After two weeks on the Top 200 releases of the chart, emcee K’naan [click to read] is finding a lot of success with his acclaimed release Troubador [click to read]. Backed by the Chubb Rock-assisted single “ABC’s.” The video to said song, directed by Marcus Raboy, features a reference to Hip Hop’s founder Kool Herc.
From famous archival footage from the documentary Beat This! A Hip Hop History, Raboy alluded with the same stylized set, car and speakers of Kool Herc. K’naan explained to HipHopDX this on Wednesday evening, while on tour. “It was [Marcus Raboy‘s] decision. We talked about it, and we thought that would be incredible. That visual that you’re talking about, within it, there is a certain kind of attachment in the memory for a new sound. A new thing. A new flavor. A new feeling.” The song itself, championing Hip Hop, matches the visual allusion. “It feels like this album, this music, this song was doing that. We wanted to bring back that kind of sentiment.“
The two clips are displayed for comparison at the blog Vibes and Stuff [click here].
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With emcee Chubb Rock, Mos Def and Metallica‘s Kirt Hammett all on the album, K’naan appeals to a greater audience than many rappers, and he’s seeing it in his crowds nightly. “It makes me feel like there is some kind of universality to [Hip Hop], and that’s really cool.” The music also bridges Hip Hop’s age gaps. “Certain shows, there will be a lot of old school heads,” says K’naan. “[Tuesday night] we played Seattle, and I would say 70% of the place was like between 17 to 21.“
Before continuing his tour, K’naan reacted to his two consecutive weeks in Top 200 of Soundscan charts. “You don’t really know – and often you don’t – that the love and the buzz and the people talking about it will translate to actual record sales. You never know,” he said. “It’s still very early, but the first week, to be Top 50 in the Top 200 Billboard is quite amazing. This is not an Akon album. It’s very, very new [music]. I’m very fortunate and appreciative to all of it.”
Troubador is in stores now.
