Written by Ace Six | Photography by Philip Litevsky

I’m really happy I went to this K’naan show.  I first heard his music in my man Rainbow’s car when he was still living out west and I remember being totally impressed at his charisma and flow patterns.

However, I’m guilty of being the type of guy who will hate on someone just because everyone starts championing them as the new hot shit.  This is exactly what happened when K’Naan became the talk of the town amongst the extended circle of friends I run with.

My next exposure to him was when he tried to hit on my now ex-girlfriend while I was in a store buying something, and obviously that did little to change my serious haterade sipping towards the dude.  Fast forward a couple years, I’m a lot less stubborn and more open to listening to what everyone has to say regardless of preconceptions.

This is exactly the state I went to the show in this week and I’m elated that I went with an open mind with the intention of taking in K’Naan’s music.  Needless to say, I was not disappointed at all.  He is definitely worthy of carrying the torch for our city and his homeland and is a truly talented and powerful artist.

Highlights from the night for me were his approach and sense of humour, since he has a lot of songs that discuss war and civil unrest in his homeland in a violent and detailed tone.  He is capable of making them seem uplifting and inspiring just by delivering the message with a smile and showing that this current stage of his life was well worth the adversity he endured to get here.  I’ll definitely be picking up his new album, Troubador and also his back catalog to play catch up for the last 5 years that I was missing out.