K’NAAN plays the Mod Club on Tuesday (Feb. 24) at 8 pm. Rating: NNN
With Troubadour, K’naan should earn his own entry on Stuff White People Like.
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He’s an easy-listening rapper with a safe, positive message and an international flair. It’s an appealing package, almost to a fault.
From Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, K’naan has made his career thus far about where he’s from. It’s not very unique to rap music, as stories of hometowns and upbringings are a familiar refrain. But on Troubadour, it gets too familiar.
Granted, his Somali heritage and world-weariness has differentiated him from the mainstream. But by the end of the recording, Somalia becomes his creative crutch rather than a place he’s compelled to speak on. He raps about it so much that he sounds awkwardly out-of-place on other subjects – the horrible relationship jam Fatima being a prime example.
But if referencing a country on the horn of Africa is his formula, Knaan has perfected it. He thrives on exotic sounds and other-worldly beats. He makes great use of Ethiopian-sounding jazz samples and MIA-style children’s chants on ABCs, the single and best song on the album. It’s on these songs that his painfully clunky lyrics, like the opening the album with “I take rappers on a field trip!,” are not-so-noticeable.
Elsewhere, it’s really obvious he spends too much time on the microphone. He’s on the hook on almost every track, even when he has help from guests like hook-singer and Maroon 5 guy Adam Levine.
On America, Knaan makes Mos Def wait through two verses plus chorus before he can get on the beat. On If Rap Gets Jealous, a remake from his first album, Knaan’s voice occupies nearly every second of the song save for an atrocious guitar solo from Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett.
Still, Knaan’s got all the hallmarks of a conscious rap hit-maker – complete with references to A Tribe Called Quest and Pharcyde. Despite Troubadour’s wrong turns, it will surely find an audience based on these qualities alone (see opening sentence).
Top track: ABCs
