Hot disc: K-os, The Trill: A Journey So Far

The Trill: A Journey So Far (EMI) is a condensed collection of K-os’ sprawling pastiche, a compendium of singles and album standouts that listens like a mix-tape (remember those?) you might make for a friend to prove that K-os has the chops.

Given K-os’ meandering list of influences, The Trill juts through any number of styles and forms. From straight hip-hop insistence on tracks like “B-Boy Stance” and “Neutroniks,” to rhythmic pop/R&B on “Man I Used To Be,” and the flamenco flared rhyme flow of “Follow Me,” K-os toes so many musical lines he does pirouettes without a pivot. Like a trill straddling two notes, K-os’ collective output is chaotic. But The Trill demonstrates how a career of varied output can culminate in a hit arsenal.

The needle touches down on “Crabbuckit,” that inescapable tune of 2004. With its seriously cool, bass-walkin’, hand-clappin’ and refrain-heavy rhythm you can’t help but move when that sax starts squealing. And why not? Lyrics like “it’s a conniption fit from the microphone flit,” force you straight into sweet lawlessness. It’s hard to put your finger on the song’s genre, but who cares anyway?

The Trill draws heavily from Exit and Joyful Rebellion, albums where K-os rhymes complex (on tracks like “Heaven Only Knows”) through “melodical, prodigal flows” and “hypnotical blows to brain pieces” and you’re like No he didn’t!

Meanwhile, “Dance In Your Car” is a fresh offering that opens with a “Let’s Go Crazy”-style prayer and goes on to jock Prince’s bizarre aural aesthetic while pushing it through a jamrock breakdown, screeching electric guitars and orchestral arrangements atop a busy break-beat. Dig.

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