K-os commits truth to wax.

That's his goal as an artist, and his unbridled honesty is what makes Yes! the best thinking man's hip hop album in a long time. From examining pop culture to dissecting political situations, the MC poetically probes everything around him in his music. Nothing is taken at face value, and K-os isn't afraid to pose questions over eclectic beats. However, he does it with an unbreakable flow and a soulful aesthetic that's far more "indie rock" than "gangsta." That's what makes him such an enigma. If rap had a philosopher-king, it'd be K-os.

K-os sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for an exclusive interview about Yes!, playing tunes for Natalie Portman and why Lady GaGa needs to take some risks by bringing Cannibal Corpse out as her opening act…

Do you feel like super creative after DJ-ing an event like the Haiti fundraiser you recently performed at?

Ever since I started DJ-ing about two and a half years ago, I realized how much great music is out there. It's affected my music because I'm constantly comparing my music to what I love to listen to. It proves that if you continue to be a fan of music, you'll challenge yourself. When you listen to these recordings that are from '65, '71 or '84—A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul and that whole era—it's primo stuff. They're unbelievable. A lot of these hip hop songs are standards that you really need to take in and analyze so they're in your blood. That's the thing about DJ-ing. You're right; it puts you in a totally creative space.

On Yes!, you pull from so many different influences, but you still manage to make a personal sound.

It's taken awhile for that. I go with the term "musically schizophrenic." Making this music, whether it's "genre-bending" or whatever people call it, really comes from simply being in the studio and making certain decisions. I'll say, "I'm going to make a hip hop record." Then I write one song like "Mr. Telephone Man" that sounds really hip hop. After that, I'll start experimenting with various sounds. Four minutes later, it doesn't sound like a "hip hop" song, but we can't go back because it's so fun to see what you can get away with during those three-and-a-half minutes. It's like a musical heist. That's what I've been working on since the beginning of my career. On Yes!, I feel that I was able to reel myself back in. It's like when a director realizes that a scene is too long. Even though he's made successful movies and people like them, his movies get better over time because he sees how to streamline things. It's amazing what experience can do. The cellulite of the whole situation starts to fall away. Yes! tries to file it down and still take risks. However, when you listen to it, the album doesn't sound like it's all over the place.

It is a very cinematic album. Are there any films that you would liken it to?

That's a thick question, bro! It's kind of difficult. I'm going to say a Quentin Tarantino movie. I say, "movie" because I don't want to choose a specific film. I'll use Quentin as an example though. He is such a student of film that you know every single movie is in his movie. He can tell his cinematographer, "Remember that shot in Goodfellas at about 90 minutes where this happened?" [Laughs] That's how I see this record, not in the sense of the content, but in the dedication to the craft and re-using elements in a schizophrenic way so it becomes a whole new thing.

Would you say your music is culled from emotion more than anything else?

Yeah, I have this idea that before human beings had such a dedication to language, speaking and saying what they felt, they were forced to make decisions based on their personalities or in an instant based on a feeling. I feel like that's being lost in the art. The calculated mind has so much power over the inspired and artistic part of our personae that people think their music through too much. Doing what you feel is great, but sometimes it has its consequences. People might not always get what you do, or they might not be able to classify it. Feelings are communicated on a deeper level than if something's just "thought through." Hopefully, that makes the music last a long time as well. Over the years, as things come and go, I hope that some of the songs I've created last through time because they're more connected to certain feelings than they are aesthetics.

Read the rest HERE