Troubadour
Studio album by
K'naan
ReleasedFebruary 24, 2009
Recorded2007–2008
Genre
Length55:43
LabelA&M/Octone
Producer
K'naan chronology
The Dusty Foot on the Road
(2007)		 Troubadour
(2009)		 More Beautiful Than Silence
(2012)
Singles from Troubadour
  1. "ABCs"
    Released: November 18, 2008
  2. "Wavin' Flag"
    Released: March 18, 2009
  3. "Bang Bang"
    Released: September 2, 2010[1]

Troubadour is the second studio album by Somali-Canadian hip hop artist K'naan, released February 24, 2009.[2] The album features performances by Kirk Hammett, Chubb Rock, Chali 2na, Mos Def, Damian Marley, and Adam Levine. Production was completed by Track and Field, a team composed of R&B artists Gerald Eaton and Brian West.

The album contains songs produced by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, before they became The Smeezingtons, ("Wavin Flag" and "Bang Bang")[3] and also after ("Wavin' Flag" remixes).[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[6]
Billboard(positive)[7]
Blender[8]
Boston Globe(positive)[9]
Robert Christgau(A-)[10]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[11]
The New York Times(positive)[12]
Pitchfork6.5/10[13]
PopMatters8/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]

K'naan's second album has received generally positive reviews, compiling an average score of 74 on Metacritic.[5] Billboard described it as "socially alert and frequently brilliant".[16] David Jeffries of Allmusic called Troubadour a "rewarding, often eye-opening spectacle", praising the selections for the guest artists and referring to K'naan as "ridiculously talented".[6] The album was shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize.[17] About.com named Troubadour one of the best Rap Albums of 2009.[18] Troubadour was also included in PopMatters' list of top 60 albums of 2009, at a respectable 43rd position.[19] The album fetched K'naan three Juno Award nominations and he ultimately won Juno artist of the year.[20] 'The Independent gave it a perfect 10 out of 10 rating.[21]

Singles

  • "ABCs" was released as the album's first single. It peaked at #75 on the Canadian Singles Chart.
  • "Wavin' Flag" was released as the album's second single (first in UK). The single was later remixed and used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is his most successful single to date. It charted within the Top 5 in the UK, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Ireland, France, Canada, Scotland, Spain, as well as others.
  • A new version of "Bang Bang" was released as the album's third and final single featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5. It peaked at #33 on the UK R&B Chart.
  • A remix of "Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)" featuring will.i.am & David Guetta was also used to promote the World Cup as well as his album; a music video was also made for the remix. The video also featured will.i.am and David Guetta.

Promo singles

  • "Dreamer" was released as the album's first promotional single.
  • "Somalia" was released as the album's second promotional single.
  • "I Come Prepared" was released as the album's third promotional single.
  • "If Rap Gets Jealous" was released as the album's fourth and final promotional single.

Licensed songs

"ABCs" is used in the video game Madden 09 by EA Sports and the 2009 film The Trotsky, while "Dreamer" is used in promotions for the NFL Draft on NFL.com, and was used by ESPN during the national broadcast of the UConn-Kentucky men's basketball game on December 9, 2009. "I Come Prepared" is used in the video game Fight Night Round 4, also by EA Sports. "Wavin' Flag" is used in the video game NBA 2K10, which is a 2K Sports video game. Coca-Cola has announced that a remixed version of "Wavin' Flag" will be the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This version also appears in Konami's PES 2010. "Take a Minute" is used in Dane Tudor's award-winning part of the ski movie Everyday is a Saturday by Poor Boyz Productions. "Bang Bang" was featured in the television series Grey's Anatomy and the 2010 feature film The Karate Kid.

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."T.I.A."3:38
2."ABCs" (featuring Chubb Rock)3:09
3."Dreamer"4:32
4."I Come Prepared" (featuring Damian Marley)4:08
5."Bang Bang" (featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5)3:06
6."If Rap Gets Jealous" (featuring Kirk Hammett of Metallica)3:39
7."Wavin' Flag"3:40
8."Somalia"3:33
9."America" (featuring Mos Def & Chali 2na)4:45
10."Fatima"5:01
11."Fire in Freetown"4:36
12."Take a Minute"4:06
13."15 Minutes Away"4:56
14."People Like Me"6:16

Bonus tracks

Amazon.com Exclusive
No.TitleLength
15."Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)" (featuring will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas & David Guetta)3:30
16."Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)"3:32
17."Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Spanish Mix)" (featuring David Bisbal)3:52
18."Biscuit"3:49
Champion Edition
No.TitleLength
15."Does It Really Matter"3:54
16."Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)"3:32
Champion Edition (UK Edition)
No.TitleLength
15."Does It Really Matter"3:54
16."Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)"3:32
17."Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)" (featuring will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas & David Guetta)3:30
Champion Edition (Japan Edition)
No.TitleLength
15."Does It Really Matter"3:54
16."Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)"3:32
17."Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)" (featuring Ai)3:38
18."Wavin' Flag" (featuring will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas & David Guetta)3:29
Sample credits

Chart positions

In the US, the album sold over 15,000 copies in its first week of release and debuted at #32 on the Billboard 200.[22] The album has sold approximately 82,000 copies in the US as of August 2010. Only the 'champion edition' was released in the United Kingdom on July 16, and charted on the UK R&B Chart at a peak of 22.

Chart (2009–2010) Peak
position[23]
US Billboard 200 32
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 33
US Billboard Top Rap Albums 12
Canadian Albums Chart 7
Japanese Albums Chart[24] 57
Mexican Albums Chart[25] 67
South African Albums Chart[26] 20
UK R&B Chart[27] 22

References

  1. ↑ "K'naan Featuring Adam Levine – "Bang Bang"". Discogs. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ Hannon, Gerald (December 2008). "The Prince of Little Mogadishu" Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, Toronto Life 42 (12): 73–78.
  3. ↑ "K'naan - Troubadour". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  4. ↑ "K'naan - Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  5. 1 2 "Reviews for Troubadour by K'NAAN". Metacritic. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "Preview: K'Naan Troubadour". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ Billboard review Archived April 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Blender review
  9. ↑ Boston Globe review
  10. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  11. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  12. ↑ "New CDs (Published 2009)". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Love, Joshua (March 13, 2009). "K'naan: Troubadour | Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ PopMatters review
  15. ↑ Rolling Stone review Archived February 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ K'naan Troubadour on Metacritic
  17. ↑ "Fucked Up Win Polaris Prize". Clickmusic. 2009-09-23. Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  18. ↑ "Best Rap Albums of 2009 – Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of 2009".
  19. ↑ "The Best 60 Albums of 2009".
  20. ↑ K'Naan Wins Artist of the Year at Juno Awards – Spinner
  21. ↑ Gill, Andy (June 25, 2010). "Album: K'Naan, Troubadour Champion Edition (Octone/A&M)". The Independent. London.
  22. ↑ ukmix.org
  23. ↑ "Billboard Music Charts - Latest Music News - Music Videos". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  24. ↑ "ケイナーンのアルバム売上ランキング".
  25. ↑ http://www.greaves.tv/amprofon3/100.php Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ "RISA Top 20". Recording Industry of South Africa (in Afrikaans). rsg.co.za. Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  27. ↑ Archive Chart
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