5 surprising things we learned about k-os on the 20th anniversary of Joyful Rebellion

This year, k-os (born Kevin Brereton) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his sophomore album, Joyful Rebellion, which catapulted him to stardom with hit singles like Crabbuckit and Man I Used to Be.

The Toronto-born rapper, singer-songwriter and producer is also working on a new album that's being executive produced by Drake, so this was the perfect time for him to sit down for a conversation with Q's Tom Power.

Here are five surprising things we learned from their conversation.

His Trinidadian uncle invented the quadraphonic steelpan

Growing up, k-os spent a significant part of his early life in Trinidad, where his family hails from. His uncle Rudolph Charles (a.k.a. The Hammer) was a pioneering steelpan drummer who invented the quadraphonic steelpan.

"Trinidad was pretty rich in oil, so what would happen is these oil bins would get leftover," k-os explains. "Kids would go down to the beach or wherever, and there'd be all these leftover huge oil bins, and they would just cut the top off and make an instrument."

On a whim, k-os's uncle took one of these oil bins and dipped it in chrome, which changed the sound it produced.

"It's all innovators, all people just making it up as they went along — that was sort of my heritage," k-os says. "In the formative years, nothing can really compare to watching a family member make an instrument because then you're already on your way to be like, 'There's no rules.'"

His career has been punctuated by 'six degrees of Jehovah's Witnesses'

k-os was raised in a strict Jehovah's Witness household, which meant he wasn't allowed to listen to certain music, go to parties or hang out with people from outside his faith. Though he's no longer a Jehovah's Witness, he jokes that he's experienced "six degrees of Jehovah's Witnesses" throughout his career, due to the serendipitous kinships he's struck up with other famous Jehovah's Witnesses along the way. Keep reading to find out more.

Two-time NBA champion John Salley took him under his wing

In 1995, k-os's debut single Musical Essence caught the attention of two-time NBA champion John Salley, who'd later become an important mentor to him. k-os was on a cross-Canada tour with Rascalz when his mom informed him that Salley kept calling the house. "I was like, 'Mom, that's this kid, Drew. He just prank calls everybody,'" k-os remembers.

But after finding out the caller had a North Carolina area code, k-os decided to call him back. "[John was] like, 'Yeah, I'm doing a movie with Whoopi Goldberg in North Carolina. I came across your demo tape and I'm going to be playing for the Raptors. I'd love to sit with you…. My wife thinks you have an amazing voice and we'd love to do this, but we want to meet your parents. What do they think of all this?'"

k-os told Salley his parents probably wouldn't go for it due to them being Jehovah's Witnesses.

"He looks at his wife and she just starts laughing," k-os recalls. 'I'm like, 'What's so funny?' She's like, 'John grew up as a Jehovah's Witness as well.'"

Prince gave him some of the best advice of his career

k-os first met Prince after Nelly Furtado invited him to one of Prince's shows in Toronto, where the Purple Rain singer was living at the time.

In 2001, Prince became a Jehovah's Witness as a result of his friendship with bassist Larry Graham (who's also Drake's uncle). The night k-os met Prince backstage, he also met Graham who asked him what congregation he was in.

"I was like, 'Oh, so Prince is here — this is a religious intervention,'" k-os recalls with a laugh. "[Prince] came out in a red jumpsuit sucking on a lollipop. It was like out of a movie."

Prince had heard k-os's music and was a fan. After chatting for a bit, he asked what record label k-os was with and gave him some advice: stockpile all the music the label didn't use and put it in a vault.

"Eventually he got to the question of like, 'Why aren't you Jehovah's Witness anymore?'" k-os says. "And I was like, 'Well, I kind of grew up in it.' … [Prince] lived his life and then became a Jehovah's Witness — I never had that opportunity and I think he got that."

Drake paid for his upcoming record in cash

Sometime next year, k-os will release a new album, Everyone In Your Dream Is You, which was executive produced by Drake. It was also paid for in cash by Drake.

"It was a lot of money," k-os says. "Like duffel bags of cash…. Drake's condition was, 'I'll give you this money, but please make a k-os record. Please don't make a record in your basement. Go get the string sections. Go get your friends. Get Bryan Adams on there. Do it, make a k-os record. Make an Exit or Joyful Rebellion as it would sound now.' And I think, knock on wood, I did do that. Big shout out to him."

The full interview with k-os is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with k-os produced by Catherine Stockhausen.