Editing K-os (section)

===Early career===
While attending [[York University]], k-os gained his first exposure in the music industry in 1995 when he released the single "Musical Essence" with a music video financed by a [[VideoFACT]] grant. He dropped out of the university shortly afterwards. The single was produced with friends Clarence Gruff and Kevin Risto; currently, Risto is one half of the production duo known as [[Midi Mafia]] (produced the [[50 Cent]] single "[[21 Questions]]").<ref name="ottawa" /> After winning a [[MuchMusic Video Award]] for the single, k-os was noticed by [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] player [[John Salley]], who became his manager. With the single gaining moderate success, k-os was invited to perform in the 1995 ''Hip-Hop Explosion Tour'', with other Canadian acts such as [[Rascalz]] and [[Ghetto Concept]]. Salley and [[Raphael Saadiq]] began work with k-os on his planned debut ''Missing Links'',<ref name="youth" /> eventually releasing his second single "Rise Like the Sun" in 1996. k-os suddenly withdrew from the music industry in 1996 after receiving an offer from [[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]]. k-os would later say that during this time he had already completed several albums but was dissatisfied with his music. He described his music as "pretentious and derivative," and stated at the time that he was "still trying to figure out who he was."<ref name="now1" />{{Failed verification|date=January 2010}}

He continued to live with his manager Salley in Los Angeles. Soon after, Red1 of the [[Rascalz]], whom k-os befriended at the 1995 ''Explosion Tour'', invited him to move to [[Vancouver, British Columbia]]. There he contributed a verse and chorus lines to the Rascalz' ''[[Global Warning (Rascalz album)|Global Warning]]'' album, released in 1999. He had also been invited to contribute to Rascalz' groundbreaking single "[[Northern Touch]]", but was unable to participate due to other commitments.<ref>[http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/17/40/Ent/music.html Canadian hip hop gets the Northern Touch] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091325/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/17/40/Ent/music.html |date=September 29, 2007 }}, ''[[Now (newspaper)|NOW]]'', June 4, 1998.</ref> k-os returned to the music scene by performing at the [[North by Northeast]] music festival in 1999. He took stage with the Vancouver band Namedropper.{{Failed verification|date=January 2010}}<ref name="now1" />

Inspired by [[Michael Jackson]], [[A Tribe Called Quest]], [[The Beatles]], [[The Roots]] and [[Stevie Wonder]], k-os worked on a new debut album. He described his new musical focus on "doing stuff really obscure and making music for myself."<ref>{{cite web
 |title=BET.com – The Next: K-Os 
 |url=http://www.bet.com/Music/Archives/BET.com+-+The+Next_+K-Os+1125.htm 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070330023733/http://www.bet.com/Music/Archives/BET.com%2B-%2BThe%2BNext_%2BK-Os%2B1125.htm 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-date=March 30, 2007 |publisher=[[Black Entertainment Television|BET]] 
 |access-date=October 21, 2006 }}</ref>
He recorded a demo tape and began looking for a record company to sign with, eventually settling on [[Capitol Records]]. Later, the parent company [[EMI]] transferred his record deal to another label, [[Astralwerks]], co-owned by [[Virgin Records]], after some management and scheduling issues.<ref name="info">{{cite web
 |author     = Karen Bliss
 |title      = America to re-release k-os CD
 |url        = http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Lowdown/2006/01/12/1390720-ca.html
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20070623032604/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Lowdown/2006/01/12/1390720-ca.html
 |url-status   = usurped
 |archive-date = June 23, 2007
|publisher  = JAM! Music
 |access-date = October 21, 2006
}}</ref>
After the transfer k-os was added to the roster of the Toronto-based artist management firm ''Chris Smith Management''.