Much to Frank’s chagrin I’m back with another fix for all you Muffin addicts – and I know my boy Foote is around here somewhere ready to make an appearance too. Today’s offerings come to us from Somalian emcee Kanaan Warsame AKA K’naan.  Now, if street cred is the currency of hip-hop then K’naan is a billionaire many times over. The future lyricist was born in the war-torn capital of Mogadishu and spent his formative years in a district lovingly referred to as ‘The Lake of Blood’.  His fam eventually escaped to Canada where K’naan taught himself English by jamming along to Nas and Eric B. records – pretty incredible stuff.

K’naan dropped his first album, Dusty Foot Philosopher, in 2006 to critical and international acclaim, but sadly the disc was criminally slept on here in the States.  Fast forward three years and Somalia’s finest is ready to release album number dos, Troubadour on February 24, and I’m hoping everyone here finally starts picking up what this man is putting down.  He has been described as a ‘sound that fuses Bob Marley, conscious American hip-hop, and brilliant protest poetry’, but don’t take my word for it – crank those speakers and take a listen for yourself.  Included below are ‘Somilia’ and the excellent video for ‘Dreamer’, both from the upcoming Troubadour.  I also took the liberty of dropping in a jam from his first outing and a guest spot from M-1′s album, all for your listening pleasure. Check it:

K’naan – Somalia

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K’naan – Smile

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M-1 – ‘Til We Get There ft. K’naan & Story James

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Troubador is available now for pre-order on Amazon and will be released on February 24th wherever good music is sold.