Customer Reviews

Joyful Rebellion

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It isn't easy being an emcee, let alone, being one from Canada. Most are quick to stamp on a label, but it is their own loss because K-Os' sophomore album "Joyful Rebellion" although under-appreciated and overlooked, was one of 2004's best sounding albums. Not that the lyrics were bad, that's not the case at all. Songs like "EMCEE Murdah", "Commandante", "Papercutz", and "One Blood" showcase maturity and the ability to step out of the mainstream box and not cater to its demands. However, what shines best is the eclectic production; ranging from the reggae-rock of "Crucial", old school vibe of "B-Boy Stance" & "Clap Ur Handz", the Latin-flavored "Commandante", and the "old-mixed-with-new" sound of "The Love Song". Also notable is K-Os' versatility; with a sort of "Wyclef Jean"-esque delivery, K-Os can both rap and sing. With that said, there is one thing that tends to bother me; now I'm all for the "rebellion against the superficial materialistic mentality", but K-Os, despite good intentions, tends to be a little overzealous with this particular message; numerous times its either stated or in subtext, regardless, it can get tedious. But in the end, a socially conscious emcee is better than an ignorant one.

I didn't know what I was getting into when I chose to play this in my store one day. I'm glad I chose to though, because this album is extremely diverse, extremely fun, and K-Os just brims with talent.

I can't name songs specifically, but I can say that K-Os does an amazing job blending different styles of music. This album is truly hard to classify (although we find space for it in our Rap section) and that's something I like. I like genre-busting music. There's aspects of rock, hip hop, rap, a little dance, and some singing. This album is a great way to spend an afternoon, and you won't find yourself bored or disappointed.

It lost a star (and again, I wish we could do half stars) because of my inability to pull any specific songs or sounds to mind. I know I like it, but it's perhaps a tad forgettable.

Do yourself a favor and pick this up.

I lived near Toronto until 2000, and as a result I was exposed to K-Os very early in his career. I always respected him and thought he was really talented, but I thought his first album "Exit" was too eclectic to really catch on with the mainstream. "Superstarr Pt. Zero" was a cool track, but definitely not major crossover material. And besides, he's a Canadian urban artist, which immediately puts him WAY behind the 8-ball (the U.S. market doesn't even want to hear you if you aren't Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, or Nickelback). I expected him to fade into obscurity, or at best have a healthy fanbase in Canada, along with a small American following (a la Swollen Members). Boy was I wrong. If "Joyful Rebellion" is any indication, K-Os is going to blow up all over the place.

The lead single in Canada, "B-Boy Stance", is what drew me in. It's an undeniably dope, breakbeat-driven, 80's-style hip-hop juggernaut of a track (if there's a better break to rap over than James Brown's "Funky Drummer", somebody please tell me). The video displays the same stripped-down brilliance, featuring B-Boys and B-Girls throwing down crazy moves against a plain white background (if you haven't seen it, check it out at www.k-osmusic.com). I simply love this track...a hip-hop song hasn't energized me like this in a decade.

"Crabbuckit" is the second single (it's the lead single in the U.S., I believe), and it's an infectiously jazzy track that you can't help but like. When I first heard it I was anticipating some cheesy jazz-rap hybrid, but by the end of the song I was like, "You know, that's really good". It's now one of my favorite tracks on the album.

None of these songs are conventional - there aren't any tracks "for the club", there's no mention of material things, no cliches - but they're all dope. K-Os has Wyclef-like creativity and variety but without the "Look at me, I'm Haitian, I speak French and I play the guitar" pretentiousness. He puts a refreshing spin on today's hip-hop but he does it through an old-school filter.

Something must be said about the guitar playing on Joyful Rebellion. It's amazing, and gives the album such a unique sound. The acoustic track "Hallelujah" is especially great, and the spanish-flavored "Commandante" is excellent as well. The first track, the dramatic "Emcee Murdah", will have you singing its guitar-laced hook before you even know it.

I would call this album "experimental", but that's a polite term that critcs use when an artist tries something different and it's really wack. This album is simply dope. That's all I can say. If you're a fan of De La, Common, The Roots, Mos Def, Kweli, etc., you gotta have this. Peace.

Hip Hop. It happened to me. A middle class white kid that grew up on classic rock and watched indie rock and hardcore bubble up from the undergruond into the main stream through high school. I don't know when it happened or why it happened, but it did and I can't get enough of it. Puffy and all the bling kept me away from it for so many years, the Roots sucked me in and showed me what I should be listening to. K-os is something everyone should be listening to.

If Stevie Wonder had been born at the end of the seventies or the very start of the eighties, this is the album he might have made were he in his twenties today. K-os, for me, draws comparisons to the great Stevie Wonder. Both have a unique style and an amazing ability to craft music. Joyful Rebellion runs the gament of hip hop, infusing it with other musical stylings including acoustic guitars, strings and magnificent beats.

EMCEE murdah sets the mood for the CD, letting the listener know that this is not your average over-produced, trite gangasta rap. This is intelligent, conscious; this is hip hop. Crabbuckit sounds like it should be played in a smoky lounge where only the hippest cats hang, complete with saxophone and hand-claps. B-Boy Stance is the song best fit for bobbing your head to. All I have to say about that song is -break-. Dirty Water is my favorite track, it's just a perfect blend of rock and hip hop. The guitar is infectious, K-os's flow is smooth and the entire song just oozes with cleanness.

Joyful Rebellion is a far stretch from your average hip hop and rap. It's a breath of fresh air and a CD that I really enjoy. Progress can't be seen in sales charts or heard on the radio, it can only be seen in the faces of the people and heard in albums like Joyful Rebellion. I've been listening to it non stop ever since I got it and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. K-os isn't for everyone but he should be.

Finally, an album by an actual hip-hop artist with talent. I was getting sick of listening to horrible "music" from the likes of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and all the other so-called hip-hop artists out there who have nothing to say. It's refreshing to listen to great beats without all the pathetic rhymes from self-proclaimed pimps about "bling bling" and "hos". K-Os (along with Nas) is one of the only conscienentious MCs out there today that Much Music actually plays, thank God for that. You can tell simply from listening to 'Joyful Rebellion' once that it comes from a true artist who's extremely well-read and well-versed in all aspects and genres of music (in a recent interview with Much music, he admitted to liking the beat from Britney Spears' hit 'Toxic').

The album starts strong with 'Emcee Murdah'. The introduction has K-Os warning that getting a record deal can leave MCs dead and basically doing anything for money. He compares getting signed to "body snatchers". This is a relaxed track, nothing too upbeat, just a smooth beat with a strong message. The second track on 'Joyful Rebellion' is 'Crucial'. This is where the album begins to slightly speed up. It's still very even, and probably not danceable, but it's more upbeat than 'Emcee Murdah'. The music has a very Jamaican feel, and the vocals are very reggae-inspired. 'Man I Used To Be' is the third single from the album, and it's a great track. It was, in fact, my second favourite before it was so overplayed on both Much Music and their sister station, Much More Music. It's a very honest track. It has K-Os telling about how he feels he's done some things he shouldn't have, and how he just wants to go "back into the man I used to be". If you buy the album, you'll hear a little dittie at the end of the song that they cut out of the single version. Much like the intro on the first track, it has K-Os almost speaking with very little music to back up his vocals, it's a great addition.

Now we've come to 'Crabbuckit'. If you're Canadian, chances are you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing this song. This is like the track no one could escape from, and with good reason. It's amazingly appealing, with a hot beat and catchy hook. K-Os uses clapping hands to keep the beat and even brings in a trumpet for the fantastic music in this track. The fifth track, and first single to drop from the album is 'B-Boy Stance'. This is a good track that got a fair bit of airplay on local music and radio stations (nothing compared to 'Crabbuckit', however). Though it was the first single, it's probably the weakest track off of 'Joyful Rebellion', which is saying a lot about the album, because it's still a great track. 'Commandante' begins with a woman's voice speaking in a different language. I'm not sure what she's saying, or even what language it is, although I'm guessing it's Spanish. The music then starts up with amazing rising action that actually makes the listener's heart beat a tiny bit faster. You get the idea while listening to it that K-Os is about to go into battle, which isn't too far fetched as he refers to the track as a "revolution song".

Next comes 'The Love Song'. Don't go expecting some Celine Dion-esque ballad; this is hip-hop through and through. Throughout the track, K-Os makes many observations about record companies, and the human race in general. It's through songs like this that his intelligence shines through. The album slows down a lot for 'Hallelujah'. The emotion K-Os emotes on this track is enough to break your heart. This is definitely one of my favourite tracks. Actually, it probably takes 'The Man I Used To Be's place as second favourite. After such a tranquil song, 'Clap Ur Handz' brings 'Joyful Rebellion' back into upbeat music. It opens with K-Os addressing a crowd, telling them that they're about to hear something they've never heard before. It's just a very short intro that jumps right into 'Neutroniks', which is my favourite track on the album. Oddly enough, Amazon.com doesn't have this track listed. Hopefully, they've just made a mistake and it's not a Canadian-only track. It would be unfortunate to miss this extremely creative track. It could almost be described as a duet, with K-Os singing along with a computer generated voice (his own?) that sounds like an alien, which actually fits into the theme of the album as a whole. The best part of the track is when he tells the story of a girl he knew named Roxanne, who quit listening to hip-hop when it started getting repetitive.

'Dirty Water' features the talented Sam Roberts, and is a great track. The vocals at the beginning of the song are very drawn out, which adds character and makes for an interesting listen. This is an upbeat, great dance track. Nearing the end of the album, the second last track is 'One Blood'. This is a fantastic track. The beat isn't too amazing, but gives to song a dark mood, along with the lyrics where K-Os sounds angry with what hip-hop has become. Awesome track. 'Papercutz' starts out very slowly, with K-Os' voice just barely registering in the listener's ear. Then the music begins and it really speeds up. This is an upbeat track with an interesting beat, and I love the way K-Os (or is that Kamau, who's featured on this track?) says "papercuts", very cool vocals. After the music finally fades, if you wait, a hidden track will begin. This song, titled 'The Mirror', employs the use of the same alien-esque voice used in 'Neutroniks'. The "alien" speaks throughout the introduction into the song and states such thought provoking lines as; "we are not using our minds the way we should be" and "have you ever wanted to be free of your emotions... have you ever wanted to be free of wanting to be free of your emotions?" It's an awesome track

I'd recommend K-Os' 'Joyful Rebellion' to anyone out there who likes real hip-hop, and is sick of listening to most mainstream rap which all sounds alike and is performed by people with "street cred" rather than talent. If you miss Run D.M.C. or like The Roots or Nas, this is a definite album to pick up. I can assure you, it's not one you'll want to miss and you won't be disappointed.

THE FINAL VERDICT: 98%

Hip-Hop Music, who doesn't love it? With its uplifting rhymes and beats that you can't help but nod your head to, what is there to hate? With great production and stars that you can relate to, what is there to dislike? Oh wait... That's what hip-hop USED to be like. In fact, these days, there's a lot to hate. Whether it's vacant commercialized lyrics, full of constant name-drops and more posing than Vanilla Ice could have ever accomplished, or songs about hoes, bling, and rims, hip hop has changed. But there are those that have stayed true to the art form during these turbulent times. One of these artists is none other than Whitby-raised 'K-Os'. With his first release, 'Exit', K-Os made people sit up and listen. With hits like "Heaven Only Knows" and "Superstar Part 0" getting recognition on both sides of the border, K-Os disappointed many by saying it could likely be his only release. Thank god he reconsidered.

K-Os' new album, 'The Joyful Rebellion' is exactly what his fans have been waiting for. Opening with incredible flow, you can tell why he won the 2003 Source Award for Best International Artist. 'Emcee Murdah' opens the CD with a bang, with K-Os criticizing the current state of hip-hop with lines like, '...they want the cash flow, they steady scheming for the number one spot, these emcees they won't last though", he clearly defines his stance in this battle between mainstream and underground hip-hop.

But the album is not a constant lyrical attack against hip-hop. In fact, it's an incredible display of K-Os' versatility. On the reggae-like "Crucial", he shows off his vocal range and on songs such as the Michael Jackson-like "Man I Used to Be" and the jazzy "Crabbuckit" (the CD's irresistible first single), he shows that hip-hop really has no defined borders. The only downfall of the album is that some tracks don't fit. "Hallelujah" comes to mind.

K-Os seems like Canada's answer to an artist like Mos Def or Andre 3000. Conscientious rhymes and incredible vocal skill, he shows that hip-hop is far from dead, and that we all have alternatives to the stagnation of mainstream. Like he says on "Crabbuckit", "No time to get down cause I'm moving up", K-Os is certainly a rising star that we all should be proud off representing our nation.

I just wrote my first review for amazon (for Coheed & Cambria's "Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV") and since I was so pumped about it, I wanted to write reviews for other albums which I think are amazing, and this is the first one I jumped to. It's one of my favorite CDs of all time, as well as his first album, "Exit".

K-OS is an extremely talented emcee, with deep, uplifting lyrics that range from contemplative and serious to just playful and fun. His positivity shows through his music, and it's fantastic to hear that in hip hop. I would put K-OS right in the ranks with Mos Def and Talib Kweli. And in response to one of the other reviews, I don't think this album was intended to be perceived or classified as "raw, underground hip hop", nor would K-OS ever condone walking around with a bullet-proof vest on. That's ridiculous. And trust me, I like 50 Cent too (just an example of a rapper who wears a bullet-proof vest 24/7), but that's not what this CD is about--this is about so much more. And I honestly believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I absolutely respect people's individual tastes in music, but anyone who gives this CD only one star, just missed it.

This is a CD I play from start to finish, but I'll name my favorites for those who are interested:

"Dirty Water" is my favorite song on the whole album. It's a track you can just roll the windows down and ride to. It's one of those songs you kinda just jive out to, even if you don't dance.

"Crabbuckit" is great. It's got this old swing feel to it with a walking bassline, where the guitar melody combines with the percussion perfectly.

"The Love Song", as he says, is not a love song, "it's a sonnet." It's a song that makes me smile and sing along with it.. and it's calming. It just puts you in a good place.

"Hallelujah" is placed perfectly following "The Love Song" because it's just as smooth. To me it's kind-of reflective, and I'll play it when I'm in a certain mood.

"Papercutz" is a great closer. After a slower intro, it eases into an upbeat tune with mariachi sounding trumpets in the background. It is mixed extremely well and the DJ does a great job. In a different song, he says, "I guarantee you've never seen this before, rappin' over guitars" and it's true. This is probably one of the few tracks where you're gonna hear a DJ scratching while a piano is playing with some jazz percussion.. and then hear him flow over a sax solo.

In summary, K-OS has a unique style, he's an extremely talented musician and lyricist, and he radiates positivity in an industry where the music is oftentimes really dark. He's got an uplifting message, yet doesn't preach. I support him as an artist and will buy any subsequent albums he puts out, which I hope are many!

You can watch some of his videos here, and I highly recommend doing so

Cheers!

This album is a favorite in my car cd player. Talk about variety and artist skill. Well worth the buy and makes me proud to be canadian. Garbage hip hop doesnt have anything to this album. Well thoughout heart felt lyrics..very deep and intelectual..Other Artist are only worth the signles that they put out.

Yo K os...come back to York and perform..i missed the last show

peece

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Probably the best album of 2004. K-OS' lyrical talent, diverse soundscapes and straight up innovation make this one for the ages -- and I'm not easily impressed. And don't try to label this album, just experience it! Enough said.

This guy, his music, his talent, >> its hip-hop in its purest form. He attacks the mainstream garbage and bling bling with vicious vocals and incredible beats and melodies that are so versatile, its like you listen to one song, and then another, and you can't stop listening to the music. I must say that K-os is my favorite hip-hop artist. The whole album is a must have along with his first. He takes hip-hop back to its purest form and incorporates different styles of musical melodies and beats that makes his incredible lyrics amazing. I can't get enough of him. And to think that the second album is as good or better than the first, he does not dissapoint his fans. If Common listened to K-os he would say that "He loves her again" and fall back in love with Hip-Hop. This album along with his first are musical masterpieces. There is nothing that i dont like about his music. He hits all the genres and nerves in my ear and satisfies all my musical interests in one cd. He throws at you some reggea, latin guitar, jazz, acoustic, pop, etc. all in one blending it into a Hip-Hop smoothie. I SIMPLY LOVE IT.

WARNING: if you do not own this album or his first one than you are missing out on a legendary masterpiece. PLEASE I beg you to buy his CD's because they're that good and then some. Every time i listen to his songs, more and more, i love it. You'll not regret the purchase, i guarantee you. Anyone who rated him with anything less than a 5 is crazy. He is bananas! He is a supppppppperstarrrrrrr. He is a true- B- BOY! standing in his b-boy stance. go check out his website.

I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HIS MUSIC. ITS UNBELIEVABLE. HIP-HOP IS ALIVE. HE GIVES BACK TO IT RATHER THAN EXPLOIT IT FOR MONEY, POWER, OR FAME.