I’m just gonna put this out there, and you can do with it whatever you want—k-os is the best all-around hip-hop musician you’ve never heard of.
Okay, I thought that was going to come off as this huge, bold statement, but it’s reading a little vanilla bean. I don’t mean it to. In terms of artists who legitimately care about the poetry of rap as well as the legitimacy of the music, few do it better than k-os. He seems to have a perfect grasp on how to walk the tightrope between true, gritty, hip-hop culture and catchy, marketable hip-pop. Usually, we have to choose one or the other. It’s Black Eyed Peas or Mos Def, Eminem or Talib Kweli. Why should we have to choose? Why can’t we just have hip-hop music that does everything?
Well, we can, I guess. And when I say everything, I mean everything. In his music, k-os dabbles in funk, rock, pop, reggae, and any other genre he can get his hands on. Sometimes he raps, and sometimes he sings. He plays the guitar, writes all his own music, and produces a ton of it, too. There aren’t enough musicians like him in today’s industry, sadly, which is why I’m taking the time to make sure you know who, exactly, he is.
In 2004, his “Joyful Rebellion” album really put him on the map with hits like “B-Boy Stance” and the invariably catchy “Crabbuckit.” Between that album and its 2006 follow-up, “Atlantis,” k-os sold over two million records in Canada (his home country) alone. 2009’s “Yes” wasn’t quite as successful commercially, but it’s still a hell of a record, with hot tracks like “4,3,2,1” and “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman.”
For the hip-hop fan looking for a taste of literally everything, take a sip of k-os and tell me honestly you don’t like the flavor. He might not be somebody TMZ follows around with their Flip cameras, but his stuff is more than good enough for regular airtime on your iPod. Then, it’s quite possible he’ll become the best all-around hip-hop musician you have heard of, and I’ll tell you I told you so.
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Musicians seem to be born with the natural ability to collaborate. Everyday creative forces are uniting to unleash awesomeness on the world. It has been 24 years and I am still in love with the Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith partnership that birthed “Walk This Way”. Now, if only the world’s politicians could learn to collaborate. I won’t hold my breath on that one.
James Mercer + Danger Mouse = Broken Bells
I turn to Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton and James “he’s from The Shins” Mercer for another prime example of a well done collaboration. Danger Mouse is one of those musical genius producer types that has the Midas touch. He has brought his expertise to The Black Keys, Beck, Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley. On his own, Danger Mouse rocks the house. Add to that, the front man of The Shins, Mr. James Mercer. Mercer’s incredible songwriting chops and haunting vocals have established him as a pillar in the indie rock community. Now for some simple math. James Mercer + Danger Mouse = Broken Bells.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the Broken Bells project and the self-titled album is finally available for the masses. For two years the guys have forged their styles together and what we receive is a beautiful album that is both refreshing and interesting. The lead single “The High Road” has been out for a few months and it has been a mainstay in my personal play lists. An upcoming performance at SXSW will do nothing but add to the excitement around this creative project.
KC’s Personal Picks: “The High Road”, “The Ghost Inside” and “Vaporize”
Check out the video for “The High Road”
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There’s something you should know about celebrities. No matter what kind of persona they might show on stage or on TV or on the playing field, you’ll never know with 100% certainty who that person really is until you actually get some time to sit down and have a conversation with them. You’d be surprised how many celebrities would disappoint you, no matter how big a fan you’ve been over the years. But on the flipside of that, there are some people you might not have cared anything about previously, but when you meet them for the first time you’re instantly a huge fan.
Bob Crawford, bassist of the Avett Brothers, is somebody you probably don’t know anything about. But he’s somebody you’re going to love.
While Seth and Scott Avett are the heart and soul of the Avett Brothers—a country/bluegrass/pop/rock fusion group making loads of waves in the last year with their first major label album, “I and Love And You”—Crawford has proven to be an integral part of the band for the better part of eight years. Now that they’re seeing some serious success, Crawford explains what the major-label process has been like.
“We didn’t know what to expect going into it,” he said, “and I know sometimes there can be negative connotations associated with major labels. But it has probably exceeded what we thought it could be… We’ve always worked with a small team, and what Columbia and American have done is they’ve added to that team with another really small group of people that we work with on the other side. Everybody’s really enthusiastic about what we’re doing, and everybody wants us to succeed.”
And so far, succeed they have. Rolling Stone Magazine named them “The Artist to Watch” for 2009, obviously helping them garner a lot of momentum.
“That’s always exciting, but in a way it was like it came kind of late,” Crawford chuckled about the honor. “We had been around for eight years when that happened. We’d been trying to get in front of [Rolling Stone] for years, and they kept denying it. Then all of a sudden they like it.”
He laughed about the entire process of what it means to reach success in the fickle music business, and in the end he’s really just thankful. “In reality, though, you just can’t deny what a thrill it is to see that happen.”
It wasn’t always this easy for the Avett Brothers, though. Because of their hard-to-classify musical genre, there weren’t many major labels willing to take a risk on them due to fears that they wouldn’t appeal to a broad enough audience.
“It was a hurdle for the labels and for the industry,” Crawford explained. “In fact, we were told that many years ago when we were invited to play for RCA in Nashville. We were in a little board room with three executives watching us, and the woman told us, ‘The way demographics go, we just need to put you in this little box. Would you be willing to do other people’s material?’ And we were like, ‘Well, we’d rather not,’ and that was it. So I guess it was a hurdle for the labels, but it was never a hurdle for us musically because we’ve always just done what we do.”
Now, Crawford and the Avett Brothers are starting perhaps their biggest tour yet, running all over America and part of Europe between now and mid-summer, culminating in their third appearance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee. They’ll be one of several artists rocking several stages that weekend—stages that will see Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Weezer, Zac Brown Band, and damn near every other significant musical artist in the business. It’s like the NBA All-Star Weekend for musicians.
But as the 2010 tour gets underway, Crawford is forced to leave his wife and four-month-old daughter behind—making this the hardest work trip he’s ever had to make.
“I didn’t even look at the schedule, so I have no idea what’s coming up,” Crawford said in response to a question about what he was looking forward to on the upcoming tour. “I know we’re playing at some point with Gov’t Mule, and that’s really exciting—but I have been absolutely blind to what was coming because I’ve been so focused on being at home and being at home with [my daughter].”
And here comes the part where you fall in love with a guy you never even knew you cared about. Family and music are this man’s two passions, but when asked how the two compare, he didn’t even hesitate.
“I’m so thankful for all the great things that have happened (with the Avett Brothers) and all the hard work we’ve put in, but this is your family. It can’t even compare,” Crawford explained, adding, “This could all go to crap in a heartbeat—I mean, I hope it doesn’t, and I’m counting on it not—but there’s nothing that can compare to holding my daughter… I knew that when she came into the world, that was the greatest moment of my life, no matter what we ever do with the Avett Brothers.”
Fans of Crawford and his group get to root for a genuinely good guy, and from what we understand the actual Avett brothers are the same way. Yes, they’re on the up-and-up in the music industry, writing critically acclaimed music and playing for increasingly huge audiences, but they’re also really good people. There’s no pretension, no sense of entitlement—just three guys who love making music and absolutely have their priorities straight. If you weren’t a fan before reading this, you should be now. And if you still aren’t a fan, maybe picking up their album or going to see their show would change your mind.
As if it needs any changing.
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Civil Twilight – “Letters From the Sky”
Just having the word “Twilight” in its title, this song probably upped it’s Google hits by 10,000% in the 12-17 year-old female demographic, but you don’t have to love Edward Cullen to love this song. Trust us, this has nothing to do with Stephanie Meyer. Instead, we get a haunting piano piece with a smooth, driving drumbeat and emotional vocals typical of something you’d hear out of Coldplay. Except it’s not Coldplay, so it has that going for it.
Mojo Morgan – “Million $ Check”
If you took the sound of somebody breaking wind and ran in through a synthesizer, you’d have the surprisingly catchy bass line of this new cut from Mojo Morgan. Clean guitars supplement that musical elephant stomp for an R&B track that can’t do anything other than make you smile and tap the hell out of your toes.
David Nail – “Turning Home”
We don’t like our country music to lean too heavily towards pop music, but we also don’t like it to sound like someone named Billy Bob Joe Robbie is singing lead. Somewhere in the middle is ideal, and David Nail, whose “Red Light” is up for a CMA,” absolutely “nails” that happy medium (get it?). “Turning Home” is a nice relaxing country ballad with just enough rhythm to make you hit the steering wheel with the butt of your palm when the chorus kicks in.
Sometimes you come across an artist that has “it.” Whatever “it” is, you know they have it. The song-writing is unique, the lyrics are powerful and the songs are simple. Somewhat comparable to the reverence you would find with Ray LaMontagne or Bon Iver, Mason Jennings provides you with an experience that is relate-able yet completely distinctive in its own right. His style is predominately focused on a classic folk sound mixing in qualities similar to that of Neil Young and Bob Dylan, but other times incorporates a faster-paced rock sound (while still keeping the signature folk qualities.)
His latest release, Blood of Man, keeps true to this signature style with a good mix of tracks that span the spectrum of his many style qualities. Songs like “City of Ghosts” and the title track “Blood of Man” use simplicity and commanding lyrics to create a sound that demands attention. Songs like “Ain’t No Friend of Mine” and “Lonely Road” exhibit a different quality altogether incorporating both rock and folk sounds. It’s sort of like if Bob Dylan listened the White Stripes just before going on stage. Pretty awesome, right?
Mason Jennings was recently signed to Jack Johnson’s record label, Brushfire Records, after the two toured together in the earlier part of the decade, which isn’t hard to believe considering both are skilled song-writers with somewhat similar qualities in style. Also, coincidentally, the two were both born in Hawaii (while Jennings moved to Philadelphia as a child.) So they are both Hawaii-ers. Or Hawaii-ese. Or Hawaii people. Whichever.
Check out the mini-documentary on his new album:
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Buy the album:
Like Mason Jennings? Check out Bon Iver!
Thanks Erin!
