Rui-Long Monico - Geneva // USA Conexion

K-OS: Exit (2003)
Label: Astralwerks/Emd
Genre: Hip Hop/Soul

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Tracklist :
1. Intro
2. Fantastique
3. Call Me
4. Heaven Only Knows
5. Superstarr pt. 1
6. Freeze
7. The Anthem
8. Patience
9. Higher
10. Masquerade
11. Follow Me
12. Superstarr pt. 2
13. Neutroniks
14. Superstarr pt. Zero

2003 wasn't a good year for Hip Hop. With Gayzino, Fiddy Cent or Lil "I have an oral problem" Jon on top of the charts, little was left for the Hip Hop purist. Common, Talib Kweli or Mos Def disappointed and weren't as good as before while the Bling Bling philosophy reached its apex.

While I do appreciate Crunk music in the clubs, I'd rather listen to a more intellectually challenging form of rap when I'm just chilling or cruising. When that Exit cd landed on my desk, I wasn't expecting anything. To be honest, I didn't even know who that guy was. A brief search on the almighty Google sends me on the Astralwerks (the best indie label for Hip Hop, House or Electronica) website. There I don't learn much except that K-OS is from Toronto, Canada.

Anyway, Exit is exactly what I was waiting for. With deeply conscious lyrics enveloped into a complex and sublime audio architecture, Exit is crafted with enough maturity that it is a real pleasure to listen to every tracks. K-OS also makes sure that he changes his style from one song to another to prevent boredom.

As soon as the quick intro fades away, the unpolished and weird beat of Fantastique kicks in while K-OS drops a really cool anti-mainstream text. The scratches in the end of the song are also more than welcomed. Call Me, flirts with the Soul that Lauryn Hill affectionate. K-OS, showing his versatile skills, sings beautifully during the entire song about his personal enlightenment over a quiet guitar riff. On the beatless acoustic Heaven Only Knows, he flows naturally and tells us about those secrets that can only be seen by a superior force. Another personal favorite is Patience, the soothing tranquility that emanes from this song brings you to another world.

There is no filler in Exit and even though it's not a classic or revolutionary album, I highly recommend it to every fan of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest or Common.