K'NAAN - ABCs

Talk about Mama Africa: Somalian-born and Canadian-raised emcee K’Naan truly represents one of the most war-ravaged sections of his home continent. The “Dusty Philosopher” has seen firsthand the terrors of violence and deftly weaves his homeland’s agony in with the various strains of hip-hop music. On his new single, ABCs, K’Naan spits a grave tale over a synth-and-drum-driven beat from production duo Track and Field. His hometown doesn’t teach people the ABCs, but “only teach[es] us the things that guns do.,” denying its youth an education and leaving little room for anything but “life on the concrete.” To hear more of K’Naan’s stories, look for his new album, Troubadour, due out this January.