Kevin Brereton (born February 20, 1972), better known by his stage name k-os (/ˈkeɪ.ɒs/; "chaos"), is a Canadian alternative rapper, singer, songwriter and producer.

The lyrics frequently focus on promoting a "positive message" while at times expressing criticism of mainstream hip hop culture's obsession with money, fame and glorification of violence.

From 1996 to 2016, K-os was the third best-selling Canadian hip hop artist in Canada (behind Drake and Swollen Members).

[6] He returned to Canada with his mother in his teen years, taking up residence in Whitby, Ontario, a town east of Toronto, while attending Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute.

[citation needed] His father worked as a computer engineer and became Director of Communications for BWIA, the national Trinidadian airline, while his mother owned a cosmetics company.

[citation needed] Growing up, k-os was a fan of artists and groups as diverse as New Order, Depeche Mode, Rx Bandits, Michael Jackson, Boogie Down Productions, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Beatles.

[9] After winning a MuchMusic Video Award for the single, k-os was noticed by NBA player John Salley, who became his manager.

With the single gaining moderate success, k-os was invited to perform in the 1995 Hip-Hop Explosion Tour, with other Canadian acts such as Rascalz and Ghetto Concept.

Soon after, Red1 of the Rascalz, whom k-os befriended at the 1995 Explosion Tour, invited him to move to Vancouver, British Columbia.

He had also been invited to contribute to Rascalz' groundbreaking single "Northern Touch", but was unable to participate due to other commitments.

[failed verification][5] Inspired by Michael Jackson, A Tribe Called Quest, The Beatles, The Roots and Stevie Wonder, k-os worked on a new debut album.

The album incorporated several music styles, and was described as a "carefully blended pastiche of hip-hop, soul, rock, R&B, and a touch of reggae" by Stylus Magazine.

"[18] The album maintained the same formula as Exit; k-os himself later described Joyful Rebellion as, to quote the Canadian Press, "a rant against the state of hip hop".

The debut single, "B-Boy Stance", was followed by "Crabbuckit", "Man I Used to Be", and "The Love Song", each accompanied by a music video.

[21] In a relatively quiet dispute, some lyrics from the single "B-Boy Stance" were interpreted as an insult on the Toronto-based rapper K'naan.

In the single, k-os rapped "They took cameras to Africa for pictures to rhyme/Over; Oh, yes, the great pretenders", and "Religious entertainers who want to be life savers".

Later on k-os told younger brother Josh that he believed it was a way for K'naan to 'get attention' very close to the release date of his album and that Sol guy, who k-os left to be managed by Chris Smith Management, pit the two against each other[22] K'naan responded in the song "Revolutionary Avocado" with the lyrics: "You the all-knowing with a beer bottle/Wishing you was Plato and me Aristotle?/...Suburban negro turned hip-hop hero/Is there a reason he really hates me, though?

[20] During the year, k-os also recorded a version of John Lennon's song "Jealous Guy" for the Make Some Noise campaign of the human rights organization Amnesty International.

k-os stated that he was angered by Richards referring to him in the review[24] as a "crossover pop artist disguised as a true-school b-boy".

He was also disillusioned when he remembered he had granted an interview to Richards when he was a teenager, and that they had similar small town Trinidadian upbringings.

Nervousness about the experimental nature of Atlantis and the passive aggressiveness of Canadian media most likely led to his blow up.

[26] After receiving advice from a psychologist on Myspace k-os later removed the comments, stating in an interview that it was a "personal situation"[27] between himself and Richards and he was angered because the two had previously "had many discussions on music".

[28] He also remarked again upon Jason Richards, comparing him to the "Arnold Jackson" character played by Gary Coleman on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.

[28] Jones stated in an interview that he thought k-os' comments were a "lame response", and that "a five-year-old could come up with something wittier".

[37] In October 2009, k-os paired up with the Stephen Lewis Foundation and their campaign A Dare to Remember to raise money for HIV/AIDS affected families in Africa.

The CD portion of the release additionally included "Catch 22", "Faith Part 2" featuring Drake, and two versions of "Holy Cow".

On October 30, 2012, k-os announced via Facebook that the album release date would have to be pushed back due to "sample clearance issues".

On November 5, 2012, K-OS announced the release date for his double LP entitled, Black on Blonde via Twitter and Facebook.

The follow-up single "Nyce 2 Know Ya" was released on iTunes on October 9, 2012, and peaked at number 47 on the Canadian Hot 100.

The mixtape was produced when k-os visited his family's countryside home near Whitby, Ont., about thirty minutes outside Toronto.