Dr. Ian Malcolm – There. Look at this. See? See? I’m right again. Nobody could’ve predicted that Dr. Grant would suddenly, suddenly jump out of a moving vehicle.
Dr. Ellie Sattler – Alan? Alan!
Dr. Ian Malcolm – There’s, another example. See, here I’m now by myself, uh, er, talking to myself. That’s, that’s chaos theory.

And with those words, culled from 1993’s cinematic masterpiece, Jurassic Park, I was first introduced to chaos theory.  What the *hell* are you talking about Train? Everybody relax, it’s just an intro for my boy – wait for it, wait for it – K-os (pronounced ‘chaos’!) who’s been spinning musical theories(!) of his own for a hot minute now.  I first caught wind of the Canadian emcee/singer/poet back in ‘04 when I picked up his second album, Joyful Rebellion, and was immediately struck by the innovative genre-bending talents of Mr. Kevin Brereton.  Not just a rapper, K-os dabbles in funk, reggae, rock and a little soul music when the mood strikes him.  Obviously he’s striking a chord somewhere – the man is a superstar in his native Canada, winning multiple Juno awards (similar to the Grammys) over the past few years and enjoying platinum status on his last two albums.  His fourth album Yes! drops today (4/14) and I’m hoping that he starts getting a little love in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

As a quick aside – it seems like there is so much good music coming from our Northern neighbors right now.  Dream Canadian collabo? Win Butler trading verses with K-os, K’naan beatboxing in the background, Metric on guitars, Apollo Ghosts on accordion, Great Lake Swimmers on percussion all while Spencer Krug plays about 18 other different instruments all at once (we know that man can do it all).  If someone out there in musicland can go ahead and get started on setting on setting this up, it would be much appreciated, but I won’t hold my breath.

Back to the lecture at hand. According to K-os, he chose Yes! as an album title because “it means being in a comfort zone and being okay with trying new things because I’m secure about what I’ve done and where I’m going and let’s just never be afraid to try new things.” I can respect that, and after hearing Yes! I can definitely say that this sentiment rings true on the album.  Included below are two jams from the new album as well as a song from Joyful Rebellion and Atlantis: Hymns For Disco respectively.  On a personal note, ‘I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman’ is especially jamtastic for me as it combines my love of great samples (Phantom Planet’s ‘California’) with my obsession, I mean, immense respect for Natalie Portman.  But enough rambling, crank those speakers and create a little K-os of your own. Check it:

K-os – I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman

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K-os – 4 3 2 1

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K-os – The Love Song

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K-os – Sunday Morning

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Yes! is available now wherever good music is sold.

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B-B-B-Bonus vid! I don’t know how many more opportunities I’m ever going to get to combine rap with Natalie Portman, so here’s a classic vid that was seems like it was made for this exact moment in time.