Here’s the thing, k-os is the first rapper I ever liked. About 5 years ago, when I first started to explore music beyond my father’s collection and my mother’s radio stations, I listened to everything I could get my hands on. Surfing the radio dial was a big part of that too, staying up late in my room, listening to the late night DJ who thinks that nobody is listening. Among many other songs, I stumbled upon k-os’ single off his album Joyful Rebellion. The DJ said the song was called Crabbuckit, and although k-os was a hip-hop artist, he also incorporated reggae, funk and even a bit of rock. I was intrigued, because my perception of hip-hop at that point reflected the songs I’d heard like “In Da Club” by 50 Cent and “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dog. I couldn’t believe the sound that k-os achieved in less than 4 minutes. He was blending sounds to create this new direction for the genre that included flavours soul and flamenco.

The rapper was born in Toronto, Ontario and was raised by his parents there, who were Trinidadian Jehovah’s Witnesses. He moved back to Trinidad with his family when he was eight, but returned to Canada in his teens with his mother and with a fresh exposure to music. k-os’ interest in music spans from groups as diverse as A Tribe Called Quest to The Beatles, which would explain the blending of music styles. I believe this blending of styles to be the groundwork for where the genre will be heading.

5. Sunday Morning

Number five on my list comes from k-os’ third album, Atlantis: Hymns for Disco. Probably the most popular k-os song to date, and probably most easily accessible off that album. The soaring vocals on the chorus makes it shine, but still has some grit to it, kind of like a gorillaz-style track. The song is about redemtion, about how he’s been partying his whole life (“everyday is saturday night”), and he wants a second chance (“but I can’t wait for sunday morning”). But there’s something their on saturday night that keeps him going back, he just can’t stop. k-os employs the help of fellow Canadian, Sebastien Grainger on drums. Formerly of the dance/punk duo Death From Above 1979, Grainger also appears in the music video above. He plays a homeless man who is invited to play drums at a school dance somewhere in the 1980’s/90’s.

4. Dirty Water

The fourth song on this list is a collaboration k-os does with fellow Canadian songwriter Sam Roberts. The two are close friends and often back each other up while on tour. I love the vocals at the beggining, how their so drawn out and flow perfectly between singing and rapping. I’m going to let k-os’ liner notes of the Joyful Rebellion tell you how the song got written.

“Took a train to Montreal to work with Sam. By the time I got to the studio I was so tired not to mention i drank a little. So I passed out! When I woke up Sam had constructed the template. Time ran out so I took the tapes home and tried many experiments. No luck & then I gave the beds to bounce & he flipped it! We made a chorus cut and splice. And even as I write this I want to change some things. Don’t want it to be the ‘Rocksong’ and yet I don’t want to try too hard feelin’ the baseline. Of catpower-cross bone style in the second verse. Beauty on a balcony! I love the chorus how he sings it speak.”

3. Hallelujah

“Hallelujah
Babylon is falling
Babylon is falling
Hallelujah
Babylon is falling
Babylon is falling”

My number three selection is the 8th song off of k-os’ 2004 album Joyful Rebellion, Hallelujah. This song focuses on a man who is seeking the truth or God, in a cruel world that’s falling apart. When k-os sings Babylon is falling, he is referring to the Old Testament, in which the chosen people, Hebrews, we’re being made to leave their homes by the Babylonians. After decades of persercution, the Persians attacked Babylon and let the Hebrews return to Judah.

2. Valhalla

If I mentioned the title of my number two selection, most people would probably think of the level on Halo 3 or the enormous hall ruled by the god Odin, in Norse Mythology. But, Valhalla is the song found on k-os’ Atlantis: Hymns for Disco. It is the second straight album where Sam Roberts is featured, but it’s the first time Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew makes an appearance. The album version of Valhalla is great, because Sam Robert’s vocals really works well with k-os’, but this acoustic version is a cool twist. (And he’s on Craig Ferguson, which is a bonus) If you’re wondering about the chords, from what I can tell, it’s mostly variants of G and C.

1. Crabbuckit

And the number one selection is Crabbuckit, which is the song that first propelled k-os into stardom on the Canadian music scene in 2004. Now some of you may notice that there are no selections on this list from his 2002 album Exit or 2009 album Yes! Well, I don’t own Exit yet and Yes! was quite a letdown for me compared to his previous works, so I decided not to include any of that. Now back to the champion of my list.

Crabbuckit refers to the crab in the bucket syndrome, which is basically crabs who are in a constant “King of the Hill” competition. One crab at the bottom will pull down one of the crabs at the top to get himself to a higher position in the crabbuckit. This continues until all the crabs have died off from their useless fighting. This song is talking about how people in society have this desperate lust to pull others down and not let them reach their dreams and go ahead in life.