Quick Before it Melts

Monday 17 August 2009

Polaris 09 Shortlist: K’naan Troubadour

Rap and hip hop have never been my forté, and I always feel a bit awkward about commenting on the genre here for fear of looking like a total idiot.  The first time I wrote about K’naan back in May, I figured that Troubadour would end up being on the Polaris short list, so I’d end up writing about it sooner or later.  Of the 10 finalist album’s, it’s the one I feel most confused about.  I actually like the album a lot; its energy and vitality is a much needed shot of adrenalin in the arm of Canada’s white-boy rock nation.  Back in that first post I said that K’naan blends his Somali influences with his Canadaian experiences, but now, after repeat listens, I can hear a bit of Chemical Brothers and disco in some tracks, folk and acoustic pop flourishes in others.  That should make the music feel more accessible to me, like I can identify with it on some level, but the more I listen to Troubadour the more I realize just how detached I am to the urban music world.  And it’s not for any other reason than that I have not opened myself up to it, have not taken the time to listen to, learn about, and understand it the way I have the indie scene.  I want to be able to say more than just “it has a good beat and you can dance to it”.

Then, a few weeks ago, during a summer course I was taking, one of my fellow classmates did a little presentation about K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”, the song from the album I listen to the most.  I had never paid attention to its real lyrical content before then, and I gained a new appreciation for what K’naan was going on about.  Now hang on, I can hear you all out there already: “Come on, Jim, how could you listen to K’naan and NOT pay attention to the lyrics?”  To you who say this I ask, how can you pass by a rose, and not pay attention to it’s scent?  It happens every day; we pass through this world with blinders on, missing the things that others see, and seeing the things that others don’t.  Yes, I listened to K’naan, but more to say I had done it rather than actually giving him my attention.

So now, this is what I have to say about K’naan and Troubadour:  If you;re looking for an album that’s a tribute to roots, traditions, and where you come from, then you can’t do much better off the Polaris list than K’naan.  Of all the album’s I’ve reviewed from the list so far, this is the one that speaks directly from the heart of the artist.  Much like Rae Spoon, my number one choice for Polaris ’09, K’naan has painted a multi-coloured portrait of his own experience, and to listen to it is to sit at the feet of a great storyteller, a true wordsmith, and a national treasure.

MP3: K’naan “Somalia”
Myspace: K’naan

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by J. Di Gioia | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under MP3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.