K'naan shows something more with latest album

The Somalian-born rapper demonstrates welcome diversity to the genre.

By Jon Ingram

Published March 2, 2009

You think the transition to college is tough? Try being born in Somalia and moving to the slums of New York City before finally stopping in Ontario, Canada, -- all before the age of 15. So much of the past is so blurred and fast-paced that you don't know your exact age. For Kanaan Warsame, who goes by the stage name K'naan, this nearly unimaginable hypothetical is a reality.

Now, at age 30, and more determined than ever for his voice to be heard, K'naan is rapidly rising above average contributors in the cultural-influenced hip-hop craze in the U.S. With the release of Troubadour, K'naan's sophomore album, his brief legacy has already cemented him in as one of the most interesting stories in music.

Literally learning to speak English by listening to rap albums, K'naan dropped out of high school as a sophomore to participate in numerous open-mic contests. He intrigued judges so immensely that he was selected to go on a worldwide concert tour as a member of the Building Bridges music project.

From there, his career took off, kick-started by the critically acclaimed debut album The Dusty Foot Philosopher and is now being maintained by Troubadour.

The ethnic instrumentals on the album come with a hint of the New York-based '80s funk rap movement. Instruments from his birth country Somalia are repeatedly found on his tracks and are often mixed with American guitars, creating a dual-influenced sound unique to hip-hop. The choice of remaining faithful to Somalian music is obviously important to K'naan, who even raps in his native language often on this album, further extenuating its foreign feel.

There is little question that the most explosive and unmatched track on this album is "America," which features Mos Def and Chali 2na, mostly due to the Somalian language spoken by K'naan. His vocal delivery has been compared to legendary lyric-machine Eminem, and that similarity is exposed on this album, even with the language difference. K'naan can attribute his apparent toolbox of vocabulary and rhyme schemes for his lyrical wit.

It is important that rap fans embrace musicians, such as K'naan, as respected members of hip-hop because of the diversity it brings to the genre. Rap has never been more accepted across the nation and has evolved into something much more than the gun-toting gangster image it once exclusively portrayed; it is because of this the image of rap needs to be exposed as much as possible. With rappers, such as K'naan, we are not only able to listen to a diverse display of genius, but also gain the ability to spread the positive image of rap across cultures. Hip-hop is at a point in its history where it can have influence across all genres of music and even across nations, and it is because of rappers such as K'naan that it is gaining acceptance.

K'naan is truly a shining star in the world of music. His courage to succeed in the vicious hip-hop world is inspiring to all hopeful young emcees and K'naan's output of music contains a level of energy comparative to any artist in the game. His potential upside is sky high and he is raising more eyebrows more than ever -- definitely worth a good listen.