April 22, 2005 @ 5:31 am

Online Exclusive: K-os -Hip Hop's Not Dead

by: Alyssa Rashbaum

April 20, 2005- Irving Plaza, New York City

“The hottest thing in New York City tonight is a product of Ontario,” an offstage voice announced before Toronto rapper k-os took the stage at New York City’s Irving Plaza with a plan to prove that hip hop is alive, well and thriving in Canada. The rapper, who has quickly built a reputation for himself as one of Canada’s most talented MCs, combining rap, rock, reggae, funk and pop, has been giving lessons to audiences across the country while on tour with a quirky hip hop/rock project, The Handsome Boy Modeling School.

April 20, 2005- Irving Plaza, New York City "The hottest thing in New York City tonight is a product of Ontario," an offstage voice announced before Toronto rapper k-os took the stage at New York City's Irving Plaza with a plan to prove that hip hop is alive, well and thriving in Canada. The rapper, who has quickly built a reputation for himself as one of Canada's most talented MCs, combining rap, rock, reggae, funk and pop, has been giving lessons to audiences across the country while on tour with a quirky hip hop/rock project, The Handsome Boy Modeling School. Stepping up to the mic as if he had just stepped off the street, wearing a jacket, hoodie pulled over his dreadlocks, and dark sunglasses, k-os launched into "B-Boy Stance," the first U.S. single off his most recent release, Joyful Rebellion. Striking the occasional b-boy stance himself, the rapper turned the spotlight on Lil' Jazz who soloed out on the turntables, while the bass player swayed and convulsed at stage left. This show marked the last night of the tour and k-os was on a mission to win over the notoriously fickle New York audience, working to engage the crowd in call-and-response throughout his set. With "Emcee Murdah," the track that calls out mainstream rappers for forgetting the spirit of hip hop, he claims "Money and fame could lead to emcee murderÂ… you call it writers block / but you stop cause the vine is empty / Hip hop's not dead, it's really the mind of the emcee." k-os had the audience singing in agreement as they chanted the hook, "It's all around me / It's emcee murder." After schooling the crowd on the current state of hip hop, k-os made sure to reiterate his stance on the Canadian music scene versus the U.S. scene. "Make some noise for Canada," he shouted. "Cause we have some of the best bands in the world. In fact, Canada is kicking your ass right now!" It may have been the energy or the way the thumping bass shook the floor and forced hearts to beat in time with the music, but the New York crowd cheered him on. Drawing on classic tracks to open his next two songs off Joyful Rebellion, k-os led the women in the crowd in a chant of "hit the road Jack" to open the irresistibly upbeat, " Crabbuckit," and opened the Michael Jackson-inspired "Man I Used to Be" with an audience sing-along to the classic Pink Floyd lyric "we don't need no education." Perhaps aware of the growing number of MCs who have completed university, the rapper provided a little anecdote for the crowd that would have made Kanye West proud: "My dad paid for my education, but all I did was drink and smoke all the time." Whether he spent university drunk and high or studying hard, k-os showed off his conscious, intelligent lyrics with the final song of the night, "Crucial," also off Joyful. "I don't want to change the world," he sang, "I only want to stop pretending / Nothing left to but let it burn / I only hope we're all ascending high." Lesson plan finished, mission completed, k-os attempted to mount his keyboard, knocked over a mic and walked off stage. Watch k-os' video "The Love Song"

Article tags: Online, Exclusive, K-os, Hip, Hop's, Not, Dead