K’naan - Take a Minute
Troubadour (2009) on Itunes | Official Website



Out of all the songs in K’Naan’s 2009 album, Wavin’ Flag is probably the most famous. It stands out because of its haunting simplicity and honesty. Sometimes you hear a song and (stealing a line from James Cameron’s Avatar) you just ‘see’ the artist. Wavin’ Flag is one those songs.

With Wavin’ Flag setting such a high standard though, could the rest of his songs replicate that same vulnerability and humility? In a recent article, he says this: “…If I didn’t have “Take a minute,” or “Fatima,” or other songs that span years and years of my life. If I felt like I had nothing else except “Wavin’ Flag,” then I’d feel like I kind of cheated everybody, and I would be afraid of all the attention. But I think when people hear “Wavin Flag,” people are intelligent enough to know, if someone writes a song like that, there might be something more.”

And you know what, he’s right. Listening to the other songs in his album (especially the personal ones like Fatima, Take a Minute and People Like Me), he presents the same kind of honesty (with great beats to boot) as the flagship song, Wavin’ Flag. He lays and bares his soul without any bravado or even a pity-me attitude. He just says it as it is and does what most of us aspire to do in difficult situations; he survives and most of all, keeps his self intact.