Sunday Morning (Twilight Remix)

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.

Throwback: Review of The Old Prince by RapReviews

Shad :: The Old Prince

Author: Pedro 'DJ Complejo' Hernandez

The concept of "The Old Prince" is one that we can all relate to and understand. To sum it up, princes aren't supposed to be old because they are supposed to become kings before they become old. Applied universally, the idea is that we all want to do great things and as times passes we become impatient and begin to wonder whether our time has passed. Shad's album captures his own conflict with the idea of being an old prince. Every rapper goes through a period of time where they wonder whether they will ever make it big time and even consider giving up on the dream. This insecurity has been touched upon by other rappers, but never with the passion and appeal shown by Shad. Shad's ability to relate his own triumphs and insecurities to the rest of us allows him to create one of the best albums released in the past year.

The album kicks off with a short interlude where the story of "The Old Prince" is told and then Shad kicks his first verse:

"Brother please, no more Pamela Lees, let's set it straight
I'm the biggest thing out of Canada til Quebec separate
And I never medicate so y'all feel me if I'm ill like a lump
Some dudes used to burn down trees and now they stumped
By the simplest questions and everything they think is deception
As they sink in depression, no telling where our life's heading
I'm light headed from stress where I write hooks like a fight method
Like credit I'm indebted from my misuse
My life like a magazine, got so many issues
God edits the stories, still trying to find the father like Maury
He ain't with the stars like Tory
Spellings, spell it out like NORE
On a quest for glory"

Instantly you can tell Shad is something special on the mic as he mixes humor, punch lines, and emotion in a way few emcees are able to. On top of that the man has a great voice and precise flow that ensure you understand every word he spits. The intro is only the beginning as Shad hits us with track after track of great, meaningful music. "I Don't Like To" finds Shad indulging by giving in to the temptation of showing off his mic skills dropping dope lines like "y'all stay second rate Chingys at the quality inn." "What We All Want" is a soulful and honest song dedicated to the universal aspirations that fuel our everyday struggle. "Brother (Watching)" is a heartfelt exploration of being Black in our society as Shad hits upon the evils of stereotypes, both as they hold down Black youth and at the same time pressure them to live up to those stereotypes:

"I try to hold some hope in my heart for these African youths
Coming up where I'm from, many traps to allude
Surrounded by mostly white and affluent dudes
And somehow you expected to have mastered the smooth
Swagger, and move with the right walk, the right talk, fashion and crews
So suddenly attacked and abused
And what's funny is being Black wasn't cool
Where I'm from, til suddenly you started hearing rapping in school
Hallways, amidst this madness I grew
With a knack for amusing through this little skill for rapping at dudes
And we all like to laugh at the truth
But when you young and the same facts pertain to who you rapping them to
Well I opted not to bring that to the booth
But after a while it sort of starts nagging at you
The crazed infatuation with Blackness is tragic in view
The fact that the tube only shows Blacks acting a fool"

The emotion and energy Shad puts into every song forces you to take his music just as seriously as he does. Just as Shad is able to address deep topics, he also easily is able to make you laugh at the lighter side of life. "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home" is one of the funniest rap tracks ever laid down as Shad talks about being broke. The comedy reaches its climax when the beat drops out and Shad raps A cappella because he couldn't afford the full instrumental. "Out of Love Pt. 2" is another entertaining track where Shad lets us know he's had his fair share of struggles with the ladies. The album ends just as strongly as it begins as Shad continues to lay down amazing tracks. "I Heard You Had a Voice Like An Angel/Psalm 137" is a religious themed track addressing the evils and temptations that can lead to the downfall of any prince. "Compromise" instantly shoots you out of the serious lull of the previous track as Shad tells you to never compromise and continue doing you. "Get Up" is the last song on the album and ends on an appropriately triumphant note.

From start to finish, "The Old Prince" is one of the best albums to have come out in 2007 – an amazing achievement for a relatively unknown rapper and a testament to the passion and love Shad infuses into his music. Shad is the most talented newcomer I've come across in quite awhile. Shad's talent transcends the basics of being able to rap well as he is able to create full songs that are as catchy as they are engaging and meaningful. His skills on the mic are so impressive that he could rock over the wackest of beats and still sound dope. Thankfully, he's assembled a crew of producers that are just as outstanding as he is. Every track on "The Old Prince" has a beat that is as compelling and musically pleasing as Shad is on the mic. Though Shad only set out to tell us his story on this album, he ended up showing us that not only is his time as king here, he is a more than worthy candidate to lead hip-hop into the future.

Music Vibes: 10 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 10 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 10 of 10

via RapReviews.com

k-os on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

CLICK HERE for the video.

About this Video:

k-os was born in Toronto and grew up in Whitby, Ontario. His parents raised Kevin as a Jehovah's Witness, where his father was a minister. So, Kevin went to church three times a week until he was 17. After that, he went to university, studied a number of subjects including music theory and dabbled in creating his own music. That led to a grant for a video and by the early 90's, he'd released a few singles. But Kevin was unhappy with the musical style and took some time off. By 2002, he released his debut record, a mostly rap centric album called 'Exit.' Two years later, he hit it big with his hip hop follow up album 'Joyful Rebellion' and 'Rolling Stone' called him a 'destined superstar'. Now, he's back with another record called 'Yes!'

Order in k-os: The Evolution of an Ethos

HipHopCanada: You've got a lot of new projects coming out these days: not one but two new albums, both on your own label Crown Loyalist Recordings through Universal Music Canada, right?

k-os: Right. That actually is more of a form of evolution than anything else. I've been signed to major labels since 1998, that's when I got my first deal with Capitol. So it's been ten years and I went from EMI to Universal last year and before I did that I was talking to EMI about the same thing and everyone agreed that it was time for me, now that I understood how to make records and had made four of them, that it was time for me to start doing my own thing. At that time when I was at EMI there was a young man named Shawn Hewitt, he had a record coming out and that was going to be the first thing on the label but unfortunately when I left EMI that meant that I wouldn't have that. He toured with me for two or three years, so if you want to talk about vision or the type of bands that I would find etc, it would be guys like that. Guys I've been on the road with or friends or people whose music I've been watching for a while. That was a vision to create something where I could be director of my own destiny and then eventually down the road I'd sign bands, but for now it's a way for me to protect what I make and what I write. The vision is to make sure with Crown Loyalist, and the name kind of infers it, just to stay true to my artistic ideals and attract artists whose task it is to, within this pop world, still remain loyal to the roots of their music and their own artistic vision and try to be as original as possible.

HipHopCanada: Cool man, your new album YES! has recently come out and it's your fourth studio album: where do you see the greatest progression, or evolution as you had mentioned, musically in your new album?

k-os: It's going to be hard for me to put my finger on that 'cause I don't know musical theory but my knowledge of that stuff, without actually learning anything about it at all formally, has gotten better. Arrangement maybe, that's what I actually had the most fun doing is arranging pieces of music. After it's written or after it's taken its form I'll spend days and days and days just trying to arrange it in an interesting way but still keep it three and a half minutes, keep it as a tight dose. But to me arrangement this time around is what, if you listen to the songs, makes it seems different but at the same time there's old tricks of the trade which make something so different just seem standard if you arrange it a certain way.

HipHopCanada: You've got a lot of instrumentation on YES!, more sitar and tabla-

k-os: Santosh has played with me since the beginning so we've always had tabla and all that. Using guitars to sound like the sitar was kind of our thing back on [Joyful Rebellion], like on "Crabuckit" and "Man I Used to Be" and I took a break from then when I did Atlantis and was investigating some more rock sensibilities but yeah, that's definitely back so you'll notice that for sure.

To read the rest CLICK HERE.

Rock and Roll is Good for Kids Presents Shad

We're your friends and we're tying to do something wonderful and important in 'no fun city' and we need your help!

Rock and Roll is Good for Kids (RRGK) is a non-profit group committed to improving the lives of children in East Vancouver by raising funds and supplies for safe and fun after-school environments with an emphasis on the arts.

BENEFIT CONCERT
THE ASTORIA
SATURDAY JUNE 6

featuring:
SHAD (Juno nominated/Polaris shortlisted) (myspace.com/shad)
BRASSTRONAUT (myspace.com/brasstronaut)
TWIN CRYSTALS (myspace.com/twincrystals)

With DeeJays:
EXPENDABLE YOUTH

(doors at 8.00 PM)

The goal of this year’s concert is to provide funding and supplies to support an already existing community program in east van, 'Camp Grace'. It's one of four camps under the Urban Promise umbrella (one of which is facing closure due to lack of funding). The kids are picked up from schools (including Queen Victoria, Grandview Elementary, and Lord Nelson) and given leadership, healthy food, indoor/outdoor activities, and tutoring. The children that attend are extremely diverse; many are First Nations and some with special needs.

A primary goal of RRGK is to supply music and art supplies to this camp as these kids, more than anyone, need these vital positive outlets.

As a community we can create societal awareness of the importance of art and music in the lives of children and the social responsibility we all share of providing the necessary means to enrich them!

We all know that the government's lack of funding towards childcare/arts/music is a joke and hopefully we can draw more media attention to this aweful [sic] neglect.

♥ BESIDES, EVEN IF YOU HATE HELPING KIDS HAVE YOU SEEN THE F'ING LINEUP!??!?!?! ♥

This show will be the most amazing kick-off to summer imaginable. Save the $$ you were going to spend on nudie jeans, pbr's, and records and come down to the ASTORIA SATURDAY JUNE 6TH... bring the 3rd string acoustic guitar you never use.. the recorder you haven't touched since you learned how to play 'hot cross buns' in grade 2.. or anything else on the wishlist (see below) and you may get a sweet door discount.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS or would like to DONATE $$$ or ANY RELEVANT SUPPLIES, SERVICES, or TALENTS feel free to contact us:

Directors of RRGK
Adrienne Grant and Christopher Burnside

778-230-8967

tightsolid(at)hotmail.com

ALSO CHECKOUT THE WEBSITE
www.rockandrollisgoodforkids.com

(Generously created free of charge by Storyboard Integrated Marketing and Design)
www.storyboardmarketing.ca

WISHLIST:
Monetary donations
Musical instruments
Art supplies (paints, colouring books, threads, glitter etc.)
Models to build (eg. model cars, boats, planes)
Wooden projects to build
Socks for children
Kites
Children's books
LEGO
Sports supplies (balls, frisbees, skipping ropes, hockey sticks etc.)
Laptop
Basketball Hoop

via Adrienne Grant and Christopher Burnside

More Artwork from Pixel Flex (Tim Lum)

Real Recognize Real


I Want A Clair(e) Huxtable


Nuclear K-OS


Earlier I posted the production of Tim Lum's first commissioned artwork, "Now A Daze". He is currently working on Project 365 {2009}. Each day, Tim Lum will be taking a photograph for whole year.

The End of Yes! Karma Tour - Photos

May 16, 2009 - The Cunard Centre - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Photos by Richard Lann

Let's keep the karma going by continuing to support our Canadian artists.

US Artwork for The Old Prince Released

Front Cover

Back Cover

Just as a reminder, "The Old Prince" will be released in the States on June 30th. Shad will also be performing at Astoria, Vancouver, BC on June 6th.

k-os @ L'Olympia de Montreal - Photos

May 14, 2009 - L'Olympia - Montreal, Quebec

Photos via davidcwong888

Shad - Prelude

AUX.tv presents "Prelude," a short film from Shad and Christopher Mills!

This short film is the prelude to the Compromise video. The track, which is the outro on The Old Prince, was written and performed by Kamau. Stay tuned for release of the already shot Compromise music video.

Shad-K Interviews Classified, Mic Boyd, Chad Hatcher, J- Bru and DJ IV

This interview is brought to you by The Come up Show.
Where That Feel Good Music Lives, Real Recognize Real.
http://www.thecomeupshow.com

Shad-K takes my microphone and starts interviewing the whole Half-Life crew. Shad-K asks them who can eat the mic, who has the best voice in hip-hop, who are the best producers in Canada and so much more!!!!

- Adulis Mokanan

Shad - "Quest For Glory"

"Quest for Glory" is the first track from "The Old Prince". This is the most recent video from Jeremy Starcok. He has a couple more videos of Shad and you can check them out HERE.

k-os Playing PGR4 on Xbox LIVE

Yesterday, a few people on twitter made posts about playing Project Gotham Racing 4 against k-os on Xbox LIVE. This was possible through "Game with Fame," where you can play your favourite online games against celebrities. How would you match up against your favourite aritsts, athletes, and actors? You can find out upcoming scheduled Game with Fame dates HERE.

iLIKE: Shad by Promise

Author: Tanya M. Fowlow

iLIKE (no relation to ilike.com) will be where you can find out who/what Promise likes. If you never knew before you know now Shad K is one of Promise’s favorite emcees. Recently iPROMISEMUSIC caught up with this talented artist for an exclusive interview in which Shad talks about winning $17,000.00 in a talent contest, securing a Juno nomination, Vans ‘Warped’ Tour and more!

Shad 101: “I’m a hip-hop artist. I grew up in London, Ontario but I live in Vancouver now. I’ve put out a couple of albums; the first one independently in 2005 and that gave me the opportunity to just get started, play some shows and kinda start to build. I released a second album with an independent label called Blackbox Records and that’s allowed me to continue to move forward career wise and just share some more music.”

Was music always the career of choice?: “Absolutely not! I never really thought it was a viable option, and I also never really assumed people would take to what I do. I knew it was somethin’ I really enjoyed from a self-expression point of view and from a creative challenge as well, but it was never anything I assumed other people would take to the point where I could make it a career. I’ve been pleasantly surprised”.

Getting schooled: “My first degree was at a time where I finished high school and it was time to move on and do something else, and at the time university is what made sense. I was pursuing music while I was in school there it was something I wanted to complete and I had the time to complete it. This degree, my current one, is really just something that I enjoy. I enjoy it like I enjoy music and it’s not something I’m doing with any specific career intension. It’s just something that I didn’t get to do in undergrad. When I’m not on tour I have time to do it and I just like it. It’s not always easy but so far so good. I’ve been able to make it work but I had to take the fall term off to tour, and this term I was able to plan shows so I was mostly playing on weekends and stuff. I just kinda play it by ear and I keep the school part-time so I can manage stuff. I take it a couple months at a time and so far it’s worked out”

Inspired: “I hate to be cliché but my inspiration just comes from life; everything that goes into my life like thought, reflection, prayer and meditation, just thinking about life and what it is in me to express and how to do it in a way that’s creative, honest and fun. It’s music so there’s always that aspect of the raw inspiration of the moment and the musical energy that comes out when you’re in the studio or listening to tracks and that sorta thing – that’s kinda spontaneous energy.”

And the winner is…: “There was a radio station called 91.5 ‘The Beat’ in Kitchener-Waterloo and they had an unsigned talent competition. The winners got like $17,000.00 to record an album. Normally I’m not one for talent contests and that kinda thing but it was a great opportunity because I was sitting on some material I really wanted to record. Because I’m so lazy [laughing] I really wasn’t going to send anything in but my sister did it for my birthday present. I was really fortunate and things worked out and really that’s how I got to record.”

For the complete article CLICK HERE.