Munich band of the week: “Kid Os” – Munich

A desperate look in the mirror. Sweat appears on Kid O’s forehead. Cut. He hits a red car in a workshop with a sledgehammer. “Quit” is the name of the new single from Munich rapper Kid Os. He wrote it while he was still working shifts – “I really felt like I had no life.” The message: “If you don’t love what you do, quit your job today.”

“Most people call me Os,” the 25-year-old introduces himself. Gold chain around the neck, rhinestones on the ears. Kid Os, born Osvaldo Armando, used to be a passionate hip-hop dancer – he started rapping eight years ago. His style? “I always say I’m a full middle schooler, that 2006-2012 guy,” he explains. “Like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Usher or 50 Cent.”

He started rapping freestyles at the age of 15. Mostly while he was out with his friends. Born in Angola, Os moved to Germany when he was four. His first mixtape was made in elementary school, “but that was really bad,” says Os and laughs. In 2015 he released his first official music video with other musicians under the name “Stay Crew”. He now works as a hardware installer and has to make music on the side. “You have to make cash,” says Os, “music is a very expensive hobby.” But he still enjoys walking around the area. And he still has his old Huawei cell phone plugged in. Instead of music he listens to beats. As soon as he thinks of a suitable line, he takes his cell phone out of his pocket and records it.

What has changed over the years? At first he rapped a lot of irrelevant lyrics, “just to get the flow,” says Os. “And the older you get, the more message you put into your songs.” This process was used in his song “U Don Know Me”. “I was pissed and angry,” Os says. “People wanted me to do a different style of music than what I wanted to do.” Since then he has tried to incorporate his faith more deeply into his music. He wants to find his own niche, wants to give people hope with his lyrics. “Only Jesus can save me,” he sings in “U Don Know Me.” In the future, his music will become “a mixture of gospel, hip-hop, funk and soul.”

For now, however, his attention is focused on his new song “Quit”. A lot of work also went into the music video for this number. Os enjoys being in front of the camera, even though he says he is an introvert. And he likes to package his music into elaborate videos. The one from “Quit” came from a study project.

Kid Os