K'Naan Nearly Upstages Matisyahu

The Phoenix Concert Theatre

Toronto, ON

on Dec 16 2008

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

12/17/2008 1:27pm

If anyone was wondering why K'Naan, a Somalian-born rapper, was opening for Matisyahu, a Hasidic reggae star, it actually made a great deal of sense. K'Naan has a song called "In The Beginning" that includes the lyrics, "It is better to light a candle/Than to curse the dark."

Judaism teaches its followers to be "a light unto the nations" and to spread goodwill wherever they go. Islam, K'Naan's religion, also has a similar principle. But religious stuff aside, let's not forget that both K'Naan and Matisyahu have new albums out early next year, which meant this show (and tour) was an ideal opportunity for both to showcase material from those discs. Matisyahu's new album is also called… Light. So K'Naan was obviously a natural choice to open Matisyahu's tour.

K'Naan's set pretty much proved why he's one of Canada's best and most talented (and terribly underappreciated) rappers. He opened with "In The Beginning" from 2006's Polaris Music Prize-nominated The Dusty Foot Philosopher, and followed it with "Soobax." The beat got the entire crowd dancing, and I heard quite a few people singing along to the chorus, which is in Somali.

Most of the rest of his set was filled with material from the soon-to-be-released Troubadour, which is out on Jan. 13. Lead single "ABCs" was a good choice to come after "Soobax," since its beat is quite similar.

K'naan then launched into "America," which won't be on Troubadour, "Take A Minute" and "People Like Me." He also included an interlude that had the crowd screaming over his improvised rapping.

But the closing track (which used to be called "Freedom," but may have since been renamed) really showed K'Naan's tremendous hit-making potential and talents as an MC and lyricist. The chorus of "When I get older/I will be stronger/They'll call me freedom/Just like a waving flag" has one hell of a hook.

K'Naan got the crowd to sing the chorus a capella with him before launching into the tune. This has become a regular feature at his shows, but it displayed how he's mastered his showmanship over the last few years. The crowd screamed for an encore after he left the stage. K'naan unfortunately didn't do one, even though his performance was so good that it probably deserved, or even required, one.

Matisyahu took the stage a short while later and opened with the new "Escape." It got the crowd moving, but "Jerusalem" from 2006's Youth, which he launched into right afterwards, had the audience yelling along and turned the Phoenix into a dancehall.

Matisyahu then extended "Close My Eyes," from 2004's Shake Off The Dust…Arise, into what must have been a nearly 10-minute dub number, before launching into another new song. He followed that with "Exaltation," which became yet another long dub number, during which he included freestyle lyrics and part of "Aveinu Malkeinu" (Hebrew for "Our Father, Our King"), a prayer which is recited in synagogue from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur and on other important Jewish fast days.

People began clearing out of The Phoenix during "Youth," which was perplexing. The show was all-ages and suburban kids obviously need to get on the GO Train to go home, but almost half the club had emptied out by the end of "So Hi, So Lo." When Matisyahu brought Boston MC Nosson Zair on stage for a jam, the place was much more barren than it should have been.

An extended beat box interlude followed Zair's appearance, and Matisyahu leapt from the stage on to the overhang above the exit and sat down for some of it. This interlude was initially impressive, but just because you can do something for a long time doesn't mean you should.

Matisyahu launched into "King Without A Crown," his biggest hit, and everyone began screaming. The Phoenix became a dancing mass again, but about three-quarters of the remaining crowd left the building as soon as the song showed signs of ending and Matisyahu seamlessly transferred into "Aish Tamid" as the set wound down.

This evening K'Naan nearly upstaged Matisyahu because the rapper's set was tighter, more lively and K'Naan engaged the crowd more. While Matisyahu is clearly a gifted lyricist, performer and freestyler, he would have done well to cut his extended numbers down a bit, which would have made more space for shorter songs and would have kept the crowd a bit more engaged.