k-os throws himself a surprise party

K-os shirks off past success; says 'Yes!' to his authentic self.
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The Great White North is a land of great obscurity. To the typical American imagination, the mention of Canada conjures up images of draft dodgers, hockey and austere landscapes. For rapper/singer/multi-instrumentalist K-os, it's home. "When people think of Canada, it's snow and open land," he lamented during a recent phone conversation. But K-os is proof that his homeland is much more.

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In the mid-aughts, K-os had two albums certified platinum in Canada. He quickly found success wasn't all he had dreamed of. It was strange, he says, "making money, and then wondering if what I was doing was even good, or if I was just being used by the music industry as a poster child for this or that." The internal struggle that accompanies success is well-documented, but feeling its grip firsthand took K-os by surprise. "You start to wonder, is this really me? And then you realize, it's not," he explains.

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K-os

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With Flobots, Trouble Andrew, Champagne Champagne. $15. 7 p.m. Tues., June 1. Masquerade, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com. Free after party with K-os DJ set. Sound Table, 483 Edgewood Ave.

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His most recent album, Yes!, is a concoction of disparate influences that was born out of his desire for a return to emotional normalcy. Now, he says, "I'm a little more cool with myself. I love myself more. Yes! was me trying to find myself in relation to music without success being the thing that I'm searching for."

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(Photo Courtesy k-os)