With the recent success of Hip-Hop acts like Common and MF Doom, Canadian artist K-Os has enjoyed a recent upswing in popularity. Already a superstar in Canada, K-Os is finally achieving increased relevancy in the US market that has been somewhat elusive to him in the past.
In order to reintroduce himself to worldwide audiences and get on that hipster rap gravy train before it leaves the station, K-Os has released a collection of singles and favorite unreleased tracks from his three previous albums.
K-Os Collected as a whole sounds like a perfectly cohesive album. If you didn’t already know better, you couldn’t possibly guess that some of this material is from as far back as 2002.
I guess they have American Apparel over in Canada too. Canadian Apparel?
This works well in the album’s favor, as a wide range of styles are present, ranging from Amy Winehouse nouveau-classical soul (on The Rain and Crucial) to Neptunes style bangers (I Am). Some songs even showcase 80’s rock throwback (Born To Run) and flows that hearken back to the Pharcyde or the Roots (on Equalizer, Mushaboom).
While K-Os has been known as the type of artist that is either too critical or too introspective, much of his new material strikes a balance between the two, and in addition to this, he has really come into his own as a guitarist and keyboardist. While on tour, K-Os plays with a live band, and this lends him a better perspective of the importance of performance than most hip-hop artists have.
Honestly I can’t recommend this album enough, especially if you are unfamiliar with K-Os. There is enough variety here to please just about everyone. K-Os Collected is the kind of album that can indie rap hipsters and casual listeners can both agree on.
