ChartAttack
by Kate Harper
Thursday, November 27, 2008
K'Naan is offering a free download of "Somalia" from his upcoming Troubadour album.
K'Naan describes "Somalia" as "really close to my heart," and it's no wonder why. K'Naan was born in Somalia, survived its civil war and eventually moved to the U.S. (and then Canada) with his family. He's rapped about his birth country before on tracks like "Soobax," which was about Somali warlords, and he continues talking about his experiences in this new song.
The 11-track Troubadour will hit stores on Jan. 13 via Universal Music Canada, according to Amazon.ca. It's K'Naan's first album since 2005's critically acclaimed, Juno Award-winning The Dusty Foot Philosopher, which was shortlisted for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize.
K'Naan recorded Troubadour at Tuff Gong Studios and Bob Marley's home studio in Kingston, Jamaica. It was co-produced by Stephen Marley and features vocals by Damian Marley. K'Naan has described the recording process as "sincere magic."
You can hear the first single, "ABCs," along with a clip of "Take A Minute," on K'Naan's MySpace page.
K'Naan is opening Matisyahu's North American tour. You can see them at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre on Dec. 16 and at Montreal's Metropolis the next night.
Here's what's on Troubadour:
"ABCs"
"Dreamer"
"I Come Prepared"
"Take A Minute"
"If Rap Gets Jealous"
"Dusty Streets"
"Does It Really Matter"
"Fifteen Minutes Away"
"Bang Bang"
"Fire In Freetown"
"People Like Me"
"Somalia"