experiences and be your own.

For the whole interview CLICK HERE.