k-os is a 54 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada whose full-length studio debut Exit alongside the sophomore effort Joyful Rebellion & Atlantis: Hymns for Disco cemented himself as a dominant force in the Canadian hip hop scene despite releasing his debut single in 1996. Yes! we well as BLack on BLonde & Can’t Fly Without Gravity would all be welcomed to mixed reception, returning over a decade after the latter to have Drake oversee the creation of his 2nd extended play.
The self-produced “Still #1” opens up with k-os over a boom bap instrumental making the observation of there being no blacks in power around his parts leading into “OK Corral” letting this woman know she’s not the only one who wants to shoot his firearm. “Eureka!” comes through with a cross between “Beat It” by the late Michael Jackson & “Hey Ya!” by André 3000 talking about being loved despite his ugliness just before flexing that he has the “Golden Touch”, leaning towards a Velvet Underground vibe.
“i would never.” winds down the last few moments of BLackneck amplifying the rock influences we heard moments ago, this time drawing inspiration from The Hives so he can make a promise to not even attempt at steal someone else’s girl because he believes there’s already too much beauty in the world as there is while the 2nd & final single “Guns&Roses” talks about cutting rappers up like it’s chop suey, throwing it back to the Joyful Rebellion days. The closing track “Hootenanny” sends off the EP with a 3 & a half outro reminiscent to De La Soul.
It really isn’t much of a surprise Drake financially backed BLackneck considering k-os has always been one of his biggest musical influences & the fact they did a song together back in 2011 called “Faith”. Even if Drizzy’s detractors choose to put his involvement as executive producer to the side, Kheaven made up for the lukewarm reception that’s defined his work since Atlantis: Hymns for Disco by reminding us all of his talents whether it’s his varied production style or him becoming the change he wants to see.
Score: 3.5/5
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