K'NAAN - Take A Minute

At first glance K'naan may look and seem like a typical hip-hop artist. Quite to the contrary however, he is actually much different for a number of different reasons. First, he was not born in the United States.
K'naan was born and raised in Somalia until he was about thirteen years old. His mother got him and his brother on the last commercial flight out of Somalia in order to escape the violent war that was raging there at the time.
This is where K'naan draws most of his inspiration – from the hardships he suffered as a child in Somalia. Also, K'naan does not focus solely on rapping as much as your average hip-hop artist. He is also a great singer, very talented guitarist, and an incredibly poetic songwriter.
Songs of his, such as “Take a Minute,” should be a blueprint for hip-hop songwriting.

“And any man who knows a thing, knows he knows not a damn, damn thing at all...”

“Take a Minute” was written in 2007 and released on the album Troubadour in 2008.