Wale and K’naan on the same tour? Sounds like a good idea.

Here are the dates:

• 3/31: Irving Plaza, New York, NY (1)
• 4/01: House of Blues, Boston, MA (1)
• 4/02: Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT (1)
• 4/03: Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD (1)
• 4/04: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (1)
• 4/06: Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA (1)
• 4/08: Center Stage, Atlanta, GA (1)
• 4/09: College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA (2)
• 4/11: Metro, Chicago, IL (2)
• 4/13: House of Blues, Cleveland, OH (1)
• 4/14: Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH (1)

(1) w/Wale & K’naan
(2) K’naan only

(Note: This review was originally posted on Vibe.com before the company was liquidated and sold to new owners. It is no longer available on the website, so I decided to re-post it here.)

K’naan, Troubadour
A&M/Octone

“I hope you’ve got your passports and vaccine shots,” announces K’naan on “T.I.A. (This Is Africa),” the opening track on his second album Troubadour. Speeding up a sample of the Wailers’ “Simmer Down” to chipmunk levels, the Toronto, Canadian immigrant describes his native Somalia’s streets, from the alleyways to the “Somali niggas quick to grab the Uzi.” This is Africa – hoo-ray!

However, K’naan doesn’t spend all of Troubadour certifying his hood credentials. He trades verses with Chubb Rock, of all people, on “ABCs”; rocks hard with Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on “If Rap Gets Jealous”; and rhymes cool in a cipher with Mos Def and Chali 2na (formerly of Jurassic 5) on “America.” With his penchant for harmonizing, singing and slaying MCs, K’naan resembles classic Mighty Mos in many ways. But only an artist with K’naan’s unique heritage could mount a convincing defense of “Somalia,” a country often accused by Western countries of fomenting piracy on the international waters, by detailing the harsh conditions its people live in.

At times, Troubadour gets a little too slick and polished — folksy ballads such as the lovelorn “Fatima” sound like outtakes from a Wyclef Jean album. But those sentimental numbers only complete a picture of an artist who celebrates all aspects of life, from the good times to the bad. It’s that generous spirit that makes Troubadour shine.

K’naan hasn’t rested on his laurels since surprising the music industry in February with a top 40 debut for Troubadour. He’s been on tour throughout the year, opening for the likes of Snoop Dogg and playing several music festivals. This summer, he’s slated to appear on Matisyahu and Jason Mraz’s (!) bills, hit Northern California’s hippie-fied Harmony Festival, and reach a more traditional hip hop audience through the famous Rock the Bells series.

• 6/11: Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ (1)
• 6/12: Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, CA (1) (2)
• 6/13: Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, CA (1) (2)
• 6/16: The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA (1)
• 6/18: Majestic Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA (1)
• 6/19: Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
• 6/20: House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV (1)
• 6/23: Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR (1)
• 6/24: Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA (1)
• 6/25: Knitting Factory, Boise, ID (1)
• 6/26: Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO
• 6/27: First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL (3)
• 6/28: DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI (3)
• 7/05: Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON (3)
• 7/08: Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MN
• 7/12: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD (3)
• 7/16: House of Blues, Atlantic City, NJ
• 7/17: Indian Lookout Country Club, Mariaville, NY
• 7/18: Comcast Center, Boston, MA (3)
• 7/19: Nikon at Jones Beach Amphitheatre, New York, NY (3)
• 7/28: The Uptown Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC (4)
• 7/29: Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary, NC (4)
• 7/31: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT (4)
• 8/01: Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC (5)
• 8/02: Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua, NY (4)
• 8/04: Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA (4)
• 8/05: Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA (4)
• 8/07: Nikon at Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, NY (4)
• 8/08: PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (4)
• 8/09: Penn’s Landing – Festival Pier, Philadelphia, PA (4)
• 8/11: Station Square Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA (4)
• 8/13: Charter One Pavilion, Chicago, IL (4)
• 8/14: Freedom Hill Amphitheater, Sterling Heights, MI (4)
• 8/15: Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON (4)
• 8/17: Time Warner Cable Amphitheater, Cleveland, OH (4)
• 8/18: Indianapolis State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, IN (4)
• 8/20: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN (4)

(1) w/Matisyahu, Dub Trio
(2) Harmony Festival
(3) Rock the Bells
(4) w/Jason Mraz, G. Love & Special Sauce, Bushwalla
(5) Osheaga Festival

Photo by JC Henry.

After he wraps up his current tour next month, K’naan will open a few dates in the South on Snoop Doggy Dogg’s tour. No word on if they’ll perform a duet together.

• 5/04: The Village, Little Rock, AR
• 5/05: House Of Blues, Dallas, TX
• 5/06: House Of Blues, Houston, TX
• 5/07: House Of Blues, New Orleans, LA
• 5/09: Club La Vela, Panama City Beach, FL
• 5/11: The National, Richmond, VA
• 5/13: Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC
• 5/14: Amos’ Southend, Charlotte, NC
• 5/15: Bi-Lo Center, Greenville, SC
• 5/16: Music Farm, Charleston, SC
• 5/17: Shoreline Ballroom, Hilton Head, SC

5/04-5/17: w/Snoop Dogg

K’naan’s years-in-the-making Troubadour finally has a firm release date of February 24, when it will be issued by A&M/Octone Records. The track listing has recently changed, and songs with guest appearances from Mos Def and Chali 2na (“America”) now complete the bill.

Next month, K’naan will come to the States for dozens of concerts. The itinerary includes solo dates and festival gigs.

• 1. “ABC’s” (feat. Chubb Rock)
• 2. “Dreamer”
• 3. “I Come Prepared” (feat. Damian Marley)
• 4. “15 Minutes Away”
• 5. “Bang Bang” (feat. Adam Levine)
• 6. “Fire In Freetown”
• 7. “People Like Me”
• 8. “Somalia”
• 9. “America” (feat. Mos Def & Chali Tuna)
• 10. “Fatima”
• 11. “If Rap Gets Jealous” (feat. Kirk Hammett from Metallica)
• 11. “Take A Minute”
• 12. “T.I.A.”
• 13. “Waiving Flag”

And here are the tour dates:

• 2/05: Calvin College Fine Arts Center, Grand Rapids, MI
• 2/06: Michigan Union Ballroom, Ann Arbor, MI
• 2/08: Reggie’s Bar and Grill, Chicago, IL
• 2/10: The Annex, Madison, WI
• 2/11: Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN
• 2/13: University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• 2/14: The Bluebird, Denver, CO
• 2/16: San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
• 2/19: Toph’s House, Garberville, CA
• 2/20: Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA
• 2/21: Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA
• 2/24: The Middle East, Boston, MA
• 2/26: SOB’s, New York, NY
• 2/27: Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
• 2/28: Sonar, Baltimore, MD
• 3/01: World Café, Philadelphia, PA
• 3/04: Vinyl, Atlanta, GA
• 3/05: Jack Rabbit’s, Jacksonville, FL
• 3/06: The Social, Orlando, FL
• 3/07: Bicentennial Park, Miami, FL
• 3/09: Doug Fir, Portland, OR
• 3/10: Neumo’s, Seattle, WA

2/16: Tribute to the Legends Festival
2/20: Raggamuffins Festival w/Stephen Marley, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Julian Marley, Rootz Underground
2/21: Raggamuffins Festival
3/07: Langerado Music Festival

Photo by Peter Graham Photography.

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.

What is Interdependent Media? The Bay Area, Calif. label is relatively unknown on the music scene, but has already corraled two major artists in the urban underground: J*Davey and Tanya Morgan.

Interdependent Media was launched by Ian “ID” Davis, Evan “Truthlive” Phillips and Dominic del Bene last year. Ian “ID” Davis is a former employee at West Coast imprint Hiero Imperium. Meanwhile, Del Bene formerly owned Loud Minority Music, a label best known for issuing Tanya Morgan’s acclaimed debut Moonlighting. But after distribution problems kept him from capitalizing on Moonlighting‘s critical acclaim, he formed a new company with ID and Truthlive.

Interdependent Media (also known as IM Culture) will make an impact this summer with several recordings. The first, Tanya Morgan’s The Bridge EP, was serviced to iTunes last month. A CD version drops on June 17. “This EP, The Bridge, is a re-introduction to the group and serves as a ‘bridge’ between their previous works and their upcoming album, Brooklynati,” reads a press release. No word on a Brooklynati release date, but it’s schedule to drop later this year.

Next came a reissue of K’naan’s The Dusty Foot Philosopher. Originally released in Canada in 2005, it won the 2006 Juno Award for Best Rap Album. The Interdependent Media re-release includes a DVD with videos. It hit stores on May 20. Then there’s Fallen Awake from Santa Rosa, Calif. MC Shaya. His album is scheduled for July 22.

The big news, however, is that Interdependent Media will issue J*Davey’s first nationally distributed album. Since signing with Warner Bros. in 2007, J*Davey (pictured above) has been lost in major label purgatory, even while the electro-soul movement they helped create grows from underground phenomenon to worldwide fad. Hopefully Jack Davey and Brook D’Leau will get a chance to put out some material on Warner Bros. before people get sick of that sound.

In the meantime, Interdependent Media will release The Beauty in Distortion/The Land of the Lost. J*Davey has sold The Beauty in Distortion as a CD-R at shows for the past three years. The Land of the Lost was issued as a free mixtape in 2007. The two were eventually packaged as a limited-edition CD and sold via the group’s website and MySpace page; it quickly sold out.

This new version is missing a few tracks from the original The Land of the Lost:: “Red Light” (which features the late J Dilla), “Dirty Love,” “Mr. Mister (Cock Out Mix)” and “Let It Bleed.” But J*Davey fans shouldn’t put away their wallets just yet, as it includes two new songs, “No More (Live @ the Temple Bar 5.12.2006)” and “Finer Things (Bossin’ Up).”

J*Davey’s The Beauty in Distortion/The Land of the Lost drops July 1. Here’s the track listing.

CD1 – The Beauty in Distortion:

• 1. “Divisions of Joy”
• 2. “Mr. Mister”
• 3. “Everybody Touch It”
• 4. “Private Parts”
• 5. “No More”
• 6. “Camera (Gangsta)”
• 7. “Might As Well”
• 8. “Cowboys and Indians”
• 9. “Enterception”
• 10. “Mr. Mister (Future Screw Mix)”

CD2 – The Land of the Lost:

• 1. “Hi Sun”
• 2. “sLAyers” (feat. Pacific Division, Dia Gibran & Bleu Collar)
• 3. “Rock the Dancehall” (feat. Kardinal Offishall)
• 4. “Hi’s & Lo’s” (feat. Nicki of Black Morris)
• 5. “Lil Big Heads”
• 6. “Thick” (interlude)
• 7. “Valley of Love”
• 8. “Just Because” (feat. Phonte)
• 9. “Venus 2 Mars”
• 10. “Lalaland” (feat. Elucid)
• 11. “No More (Live @ the Temple Bar 5.12.2006)”
• 12. “Finer Things (Bossin’ Up)”
• 13. “Slooow”

And I haven’t forgotten about Shaya. Here’s the track listing for his Fallen Awake, which drops July 22.

• 1. “Intro”
• 2. “Impeccable Concepts”
• 3. “Industry Life”
• 4. “Sole Vibin’”
• 5. “Run It Down”
• 6. “Just Write”
• 7. “Proud”
• 8. “Speed of Life”
• 9. “Sleepers Anthem”
• 10. “Fall Back”
• 11. “Thinking Cap”
• 12. “Is It Life (Obvious)”
• 13. “Take A Ride”
• 14. “Welcome”

www.imculture.com