Joyful Rebellion is the second album of alternative hip hop artist k-os. It was released on August 13, 2004 in Canada by EMI and September 21, 2004 in the United States by Virgin Records. It debuted at number 7 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and was certified platinum by the CRIA, selling over 100,000 units in Canada. In 2024, the album was reissued as Joyful Rebel Lion+ with four bonus tracks for its twentieth anniversary.
The song "B-Boy Stance" won Hip Hop Recording of the Year, and Music Video of the Year at the 2004 Canadian Urban Music Awards. The album won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2005 Juno Awards, as well as Single of the Year for "Crabbuckit", and Video of the Year for "B-Boy Stance". At the 2005 MuchMusic Video Awards, "Crabbuckit" won Best Pop Video, and "Man I Used to Be" won Best Rap Video. At the 2017 Polaris Music Prize, the album won the jury vote for the Heritage Prize in the 1996-2005 category.
Overview Like Exit, Joyful Rebellion primarily focuses on k-os's negative views of the music industry, supplemented by more metaphorical lyrics.
The track "Man I Used to Be" is about a man who wants to revert to his previous self. The tracks "The Love Song" and "The Mirror" are semi-autobiographical. The song "One Blood" is an anti-war message. The song "Papercutz" is k-os's denial that Exit was his last album. "Commandante" features the opening sample of a woman speaking in Spanish on a voice mail.
Track listing
Notes In the original release, "The Mirror" is a hidden track following "Papercutz" and 2:23 of silence "Neutroniks" is only featured on the Canadian version of the album
Charts Chart (2004)PeakpositionCanadian Albums ChartTop Canadian Albums Chart Listings, billboard.com7
References