National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Coming from the war-torn urban jungle of Mogadishu, where violence, chaos and death are part of everyday life, Somali rapper K'Naan has much to talk about. With a cool bravado and smart lyrics that belie his years, he touches upon urgent issues with whimsical flair and smooth rhymes.

K'naan fled his country with his family when he was thirteen years old—bound for Canada by way of New York. It was in Canada that the storyteller, songwriter and MC made his breakthrough with his 2005 debut The Dusty Foot Philosopher. Drawing from the '80s rap lexicon and the '90s wave of conscious hip-hop, as well as poetry and folk music, K'Naan made his delivery all his own with songs like "Soobax," and "Strugglin'". His debut album earned him a Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy) and the prestigious BBC Radio 3 Award.

With the release of his new album Troubadour garnering airplay on both hip-hop and rock radio (thanks to the single "If Rap Gets Jealous")—and high-profile appearances at Live 8, Montreal Jazz Festival, All Points West and Coachella—K'naan's career is on an upward trajectory. For a globetrotter like K'Naan – his name translates as "traveler" in his native Somali – life on the road is not just about discovering new places but also sharing it. Nat Geo Music recently caught up with the Dusty Foot Philosopher on a stopover in New York City,

Nat Geo Music: Your father used to send you cassette tapes from New York when you were living in Somalia. What did you find in foreign music growing up?

K'Naan: What I found in foreign music was escape. A dream outside the locality of what we knew. That's what was interesting to me – these foreign sounds and what other people were making musically, the production value of their sounds.

I don't know what happens to you subconsciously when you start to listen to music or when you hear a great song. I was just listening and being excited about life. I didn't think I would be a musician. I was interested in following whatever the feeling of the moment was.

You've lived in Canada for a while. Have you ever gone back to Somalia?

I haven't been back. I only went to East Africa, to Kenya. I haven't been to Mogadishu because of how it has been for the last 18 years and the terrible war. But now there is a new president, people are hopeful.

You shot the video for "Soobax," from your first album, in Kenya. What was that like?

It was important to witness all the different scenarios that life had given to people, all the positive and the negative. It affirmed the importance of the kind of music I made. What that means to people back there.

Let's talk about your new album Troubadour. It manages to incorporate acoustic soul, reggae, funk, hip-hop. How would you describe the sound of the album if you were reviewing it for a music magazine?

Oh, wow! [chuckles] I would say it is electric, new and fresh. Most importantly, it opens a curtain to a world of sound, melody and lyrics that otherwise is not in music today.

Your songs have a moral message without being preachy. How do you achieve that balance?

There's a difference between being entertaining and being enchanting. My music causes reflection while being entertaining. It's not just plain entertainment, nor is it straight journalism or merely moral – it's all of that. If you witness a play and you saw the beauty of the play, the morality, the musicality and all of it, it would have enchanted you, not just entertained you.

You recorded Troubadour at Bob Marley's home studio and the Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica. You're also friends with Stephen and Damian Marley...

The Marleys honored me with this very unique invitation to record in Bob Marley's home and studio. It was amazing. It's hard to have words to reflect those moments. I spent 3 weeks there at first walking around the house, listening to old Bob Marley and Dennis Brown records, sitting around and playing guitar. Eventually I spent 4 months and started to record the album there. It was a privilege.

What's your favorite Bob Marley album?

Confontration.

You connect really well with audiences. Do you ever feel pressure before going on stage?

I used to be very shy as a teenager. I would be paralyzed if I had to speak in front of people. When I was in high school and I had a class assignment where I needed to make a presentation in class I would skip school for the week. [laughs]. I had that with me when I started to perform and I would almost feel sick to death before going on stage.

So I did an adjustment in my head. Eventually I started to see [performing] as showcasing my art like a painter would. I come with a canvas that you paint something on and put it in front of an audience, I show them the painting and try to explain it. You're really looking at the painting, not me. So, I have nothing to be nervous about.