K-os

While hip-hop isn't generally a genre that lends itself very well to concert recordings, word of a live K-os disc shouldn't be all that unsettling, given the MC's line straddling body of work, and the multifaceted rap mainstay got a chance to put that catalogue on display recently as part of the Much Music Presents series. As is customary, cuts are re-imagined to varying extents, largely receiving an energetic boost from the show's many detailed instrumental inserts, like the dash of Radiohead's "Reckoner" that touches up "Electrik Heat" or a brief "C.R.E.A.M." riff accentuating the equally disheartening "Emcee Murdah." Fellow Juno winner Shad steps up for a shining "freestyle" battle on "B-Boy Stance," and the audience even gets in on the act, singing hit single "Sunday Morning." Pleasure turns to a bit of misfortune, however, on a Prince of Persia-styled rendition of the once standout "Uptown Girl" and on "Catch 22, which features a misguided anti-industry diatribe more properly suited to liner notes. But these are two of the few regrettable moments on an otherwise solid live offering.