The Dusty Foot Philosopher
The Dusty Foot Philosopher is the first studio album by the Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan after previously releasing a mixtape. It was released by BMG Music on June 7, 2005, in Canada and on June 23, 2005, in the United States.
| The Dusty Foot Philosopher | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 7, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2002–2005 | |||
| Genre | African hip hop, folk | |||
| Length | 64:00 | |||
| Label | BMG | |||
| Producer | Track & Field | |||
| K'naan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| NOW Magazine | [2] |
| The Observer | [3] |
| Okayplayer | 84/100[4] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[5] |
| RapReviews | 8/10[6] |
| Robert Christgau | A[7] |
| Spin | [8] |
Awards
The album won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2006 and was shortlisted for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize. He also was nominated for an mtvU award for most downloads of his song, "Soobax". In November 2007, the album was included in The Guardian's list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die.[9] The album was put at 194 on Rollingstone's Top 200 Greatest Rap Albums of All Time. [10]
Soundtracks
"In the Beginning" is part of the soundtrack of the 2008 comedy Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. This song also gives the title for episode 7 of the fifth season of True Blood, appearing in the closing credits of the episode. "Soobax" was used on the soundtrack for the video game FIFA 06.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wash It Down" | 2:16 |
| 2. | "Soobax" | 3:42 |
| 3. | "What's Hardcore?" | 3:36 |
| 4. | "My Old Home" | 3:06 |
| 5. | "Moment (Interlude)" | 0:10 |
| 6. | "I Was Stabbed By Satan" | 3:52 |
| 7. | "My God (Interlude)" | 0:22 |
| 8. | "Smile" | 4:03 |
| 9. | "If Rap Gets Jealous" | 4:18 |
| 10. | "The Dusty Foot Philosopher" | 3:56 |
| 11. | "Strugglin'" | 3:34 |
| 12. | "In the Beginning" | 3:21 |
| 13. | "Hoobaale" | 5:05 |
| 14. | "The African Way" (featuring Mwafrika) | 4:21 |
| 15. | "Voices in My Head" | 4:00 |
| 16. | "Boxing My Shadow" | 4:29 |
| 17. | "For Mohamoud (Soviet)" | 0:32 |
| 18. | "Until the Lion Learns to Speak" | 2:28 |
| 19. | "Blues for the Horn" | 5:59 |
| 20. | "'Til We Get There" (with M-1 featuring Stori James) | 4:25 |
References
- Allmusic review
- NOW review
- Gillett, Charlie (February 19, 2006). "K'Naan, The Dusty Foot Philosopher". The Guardian. London.
- Okayplayer review
- http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/knaan-the-dusty-foot-philosopher
- RapReviews review
- Robert Christgau review
- Spin (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[He fills] his desperate tales with warm, hooky melodies, African percussion, clever pop-culture references, and a surprising dose of humor."
- Petridis, Alexis (November 17, 2007). "1000 albums to hear before you die". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- Weingarten, Charles Aaron,Mankaprr Conteh,Jon Dolan,Will Dukes,Dewayne Gage,Joe Gross,Kory Grow,Christian Hoard,Jeff Ihaza,Julyssa Lopez,Mosi Reeves,Yoh Phillips,Noah Shachtman,Rob Sheffield,Simon Vozick-Levinson,Christopher R.; Aaron, Charles; Conteh, Mankaprr; Dolan, Jon; Dukes, Will; Gage, Dewayne; Gross, Joe; Grow, Kory; Hoard, Christian (2022-06-07). "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-02-12.