K'naan - Troubador

Gurthanthaclops · 04-04-2009, 09:48 PM

Loved it. Still prefer "The dusty foot philosopher" It Seems to me that K'naan has had a great influence from today's mainstream rap/hip-hop persona's.
You can tell if you listen to "dusty foot philosopher" Then "Troubador" right afterwards. That he has included a handful of more special appearance's, and has made the production value cater much more to today's MTV generation.
Overall, I still enjoy anything K'naan. Aint no hater, just my vague opinion

Edit; What does "Troubadour" mean?

Gavin B. · 04-06-2009, 12:41 PM

K'naan is a uniquely and abundantly gifted musical artist. His rap and vocal music is driven by fusing the polyrhythmic sound of African percussion with the loping 4/4 one drop, time signature favored by hip hop musicians. His use his native riddims is similar to that of crossover rapper M.I.A. who incorporates tape loops of Hindustani percussion instruments like tabla, hand bells, and pakhavaj in her hip hop music. K'naan is also influenced by contemporary Afro-jazz of Youssou N' Dour, Fela Kuti and Hugh Masekela.

It's tempting to compare K'naan to a musical zeitgeist like Bob Marley but K'aan has yet to gain the kind of instant recognition and global acclaim as Marley.

It's possible to become so mezmerized up by K'naan's smooth, rapid fire hip hop style that you fail to appreciate his talents as conventional singer. K'naan's thin reedy but soulful vocals evoke the fiery passion of Bob Marley. In his rapping, the multi-lingual K'naan will often switch from English to his native Somalian tongue and then to a idiosyncratic patios that sounds like a blend of English, Somalian and Swahili.

Troubador is K'naan's first release on a major label. Octone Records is a division of A&M Record, managed by the ubiquitous Universal Music Group (UMG)which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the entertainment division of Seagram's International. It will be fascinating to see if the UMG ingore K'naan's musical development and attempt homogenize his musical sound and repackage as a mainstream hip hop artist.

Many of the songs on Troubador are new arrangements of old songs he recorded on obscure indie labels. It's a safe choice for K'naan to package up the his time tested signature songs for his major label debut, but the challenge to K'naan is to produce a sophmore album of original material that he hasn't spent a decade developing. Most of the songs on Troubador have been part of his musical repetoire since he created an international buzz as a performer at the U.N. 50th Anniversary Concert in Geneva in 1999.

The use of a few guest artists like Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, Chubb Rock, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, and hip hop stars Mos Def and Chari Tuna don't intrude upon the musical integrity of Troubador. This album is not one of those insipid career ending "duets" albums where someone like Frank Sinatra calls up Bono, Gloria Estefan and Kenny G. to butcher up 12 perfectly good songs from his back catalog of music.

Gurthanthaclops · 04-06-2009, 05:48 PM

That about sums up why you have your own radio broadcast. Whilst i do not

Gavin B. · 04-11-2009, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurthanthaclops

That about sums up why you have your own radio broadcast. Whilst i do not

My broadcast on a college radio station pays me enough money to keep my inventory of songs up to date. It's easy enough to get a mainstream radio gig but you will have very little control over the selection of music you play.

Since I spin music as a labor of love, I have very little interest in a career as a "radio personality." I did that for a few years, got great Arbitron ratings but hated every minute of it.

So 10 years ago, I moved from the east coast to the heartland and got broadcast gig that I produce, program and host at a college station. It pays a pittance but I'll never spin another Madonna record again, even if someone puts a gun to my head.

If you want to broadcast or be a club deejay, don't give up,. but I'd be lying to you if I told you that it was the road to riches.

~~coryallen2~~ · 04-20-2009, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Prophet

7. "Wavin' Flag" – 3:41

great song i love it

04-04-2009, 09:48 PM	#11 (permalink)
Gurthanthaclops Groupie Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Montreal, QC Posts: 30	Loved it. Still prefer "The dusty foot philosopher" It Seems to me that K'naan has had a great influence from today's mainstream rap/hip-hop persona's. You can tell if you listen to "dusty foot philosopher" Then "Troubador" right afterwards. That he has included a handful of more special appearance's, and has made the production value cater much more to today's MTV generation. Overall, I still enjoy anything K'naan. Aint no hater, just my vague opinion Edit; What does "Troubadour" mean? Last edited by Gurthanthaclops; 04-04-2009 at 10:25 PM.

04-06-2009, 12:41 PM	#12 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	K'naan is a uniquely and abundantly gifted musical artist. His rap and vocal music is driven by fusing the polyrhythmic sound of African percussion with the loping 4/4 one drop, time signature favored by hip hop musicians. His use his native riddims is similar to that of crossover rapper M.I.A. who incorporates tape loops of Hindustani percussion instruments like tabla, hand bells, and pakhavaj in her hip hop music. K'naan is also influenced by contemporary Afro-jazz of Youssou N' Dour, Fela Kuti and Hugh Masekela. It's tempting to compare K'naan to a musical zeitgeist like Bob Marley but K'aan has yet to gain the kind of instant recognition and global acclaim as Marley. It's possible to become so mezmerized up by K'naan's smooth, rapid fire hip hop style that you fail to appreciate his talents as conventional singer. K'naan's thin reedy but soulful vocals evoke the fiery passion of Bob Marley. In his rapping, the multi-lingual K'naan will often switch from English to his native Somalian tongue and then to a idiosyncratic patios that sounds like a blend of English, Somalian and Swahili. Troubador is K'naan's first release on a major label. Octone Records is a division of A&M Record, managed by the ubiquitous Universal Music Group (UMG)which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the entertainment division of Seagram's International. It will be fascinating to see if the UMG ingore K'naan's musical development and attempt homogenize his musical sound and repackage as a mainstream hip hop artist. Many of the songs on Troubador are new arrangements of old songs he recorded on obscure indie labels. It's a safe choice for K'naan to package up the his time tested signature songs for his major label debut, but the challenge to K'naan is to produce a sophmore album of original material that he hasn't spent a decade developing. Most of the songs on Troubador have been part of his musical repetoire since he created an international buzz as a performer at the U.N. 50th Anniversary Concert in Geneva in 1999. The use of a few guest artists like Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, Chubb Rock, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, and hip hop stars Mos Def and Chari Tuna don't intrude upon the musical integrity of Troubador. This album is not one of those insipid career ending "duets" albums where someone like Frank Sinatra calls up Bono, Gloria Estefan and Kenny G. to butcher up 12 perfectly good songs from his back catalog of music. __________________ There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff. Townes Van Zandt Last edited by Gavin B.; 04-10-2009 at 10:50 AM.

04-06-2009, 05:48 PM	#13 (permalink)
Gurthanthaclops Groupie Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Montreal, QC Posts: 30	That about sums up why you have your own radio broadcast. Whilst i do not