Some 20 years ago, Congolese pianist Ray Lema complained bitterly about perceptions of African musical identity. In artist Manu Dibango’s autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee, Lema said, “If there aren’t any palm trees on stage the audience says ‘he’s a fake African.’ I bring neither sun nor palm trees and I get called a bad African.”The pressure to toe a certain line still exists, but two Torontonians are at the global vanguard of changing perceptions of how African musicians ought to look and act.

K’naan’s not world music; his music is simply worldly

At this point, K’naan needs little introduction. He’s achieved greater success than any other African-born Canadian musician. In some senses, K’naan fits the Western image of an African musician: his life story of growing up in war-ravaged Somalia, then emigrating to Canada is not only a classic world music trope but seems to be a textbook endorsement of Canada’s multicultural ideal. K’naan is a passionate and insightful advocate for Somali and African issues; his work is suffused with social consciousness. He frequently uses African sounds and samples within his music. The artist’s identification with Somalia is so strong that when he won the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award in 2007 he was identified solely as Somali. But there's more than meets the eye.

"I always try and take the attention away from myself whenever I'm made to be this person that is the representative of such and such," K’naan told Exclaim three years ago.

K’naan was made in Canada. Unlike any other African musician in this country, he came up through a Canadian major label with well-connected insiders fostering his success at the outset of his career. He doesn’t dress up, on or off the stage. Most of all, his art is his own: somewhere between the talk-singing of Gil Scott-Heron and hip hop, his music and the vocal delivery are unique even when compared to the legions of rappers repping the African continent. He’s not “world music,” he and his music are simply worldly.

The Weeknd: an identity scramble

Then there’s The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, who’s an even more interesting case. First off, we know nothing about him. He’s never given an interview so nobody in the media has any idea how his Ethiopian heritage fits into his life. Though his melismatic delivery has been touted by The Grid as Ethio-influenced it’s more than likely he, like all contemporary R&B singers, continues the yodel-prone vocalizations of the past 20 years of post-Mariah R&B. His dress sense (from the few pictures we’ve seen) is typical Toronto street wear. He doesn’t speak with an accent; nor does he speak about his history or his family.

However, his first official video (NSFW), released at the end of November, takes identity scrambling to a whole new dimension. On the planet “Ethio X,” it’s the year 16311. Former Emperor Haile Selassie is prominently featured, as is much Amharic writing and Ethiopian-themed artistic motifs alongside much Coptic copulative imagery. You could probably spin a whole movie out of this high concept. The video, which Tesfaye didn’t direct, sheds no light on who he is or whathis real story is all about. It merely reinforces that he is at the forefrontof R&B today, while acknowledging his cultural heritage in a way that actually renders him more inscrutable.

There’s no grand conclusion to be drawn from how K’naan and The Weeknd present themselves to the world other than they’re calling their own shots. Hewing to Western expectations of authenticity is blessedly optional.

Related Links:

K'naan's website

Romney's flag-wavin' rapped by K'naan

 



posted by David Dacks on Feb 04, 2012