Ko Kapches (born c. 1986), better known by the stage name KO ( ), is a Canadian musician whose music is a mix of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

, hip hop,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and R&BAdams, Bill, "REVIEWS: KO", ''Ground Control Magazine'', Sep 14, 2009
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010 —a sound which KO refers to as "urban-funk and urban-folk".
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010KO's bio from his official website
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010

Early life and musical career

KO was born into a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

family in Toronto;Infantry, Ashante, "Music lovers, meet Ko: Short name, long story", ''Toronto Store'', Aug 23, 2009
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010Schneider, Jason, "KO comes up swinging", ''The Waterloo Record'', Oct 6, 2010
Last retrieved November 10, 2017. his mother was a

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

for the Royal Ontario Museum and his father a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

lawyer. Raised in the Toronto neighbourhood of Riverdale, KO grew up in a musical environment; "we always had guitars around," KO said in an interview. "I even went for guitar lessons, but after two or three lessons my teacher told me that my hands were too small and that I would never be a guitar player. I never went back."Grainger, Lia "Toronto's KO turns troubles into tracks", ''Canwest News Source'', Aug 28, 2009
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010 While staying with friends involved in hip hop, he began to experiment with recording guitar over drum beats and eventually laid some tracks in a recording studio. His parents recognized that KO was becoming serious about his music and helped to connect him with someone in the music business. By 2006 he was signed by Atlantic Records New York, along with their Canadian affiliate

Warner Music Canada Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...

later that same year.Flanagan, Marty, "Interview: KO", ''Showcase'', Aug 28, 2009
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010 In 2019 he started working with manager Ivan Albery Powell and Great Music Agency. He release the hit song Leaving California and a video for Rise Up later that same year.

Musical style and influences

KO's musical style borrows elements from hip hop, folk, rock, R&B and reggae. His songs mainly feature vocals and acoustic guitar played over hip hop beats and his sound has been compared to that of musician

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka ...

.Jones, Kevin, "Concert reviews - De La Soul / Notes to Self / KO Kapches Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON August 23", ''Exclaim!'', Oct, 2009
Last retrieved November 10, 2017. Although he experimented with rapping early in his music career, he has stated in an interview that he wasn't impressed by his own rapping ability and has focused his vocal efforts on singing.McMahon, Rob, "Ko knows best", ''Metro'', Sep 3, 2009
Last retrieved November 10, 2017. KO is a fan of

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

and has cited Kurt Cobain as a musical influence — "Kurt Kobain" is also the title of a single from his debut album. In the bio section of KO's official website he also states that he is "still influenced by Toronto's underground rap community" and lists

, Kid Rock, Ani DiFranco,

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

as some of his favourite artists.

Debut album

KO's debut album ''Let's Blaze'' was released Aug 25, 2009; he went on to

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' ( ...

for some of Snoop Dogg's tour dates the fall of that same year. KO's debut single "Capable" was picked up by local Toronto

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

radio station 102.1 The Edge and he was nominated for the station's 2010

CASBY Award The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The ...

s in the categories of "Favourite New Album" and "Favourite New Artist".List of 2010 CASBY Award winners and nominees from the official website of 102.1 The Edge
Last retrieved Oct 11, 2010 He also opened for De La Soul in 2010.

Video production

KO edits his own videos and posts them to his YouTube channel. His video posts include official versions of his videos for the tracks "Capable", "Let's Blaze", "The Ballad of Jimmy Roscoe", "Kurt Kobain", "Bourbon (Crack Song)", and "Moving Mountains" as well as remixes and live versions of various songs, both of his own work and others.

Discography

Albums

*'' Let's Blaze'' (2009) *'' Welcome to T Dot'' (2010) *'' Corrupted Nostalgia'' (2017) *Unplugged at Cherry Beach (2018) *''Bermuda Triangle'' (2020)

Singles

References

External links

KO's official website

KO's profile on Atlantic Records' website
{{Authority control Canadian alternative rock musicians Canadian folk rock musicians Canadian hip hop singers Canadian singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Toronto Rap rock musicians Year of birth uncertain