K'Naan: Hip-Hop Gone Good

        In a time when most hip-hop lyrics are repetitive and meaningless, an album like K'naan's Troubadour, and more specifically meaningful songs from the album such as “Take a Minute,” should be given radio time and should also be more widely accepted by the hip-hop community.

        At first glance K'naan may look and seem like a typical hip-hop artist. Quite to the contrary however, he is actually much different for a number of different reasons. First, he was not born in the United States. K'naan was born and raised in Somalia until he was about thirteen years old. His mother got him and his brother on the last commercial flight out of Somalia in order to escape the violent war that was raging there at the time. This is where K'naan draws most of his inspiration – from the hardships he suffered as a child in Somalia. Also, K'naan does not focus solely on rapping as much as your average hip-hop artist. He is also a great singer, very talented guitarist, and an incredibly poetic songwriter. Songs of his, such as “Take a Minute,” should be a blueprint for hip-hop songwriting.

        “Take a Minute” was written in 2007 and released on the album Troubadour in 2008. The song has never reached the music charts but has reached the ears, minds, and hearts of many people around the world. The song jumps into the lyrics before the pianist can even play a note. The pianist then comes in with some off-beat chords while the incredibly beautiful sound of a nylon guitar rings through. An artificial drum beat comes in about twenty-five seconds later giving it it's definite hip-hop sound.

        The first line of lyrics hits the listener the hardest: “And any man who knows a thing, knows he knows not a damn, damn thing at all...” I was blown away that anything so philosophical or meaningful would be said in a hip-hop song. It was quite possibly one of the best lines I've heard in any song produced in the past five years. One may say that this is because intellectual music isn't in demand at this time; People don't want to learn from their music. This shows how little our society cares about actual good music. I digress, however.

Next, some sort of synthesizer enters the song and K'naan sings again: “And every time I've felt the hurtin', I've felt the givin' getting me up off the wall.” This line sets up a song about selflessness and giving. Unlike in many rap songs today, this line isn't just a lame attempt to rhyme (although it does) but actually has a very big part in telling a story. An example of mindless rhyming can be seen in the style of rapping that rapper Lil Wayne uses. Such lines as “Motherf**ker I'm ill, not sick; And I'm OK, but my watch sick” and “Tony told us this world was ours, And the bible told us every girl was sour” are a perfect example of the mindless rhyming so commonly heard in today's hip-hop music.

        The idea “Take a Minute” shows up next when K'naan explains that he's “... Just gonna take a minute and let it ride. I'm just gonna take a minute and let it breeze. I'm just gonna take a minute...” Here is where I noticed true Top Forty hip-hop aspects begin to arise. He uses language that would be used in a hip-hop song by saying he's going to 'let it breeze,' which is not something you might come across in everyday language. Next, the rapping begins that turns “Take a Minute” into a true hip-hop song.

        K'naan begins rapping his lyrics in a very strongly enunciated yet slow manner. I'll admit that at first, this sort of made me discredit the song. I began thinking of all of the terrible rap songs I have ever heard and the thoughts were not pleasant. I decided to bear with it and right away I was hooked. Another line that brings a lot of thought is said just seconds after the main verse begins: “How did Gandhi ever withstand the hunger strikes and all? Didn't do it to gain power or money if I recall... It's the gift!” This is when I began to wonder. Why isn't this song on the radio? It is catchy, has an interesting beat and self-reflecting, prophetic lyrics. Not only that, but unlike a lot of the music on the radio today, it has uplifting lyrics. This is contrary to many lyrics that rappers write today that are demeaning to women, about getting drunk, or bragging about their net worth. Songs such as “Got Money,” “A Milli,” and “I'm So Paid” are perfect examples of this. All three of these songs are about nothing more than how much money that the artist has, singing about throwing money “this a way, that a way”, having “dollar bills raining down” on them, and about being a “young money millionaire” hardly seem like topics that someone with any merit would be speaking of.

        Next, K'naan takes a new path and begins to talk about his mother. K'naan talks about how his mother told him that it's always better, and much more gratifying, to give than to receive. He also remembers how forgiving his mother is: “Yeah, they tried to take you from me; But you still only gave 'em some prayers and sympathy.” He then raps about how his mother's positive attitude has always been his inspiration to push through the hard times. He then jumps into the chorus with a bit of a dedication: “Dear Mama, you helped me write this... by showing me to give is priceless.” The chorus that was sang in the beginning is once again visited “And any man... gonna take a minute.” Although I had heard it before, the chorus hit me just as hard the second time, third time and fourth time. In fact, it has given me something to think about every time I have heard it; I can't help but sing along.

        After the chorus K'naan changes the tone of the song. He changes from a state of remembrance and reflection to empathy. He begins to relate with the listeners of the song by talking about hard times that people who would be listening to his song would be able to relate to: “All I can hope is the worst is over now; We can serve the hard times, the divorce is over now.” This is one thing that really struck me about this song. K'naan tends to talk more about others. Whether he is thanking them for helping him with money transfers when times were hard, or paying tribute to a loved-one who has died, he finds time to talk about others. He doesn't concentrate his time and energy rapping about what type of Benz he is going to buy this week or how many girls he's going to have intercourse with. His lyrics are not littered with unnecessary, forced rhymes and the background music doesn't consist of a typical computer-generated beat with a three-note keyboard part like “Get Low,” “This Is Why I'm Hot,” or “A Milli.” K'naan's songs have intricate instrumentation, creative rhythms, and heartfelt lyrics.

With songs on the Top 40 and hip-hop radio stations amounting to little more than garbage, K'naan's “Take a Minute” is definitely very underrated. “Take a Minute” should not only receive airtime and attention from the hip-hop community, it should also be used as a guide to current hip-hop producers and rappers because of the combination of brilliant lyrics, phenomenal instrumentation, and amazing producing.