by SCOTT C

Many believe that Toronto's K-OS has produced a radical departure from hip hop as we know it with his new LP Joyous Rebellion, but I'm pretty sure he simply made the record he wanted to make. Here's a guy who clearly loves the power of music in all its forms, recognizing the connection between soulful expression, hip hop and every genre you can think of. The Mirror spoke to K-OS over the phone from Winnipeg.

Mirror: I've often wondered if and when musicality would make its way back into hip hop. As someone who clearly demonstrates this with ease, do you think that this is something that will catch on - or do you even care?

K-OS: I hope that the mentality catches on. I believe that spirit informs matter, meaning that anything that you can make, whether it's music or a chair or a car, the mentality behind that thing will always dictate how well that thing is created. It's like how Bob Marley and Led Zeppelin have become the template for a lot of people to jump off of, but what we really need to start getting behind is what they were thinking when they made the music. There's always going to be a revivalist, post-new-punk, retro-hip-hop thing going on, but does it ever sound as good as the originals? Maybe, but not likely. A lot of kids are just trying to get their minds around how it sounds. But do I want the mentality to catch on? Being aware of yourself, and being open to every type of music, exploring everything as much as you can and not being afraid to break stereotypes? Yes. I'd love it if that happened, but if it means that a bunch of artists are going to come out sounding a bit more organic, trying to say something conscious, that could be a problem. What am I really doing? Hopefully, I keep making it about the message, so people will say, "He made this music because he thinks like this," not because I stuck to a formula.

With Peter Elkas and Shawn Hewitt at Club Soda on Friday, Oct. 29, 9:30 p.m., $15.21, all ages

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