K'naan-Troubador

Do you ever get sick of the same old rap talking about promiscuous women, mind altering enhancers, and dollar bills? Do you want someone who sounds more intelligent than, oh I don't know, Asher Roth? Do you want to listen to someone who wears those Jason Mraz hats a whole lot better than Jason Mraz? Well, have I got the African-American for you! K'naan has been seeping his way into the publics eye for a couple of years now, and the release of Troubador, if followed by a few more great albums, could cement his place in rap history

K'naan has a pretty cool story that is told a lot through his music, but even more so on the internet. K'naan is a native of Mogadishu, Somalia, which, in case you haven't heard, is in the middle of a pretty ugly civil war. K'naan, which means "traveler", was born Keinan Abdi Warsame, smack dab at the beginning of this, and he spent the first thirteen years of his life running from his death, all the while absorbing the hip-hop records his father sent him from Harlem. After the big 1-3, K'naan briefly moved to Harlem with his dad, before packing up and heading north to Rexdale, Ontario, a heavily Somali populated part of Canada. He learned English by 10th grade, and he dropped that whole school thing and started rapping and traveling (K'naan'ing) across North America. Here's the cool part. Some friend hooked him up with a gig at the UN's 50th anniversary concert, at which he criticized the UN for their terrible job of helping Somalia, a deed which takes some major cajones. It's like getting invited to birthday party, and showing up just to break all of the presents. BAD A! From here, K'naan spent the next time touring with small time African artists and recorded The Dusty Foot Philosopher in 2005, and Troubador in 2009.

Point blank, K'naan has made an outstanding piece of art here that infectiously grows in your head. I have listened to this album ten times or so now, and every time, I like it just a little bit more. K'naan mixes orchestration and drum machine like a hip-hop sen-sei, and he has lyrics that are meaningful and honest. I find myself singing or speaking lines from "Take a Minute" all the time now, like a mantra. I heard K'naan perform this in NPR's office concert series with just a guitar and keyboard, but it is so lyrically explosive, that the intensity still shone through. The album version is softly captivating.

The first half of the album is K'naan marking his musical territory. The first six songs are all hit-material, but manage this in completely different ways. In this first half, K'naan's lyrical rhythm and nuance shines bright, as he jumps in, over and, around the beat in more ways than you can imagine. In some places, the man is packing words in songs like Outkast, effortlessly rambling for verses on end, before using the chorus to catch his breath. I can picture concerts where K'naan hypnotizes his audience in his verses, and sends them dancing in the hooks. "Bang Bang", the most fun you'll have with the album, is a break-neck club love nightmare, that uses Adam Levine's (Maroon 5) suave vocal ability to narrate the tale. This song invests itself in the listener in seconds, and hits on all cylinders. Other songs drop the futuristic rock for older big-band orchestration, much like New York's calling card, Jay-Z, and K'naan even further establishes how great this sounds with rap. "ABC's", "I Come Prepared", "America", and "People Like Me" reference the older music in their own way, like a record player in a night club.

As the first half of the album was the wow factor, the second half is the admirable part. Most of these songs are life lessons, through K'naan's teachings and examples. My favorite track on the album, "Somalia", has the same laid back groove as T.I's "Rubber Band Man", but there's a huge difference in T.I. and K. T.I. is a thug, no doubt, but he would be considered a bunny compared to what K'naan's up-bringing. Sure ATL's got spot's, but Somalia is like a whole country of Compton at midnight, and that is exactly what "Somalia" is all about. Dear rappers, Listen to the song, find out a little bit about this country, and realize how your ghetto is about as scary as Six Flags to these guys.

K'naan has found out that you can rap, sound great, and talk about real life, not rap life, all at once. He has time to play, go clubbing, chase some girls, sure, but he raps about things bigger than that. Personally, this is one of the most interesting artists I have ever heard. I really want to sit down and interview this guy for hours. He seems like he would have a whole lot to say. So K'naan, if you're reading this, hit me up. You sound like THE man. To everyone else; I don't know anyone who this music wouldn't appeal to. K'naan is musically brilliant enough to captivate the most picky of music fans, but radio-friendly enough to appeal to anyone who doesn't like to think about their music. He's made one heck of an album, and if you hear it once, you are going to want more.

Highlight Tracks

• I Come Prepared
• Bang Bang
• Somalia
• America
• Fatima
• Take A Minute