Somalia-to-Toronto rapper K’naan has completed a follow up to his critically-acclaimed debut, The Dusty Foot Philosopher. The album, Troubadour, is set for release via A&M/Octone in January 2009.
Guest shots include Mos Def, Chubb Rock, Damian & Julian Marley, Adam Levine & James Valentine from Maroon 5, and Vernon Reid. Here’s a bit from a press release:
K’NAAN uses his unique voice and authentic style to bring an enormous dose of realness and urgency to the hip-hop world, in the tradition of great folk singers and protest songs he carves a new path filled with eloquent and thought-provoking lyrics. From the dynamic power “ABCs” to the rhythmic genre bending grooves of “Dusty Streets” and the acoustic African folk melodies of “Fire in Freetown,” K’NAAN widens the traditional hip-hop perspective on his new album expanding boundaries with the combination of hard-hitting rhythms and lyrics.
K’naan isn’t the first Canadian rapper to bring a polyglot, multicultural sensibility to hip hop. Remember K-os? He also drew wide acclaim for his debut, Exit. However, by the time of his most recent album, 2005’s Atlantis: Hymns for Disco, U.S. critics seemed bored with him, and he has only developed a cult audience here.
That’s not to say that K’naan is destined for the same fate. U.S. audiences, hip hop and otherwise, have often show little patience for non-traditional rap music, but that seems to be changing. It’s no surprise that K’naan invokes Akon, another African pop superstar, during Troubadour. Hopefully K’naan’s work will be less pandering than Akon’s. But anyway…
Next month, K’naan will open for Matisyahu on a few concert dates. His itinerary, as wll as the track listing for Troubadour, is listed below.
- 1. “ABC’s” (feat. Chubb Rock)
- 2. “Dreamer”
- 3. “I Come Prepared”
- 4. “Take A Minute” (feat. Mos Def)
- 5. “If Rap Gets Jealous”
- 6. “Dusty Streets”
- 7. “Does It Really Matter”
- 8. “Fifteen Minutes Away”
- 9. “Bang Bang”
- 10. “Fire In Freetown”
- 11. “People Like Me”
- 12. “Somalia”
And here are the tour dates:
- 11/26: Harry O’s, Park City, UT
- 11/29: Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
- 11/30: Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
- 12/06: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY
- 12/07: Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN
- 12/09: Blue Note, Columbia, MI
- 12/11: Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
- 12/14: House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
- 12/16: Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON
- 12/17: Metropolis, Montreal, ON
- 12/18: Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, VT
11/26-12/18: w/Matisyahu
Download: ABC’s
Photo by James Minchin.
