album of the year, already …
Troubador by k'naan, a Somali-Canadian emcee, is the hottest album I've heard in a while. Every single cut on this record is funny, political, and makes me want to dance like it is 1959. "TIA" and "Wavin' Flag" are my favorites so far. Normally I hate to be that guy who links you to YouTube non-videos of songs he likes, but I dare you to listen to Wavin' Flag and not love it.
(I know that one of you out there wants to listen to that song and then post "I didn't like it" in the comments just to be a jerk. I hate you already.)
There's not a lot I don't like about k'naan, but I think my favorite thing about the guy is that he sounds like a proper storyteller, which is a quality that rap too often lets fall by the wayside. He drops clever, funny rhymes over catchy, danceable beats and hooks, but it feels like part of a storytelling whole, which really burns it into my mind in a good way.
If that wasn't enough for you, Mos Def and Chali 2na show up on this album. Now go get it. And get it on iTunes so you can get all the bonus tracks.
(I know that one of you out there wants to listen to that song and then post "I didn't like it" in the comments just to be a jerk. I hate you already.)
There's not a lot I don't like about k'naan, but I think my favorite thing about the guy is that he sounds like a proper storyteller, which is a quality that rap too often lets fall by the wayside. He drops clever, funny rhymes over catchy, danceable beats and hooks, but it feels like part of a storytelling whole, which really burns it into my mind in a good way.
If that wasn't enough for you, Mos Def and Chali 2na show up on this album. Now go get it. And get it on iTunes so you can get all the bonus tracks.