Last night K’naan played a show at The Mod Club in Toronto to celebrate the launch of his new album “Troubadour”, which dropped yesterday. K’naan was born in Somalia and grew up in their civil war before getting the opportunity to move to New York City for a short period and then heading to Toronto where his family currently lives.

K’naan put up a formidable set, playing largely from his new album “Troubadour” as well as throwing in some of his songs from his first album “The Dusty Foot Philosopher”. K’naan walked onto the stage casually without a trace of arrogance. His show was glamour-less as he even experienced technical sound issues and decided to perform a few of his songs acoustic as well as a capella. K’naan explained the meaning of some of his songs and told stories of his home country between songs, which heightened the show experience. He has the ability to drop new songs that were instantly appreciated with little remorse for the older tracks left behind. Loyal fans sang along to songs that are fresh on the scene, which K’naan did not leave without appreciating.

Kings of Kush opened for K’naan which is fronted by the poetry-inspired Boonaa Muhammad who consciously rapped about political struggles in Ethiopia, passing on grass and how he likes his girls black like Darth Vader. They’re young, exceptional talent that we’d be happy to see them excel in the scene.

“Troubadour” is now available so check it on iTunes. The album which was recorded in Bob Marley’s house in Kingston, Jamaica features a few standout collaborations like Damian Marley, Adam Levine, Kirk Hammett from Metallica, and Mos Def.  Here’s a few of the standout tracks to give you an idea of what K’naan is up to these days.

Wavin’ Flag

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Somalia

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Fatima

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