Kevin Brereton was born on 20 February 1972 in Toronto. He has two younger brothers. Kevin’s father was a minister at GTA congregations of Trinidadian Jehovah’s Witnesses. The family moved to Trinidad when the boy was in third grade. That’s where Brereton discovered the world of music.
After a few years, Kevin and his mother returned to Canada. He attended Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute. Brereton’s father stayed in Trinidad for some time. He was a communication director of BWIA. Later, he joined the family in Canada. Kevin’s mother had her own cosmetics company.
When Brereton was a teenager, he was a fan of such artists as Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson, New Order, and The Beatles.
In 1992, he moved to Ottawa and attended Carleton University for one semester. Then the artist returned to Toronto and enrolled in York University. Kevin made friends with one of the members of Pocket Dwellers, who recommended him to consider a career in the music business.
Kevin came up with a pseudonym k-os. Initially, his fans thought that it meant Knowledge of Self. But in one of the interviews, the artist revealed that it stands for Kevin's Original Sound.
K-os enjoys working with different music genres, among which are rap, reggae, rock, and funk. The singer writes his own lyrics. At concerts, he uses live music, which isn’t too popular among hip-hop artists. Sometimes, k-os plays the guitar or keyboards himself.
The first popularity came to Kevin in 1993, when he released a single "Musical Essence". Three years later, another single, "Rise Like the Sun", came out. The singles didn’t make it into the charts, and Brereton left the show business for some time. He explained that he needed time to find a new style.
In 1999, Kevin worked with other artists for some time and then disappeared once more.
In 2000, k-os finally released his debut LP, Exit. Even though it didn’t sell too many copies, the critics gave positive reviews to the album. VideoFACT sponsored music videos for singles "Musical Essence" and "Heaven Only Knows". The latter reached the 34th spot on the Canadian Singles Chart. After the album’s release, k-os and India.Arie went on a tour of the USA. About 40 thousand copies of the LP were sold in the USA and 27,000 in Canada. Many fans wanted to book k-os for private events.
In 2004, the artist recorded the second LP, Joyful Rebellion. It earned platinum status in Canada. The singer for nominated for Canadian Urban Music Awards four times. The same year, he earned two awards for the single "B-Boy Stance".
The next LP, Atlantis: Hymns for Disco, came out in 2006 in Canada. The rest of the world saw it in 2007. The album earned platinum status in Canada. It debuted on top of Digital Albums and came in 5th on Current Albums. The LP mixed a variety of genres.
In 2009, the singer presented his fourth LP, Yes! After the release, he embarked on a tour of Canada. K-os wasn’t selling tickets. His fans were donating the money to charity. Later, k-os joined The Stephen Lewis Foundation and participated in A Dare to Remember campaign to help people in Africa, who suffer from AIDS.
In 2010, k-os performed at the closing of the Olympic Games in Vancouver.
In 2013, the singer released his new LP, BLack on BLonde. It featured such popular singles as "The Dog Is Mine" and "Nyce 2 Know Ya". The album climbed to the 16th spot of the Canadian Albums Chart.
In 2015, k-os presented a new LP Can't Fly Without Gravity. Soon after the release, he recorded a mixtape Views From the Stix.
Even though he tends to take long pauses, k-os continues recording hits and performing live.
