Take a Minute K

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Take a MinuteKnaan

• Tyler Van Slyck

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Take a Minute lyrics

• And any man who knows a thing knowsHe knows not
  a damn, damn thing at allAnd every time I felt
  the hurtAnd I felt the givin' gettin' me up off
  the wall
• I'm just gonna take a minute and let it rideI'm
  just gonna take a minute and let it breezeI'm
  just gonna take a minute and let it rideI'm just
  gonna take a minute and let it breeze

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Lyrics continued

• How did Mandela get the will to surpass the
  everydayWhen injustice had him caged and trapped
  in every way?How did Gandhi ever withstand the
  hunger strikes and all?Didn't do it to gain
  power or money if I recallIt's to give, I
  guess, I'll pass it onMother thinks it'll lift
  the stress of BabylonMother knows, my mother she
  suffered blowsI don't know how we survived such
  violent episodes

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Lyrics continued

• I was so worried and hurt to see you bleedBut
  as soon as you came out the hospital you gave me
  sweetsYeah, they try to take you from meBut you
  still only gave 'em some prayers and
  sympathyDear mama, you helped me write thisBy
  showing me to give is pricelessAnd any man who
  knows a thing knowsHe knows not a damn, damn
  thing at allAnd every time I felt the hurtAnd I
  felt the givin' gettin' me up off the wall

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Lyrics continued

• I'm just gonna take a minute and let it rideI'm
  just gonna take a minute and let it breezeI'm
  just gonna take a minute and let it rideI'm just
  gonna take a minute and let it breezeAll I can
  say is the worst is over nowWe can serve the
  hard times, divorce, it's over nowThey try to
  keep us out but they doors is open nowMy man,
  Akon is gettin' awards and covers now

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Lyrics continued

• This is K'naan and still reppin' this SComin'
  out of Mogadishu and still draped in the messAnd
  no matter how we strong, homieIt ain't easy
  comin' out of where we from, homieAnd that's
  the reason why, I could never play for meTell
  'em the truth is what my dead homies told meOoh
  yeah, I take inspiration from the most heinous of
  situationsCreating medication out my own
  tribulationsDear Africa, you helped me write
  thisBy showing me to give is priceless

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Lyrics continued

• And any man who knows a thing knowsHe knows not
  a damn, damn thing at allAnd every time I felt
  the hurtAnd I felt the givin' gettin' me up off
  the wallI'm just gonna take a minute and let it
  rideI'm just gonna take a minute and let it
  breezeI'm just gonna take a minute and let it
  rideI'm just gonna take a minute and let it
  breeze

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Lyrics continued

• I got nothin' to complain aboutYou know where
  I'm fromYou know where I'ma last, soYou know I
  was flyin' highI'm just gonna take a minute and
  let it rideI'm just gonna take a minute and let
  it breezeI'm just gonna take a minute and let it
  rideI'm just gonna take a minute and let it
  breeze

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Knaan biography

• Knaan Warsame was born in Moagdishu, Somalia,
  February, 1, 1977. He lived in Somalia until the
  age of thirteen through all of the Somali civil
  war. When he was thirteen he left his home
  country to Harlem with his mother and three
  siblings for a better life.
• After a short lived experience in Harlem, New
  York. He and his family moved to Toronto,
  Ontario, in Canada, to a large Somali community.
  While living in Canada Knaan taught himself to
  better speak English by listening to several rap
  and hip-hip albums.
• When Knaan was in tenth grade he dropped out
  of high school to pursue his dream of rapping. In
  1999 Knaan spoke at the United Nations High
  Commissions for Refugees on the Somali civil war.
  This is what started off his career he worked
  with various artists on several tracks and
  received great acclaim for them. (The Guardian)

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Biography continued

• Then a producer named Jarvis Church saw what
  he had musically accomplished during the years
  after 1999 and he signed Knaan in 2002. With
  Church Knaan released his first album in 2005
  called, The Dusty Foot Philosopher. This album
  won a Juno award and received multiple
  nominations for other categories in musical
  excellence. This album contains several hits in
  it such as Soobax and If Rap gets Jealous.
  Also this album was on The Guardians list of 1000
  albums to listen to before you die.
• After receiving much acclaim and being very
  successful with his first album he immediately
  started touring around the world and working on
  his second album. He toured in the Live 8 and
  Breedlove Odyssey tours with many other artists
  such as Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, and Damian
  Marley.

• Knaans second album, Troubadour was released
  in 2009 with many hits on it. The album helped
  Knaan win songwriter and artist of the year. The
  album had hits such as ABCs, Waving Flag,
  and Take a Minute just to name a few.
• Knaans songs have been featured in a couple of
  movies and various videogames such as Fifa 2006,
  Madden 2009, and Fifa World Cup 2010. One of the
  biggest achievements that his songs have been
  linked with mass media is the use of his song,
  Waving Flag as the Coca-Cola World Cup theme
  song. (The dusty foot)

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Mandela

• Nelson Mandela was put into jail in South
  Africa for having his own separate beliefs that
  differed from the South African governmental
  regime. When Mandela was let out of jail he had
  been deprived of music and all other activities
  which he was unable to enjoy in jail, but when he
  got out of jail he listened to music, and told
  his inspirational story and won a Nobel Piece
  Prize.
• Knaan cites Mandela in his song because
  Mandela's story is inspirational, as is Knaans.
  And so he references him in his song to talk
  about two current, inspirational people who have
  triumphed even under their hardships that they
  faced in Africa. (Anc.org)

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Gandhi

• Mohandas Gandhi was a spiritual and political
  leader in Indias independence movement. He
  resisted tyranny through mass civil disobedience,
  such as starving yourself. He was such an
  inspirational leader in India that his day of
  birth, October 2nd, is now a holiday in India
  and is also then international day of non
  violence.
• (Ascension
• gateway)

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Babylon

• This line in, Take a Minute, refers to the
  obstacles that the city off Babylon constantly
  had to overcome. The city was a holy city in
  Mesopotamia, current day Iraq, and is now reduced
  to pure rubble. However, throughout time Babylon
  was a magnificent city but was always being taken
  over. This is referenced in Knaans song
  because his city of Mogadishu has to come over
  the turmoil of a Somali civil war.

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All I can say is the worst is over nowWe can
serve the hard times, divorce, it's over now

• This line makes reference to how in Knaan
  lived in Somalia and faced much hardship and many
  diverse experiences which most people wouldnt be
  able to get through but he did. But now a days
  when the going gets tough the tough gets going.
  So people can just escape hard situations, but he
  triumphed over them in Africa and now is an
  inspiration to everyone in Mogadishu like Gandhi
  was to India and Mandela to South Africa.

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Still draped in the mess

• This line in the song is about the Somali civil
  war in particularly. Even though the whole song
  references it, this line shows that even though
  Knaan got out of trouble and made something of
  himself people are still in Somalia. These people
  still have to face the civil war and so thats
  why he continues on in the song to talk about how
  its easy to help, because he is in a good
  position to help other people who need it.
  (Global security)
• The Somali civil war started in 1991 and
  continues on until today. Roughly 300,000 people
  have died from the war and the war continues on
  today with some intervention from the U.N and
  other organizations.

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Akon

• Akon is an a key figure in the life of Knaan
  because like Knaan Akon is from Africa, however
  he is from Senegalese. Akon came to America at
  the age of seven but only officially moved here
  when he was 15. He is an inspiration to Knaan
  because Akon went through many troubled times in
  his life and he showed Knaan that a man could
  become a successful musician even though he came
  from a place of conflict. This was important to
  the instrumental push for Knaans music because
  without Akon Knaan wouldnt have had a similar
  role model. (Akon fan)

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Anaphora

• Im just gonna take a minute fits the
  requirements of what an anaphora would be because
  in the chorus those six words are repeated four
  times each in subsequent lines. And an anaphora
  is when a group of words or phrases are repeated
  multiple times. (Spsd)

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Connotation

• The literary device connotation means that
  there is a word being used, such as gold which is
  a ductile, malleable, yellow element, however
  when used in music is can relate to money or
  greed. In Take a Minute the word priceless is
  used to mean easy, however the word normal
  definition relates to something being cheap or
  inexpensive.

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Couplet

• A couplet is a specific rhyme scheme in a song
  or poem. The scheme is just a simple A-A, meaning
  that the last word in each line rhymes with the
  line before it, but a couplet is only two lines.
  An example of that in, Take a Minute, is
  (Tnellen)
• Ooh yeah, I take inspiration from the most
  heinous of situationsCreating medication out my
  own tribulations.

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Setting

• Setting is the time, place, or physical
  description in a work or literature. In this song
  the setting of reference is in Africa, and
  specifically Mogadishu.

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Theme

• In literature theme is a common interest or
  idea incorporated into a literary work. In this
  song, the theme is overcoming your obstacles so
  that you can help more people who cant overcome
  theirs. Two key examples of this in the song is
  when Knaan talks about Mandela and Gandhi.

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Work Cited

• AE television network, comp. Damian Marley
  Biography . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
  lthttp//www.biography.com/?articles/?Damian-Marley
  -297416gt.
• African Oz. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
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  fricanoz.com.au/?image/?k27naan_best.jpgimgrefur
  lhttp//www.africanoz.com.au/?usg__Trs-VvS6gnr-
  iBFsBhSTxopNRcMh1212w864sz50hlenstart1
  um1itbs1tbnidbB_iLTkmKsqc3Mtbnh150tbnw10
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• African Success, comp. African Success People
  changing the face of Africa. N.p., 22 Nov. 2008.
  Web. 27 May 2010. lthttp//www.africansuccess.org/?
  visuFiche.php?id611langengt.
• ANC, comp. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. anc.org.
  N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010. lthttp//www.anc.org.z
  a/?people/?mandela.htmlgt.
• Ascension Gateway, comp. Mahatma Gandhi
  Biography. Ascension Gateway. N.p., n.d. Web. 1
  June 2010. lthttp//www.ascensiongateway.com/?quote
  s/?gandhi/?biography.htmgt.

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continued

• Block Blogger. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
  lthttp//www.google.com/?imgres?imgurlhttp//block
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  adour3.jpgimgrefurlhttp//hustleandhype.wordpres
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• Fifa, comp. Fifa futbol. Fifa organization, 2
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• The guardian, and , comps. Artists beginning
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  2010. lthttp//www.guardian.co.uk/?music/?2007/?nov
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• Live 8, comp. Live 8 concerts. Live 8
  organization, n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
  lthttp//www.live8live.com/?theconcerts/gt.

24
continued

• Maple Music Ltd., comp. Maple Music. N.p., n.d.
  Web. 27 May 2010. lthttp//www.maplemusic.com/?arti
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