A Taste of K-Os
K-Os? At the Warped Tour? Well after all, Eminem did do Warped ’99. How did K-Os’ set turn out you ask? Amazingly! K-Os knows how to put on a show. We’ve been to a lot of these tours, and have never seen so many people at a non-mainstage set. We caught up with the singer/rapper/songwriter/producer after the show to talk some 10 questions. Find out what K-Os thinks about Band-Aids in…
10 Questions with K-Os
- Mattias and Juicy Jay -
1. What made you do the Warped Tour?
K-Os: I heard that the founder of it, Kevin Lyman, heard my music and he called up my agent and was into it. So it was really natural. I think he really just liked it. I know that Jurassic 5, Talib [Kweli], Alkoholiks even the
Black Eyed Peas all did the early stages… Gym Class Heroes… So I think I'm just part of him seeing something that he likes.
2. Canadian hip-hop artists are getting a lot more recognition today than ever before. What do you think that can be attributed to?
K: I think we have a lot of good bands period; from The Dears, to [Broken] Social Scene, to Sloan, to Death from Above [1979]. I think Canada overall has been getting more attention. The country's getting more attention and different types of music, even Rufus Wainwright, and different people are paying attention to different Canadian artists because it seems we have a bumper crop of dope artists.
3. You seem to be loved by the Juno Awards. Do you have any particular Juno Award that's your favourite?
K: You know what? I was nominated for producer of the year this year and I didn't get it. That would have been my favourite because I love producing music almost as much as making it.
4. Positive messages are arguably rare in hip-hop music. Why do you think that is? And why do you choose to go against the grain?
K: Because positive messages sometimes mean not as fun and hip-hop was based on the tenants of peace, love, and having fun. So if you're not having fun, then it doesn't feel like hip-hop. And it's hard to be positive especially with everything that's happening today. I think Kanye [West] is doing a good job; Mos Def is doing a good job; A Tribe Called Quest, those are the guys I look up to. I'm just trying to go against the grain because I saw those guys have fun. Obviously Kanye, Mos Def are having fun. Even Erykah Badu and Common, they're really positive people but they seem to have fun with their music. I think positive messages are sometimes seen as too serious and that's why people think it shouldn't be something you do, but the more fun you have the better.
5. Musically your style is pretty versatile. Where do you draw your influences from?
K: Growing up, I listened to everything from Siouxsie and the Banshees to my dad's calypso records. The Mighty Sparrow… it’s like, new-wave to calypso. I just love everything reggae to punk rock, to ESG to DOA, to Black Flag right over to Hall and Oates, right over to Nat King Cole. I just listened to everything.
6. If you could break dance battle anyone, who would it be?
K: Probably Zebroc from the Rascalz crew. He's my teacher so if I beat him, I’d know I was pretty good.
7. Who are your top three favourite Warped Tour acts right now?
K: I would say number one would be Bad Religion. Number two would be Killswitch Engage. And number three, because they're cute, is Meg & Dia.
M: Are you gonna try and hit it up later?
K: One of them, the guitar player. She's hot.
M: Who's your favourite band in general to tour with?
K: A band called RX Bandits from Long Beach, CA. I love those guys. We did them with Gym Class Heroes. It was their tour but we ended up hitting it off.
M: Gym Class Heroes? Nice! If you were to face Travis from Gym Class Heroes in a rap battle, who would win?
K: Obviously I would win. No question at all. Actually we did a show in Philadelphia and he started freestyling and he's pretty dope. I think he's hiding something a little bit. He's got his cards close to his chest, he's got some stuff.
M: So is that an open challenge?
K: Nah, I love that guy. I mean, we've been trying to do a track together but he's in Europe right now. I really respect him.
8. What's your favourite Love Song?
K: It's not really a love song but, “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. It's not a love song but it touches me in the heart. People should check that out.
9. You have pretty cool style. If you could invent a new article of clothing, what would it be, and what would it do?
K: It wouldn't be an article of clothing; it would just be a Band-Aid that was the colour of black skin, because our Band-Aids stick out. What's up Band-Aid? Make a Band-Aid for black people. That's all I gotta say. That would be my invention. It would sell a lot. Trust me.
10. Who would you like to see next on Band of the Day?
K: Hunter Valentine. It's this girl band, three girls, they're really cute. The Lead singer is half-Asian half-white named Kiyomi.
BONUS:
How many legs can you fit in a crabbuckit?
K: Well, because I can only concentrate on one girl at a time, I'd say two.
Yeah, so maybe this article had a tad more than 10 questions… K-Os is a wealth of knowledge so we couldn’t resist. Thank you again to K-Os for being awesome and giving us a slew of old and new music to listen to. Be sure to pick up a copy of “Atlantis: Hymns for Disco” and check out the video for his newest single “Equalizer”.
Standin in our B-boy stance,
The BotD Team