If you are not familiar with the T-dot and its serious Hip-Hop game, then now is the perfect time to become familiar.  “What is the t-dot?” you may be asking- well it’s Toronto, Ontario, Canada and for quite some time the Canadian, more specifically the Toronto Hip-Hop scene has been thriving.  This time it’s Toronto native (by way of Trinidad) K-Os, an acronym for knowledge of self, with his 3^rd release Atlantis: Hymns for Disco.  If the name K-Os sounds familiar to you, perhaps you remember his b-boy anthem from 2003 “Superstar Pt. Zero” on his debut album Exit. But please don’t make the mistake of classifying K-Os as a “one hit wonder”- it’s actually quite the opposite.  His first two albums Exit and Joyful Rebellion garnered him 3 Juno awards (the Canadian equivalent to the Grammy), 4 MuchMusic Awards, 6 Canadian Urban Music Awards, a Source Award and a Grammy nomination.  And Atlantis could possibly be his best work yet.

The artist who can sing as well as emcee is not one that you see in large numbers, and K-Os is one of them.  I am not talking about the annoying and shameful singing that some rappers do on hooks, or pop collaborations; I am talking about singing on a level that is appreciated and melodic.  Nor is the emceeing that I am talking about on an elementary level, it is emceeing on a high level that real emcees will respect and admire; it is not rapping for raps sake.  The vocal talent is backed by music that is pulled from a number of different musical genres to put together Hymns for Disco.  Naturally there is Hip-Hop, with some classic break beats, some rock riffs on guitar here and there, along side of some folk acoustic guitar.  This, too, is attributed to the talents of K-Os who is the producer of the album as well, playing keyboards and guitar.

Atlantis: Hymns for Disco is a very personal album, but not filled with songs of turmoil and sadness, but more revelation, self-reflection and self-actualization.  It is about a man being aware of the troubles of life, accepting them and dealing with them, wrapped and packaged as Atlantis. Do the knowledge; not only will you not be disappointed, but you will come back here to say thank you.