I don't know shit about hip-hop.....

So, its time for a confession. As the title of this post suggests.....I don't know shit about hip-hop. Its true. I realize this might be quite a shocker to most of you, but I've never been a big hip-hop person. So, this past week or so, when some "new" hip-hop fell into my lap, I didn't know what to think of it.

RadioKGB was recently asked to check out some music by a rapper who calls himself K'naan. We were asked to give it a listen and then post what we thought about it, as well as list some info on the guy. Sounded like a great idea to me, but here's the deal.....as I mentioned earlier, I don't know shit about hip-hop. I don't know what is considered good, bad, or even tolerable hip-hop. So, to combat this problem, I figured I'd just give the songs a listen, then post them and let you (who is likely much more knowledgeable than I) tell me what you think.

Identity crisis: Is he a rastafarian or a rapper.....or both?!?!?!

K'naan is a dude from Somalia, that left the war-torn country and now calls Toronto his home (quite a culture shock if you ask me). He just finished up a US tour with Stephen Marley and is planning on dropping his first album here in the US later this summer. I, currently, have access to two live cuts of his songs. But, to be quite honest, what I'm hearing actually sounds a little more reggae to my untrained ears than it does hip-hop. But iTunes is definitely telling me the guy's a rapper. WHO DO I BELIEVE!?!?!?

So, what I'd like to do is post these songs and let you give them a listen. Then, give me your opinions down in the comment section. So, here are the songs....The first, Be Free, is my favorite of the two. But I really like the drumming in the second one.....so, i don't know, just let me know what you think.

K'naan - Be Free
K'naan - In the Beginning

And while we're at it....reggae and hip-hop are both genre's which I currently know nothing about. So, if you've got some suggestions of bands or artists I should check out to jumpstart my listening, please let me know. I'm interested in giving both of these a try. And please, give suggestions other than Bob Marley and The Roots. I've got those, but I'm looking for something else. Thanks everyone.

RR