K'Naan 'Troubadour' album

If growing up in a tough hood makes you "real" in the hip-hop world, then K'naan has cornered the market on credibility. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, just as the civil unrest that rocked the country was beginning, rapper K'Naan spent the early years of his life trying to avoid death and listening to the hip-hop records that his father sent to him from America.

K'Naan (whose name means "traveler" in Somali) traveled around North America for two years, performing occasionally. In 2002 K'Naan met Jarvis Church, part of the Track and Field Productions team that helped to propel Nelly Furtado to fame, a connection that eventually led to a record. The Dusty Foot Philosopher came out in Canada in 2005, and was followed with tour spots with Mos Def and Talib Kweli, as well as a performance at Live 8.

This month's major-label follow-up, Troubadour on A&M/Octone (release date February 24), features contributions from a wide array of music's finest, including the searing riffs of Metallica's Kirk Hammett on "If Rap Gets Jealous," the rhymes of hip-hop luminary Mos Def on "America," and vocals from Maroon 5's Adam Levine on "Bang Bang," Maroon 5's Adam Levine, and Damian Marley. The album interweaves traditional Somali chanting and samples from decades-old Ethiopian jazz with club-friendly beats. At the behest of friends Damian and Stephen Marley, K'naan recorded most of Troubadour at the legendary Tuff Gong studios and the Marley family home. He creates urgent "music with a message" because his whole existence depends on it and has toured with Dead Prez, Mos Def, Nelly Furtado, Talib Kweli, Pharaohe Monch, The Roots, Damian Marley, and many more.

As hip-hop passes the quarter century mark, it has evolved in ways no one could have imagined. It has gone from underground to mainstream, from black to multi-racial, from American to international. It has reached the very furthest corners of the world and planted its seeds in the souls of kids from every country. K'naan is a child of that generation, the first generation of true hip-hop children who have grown out of a very foreign soil.

K'Naan says, "I don't think the role of an artist has to do with movements as opposed to credibility. All of these exist just as a way to sustain some kind of a divisive tool in the world of music. I think that your role as an artist is to make the best songs you can, and if it happens to be something that is inspiring then that's great. But a bad song, conscientious or not, is a bad song."

The single, "If Rap Gets Jealous" is now impacting Alternative.

Do you also would like to share your opinion? If so, please register or login here.

Details

Popular Songs

New Songs

Tracklisting

K'Naan - Troubadour