Kae Sun "Lion on a Leash"

I'm fairly certain everyone, or almost everyone, goes through a phase in their adolescence or early adulthood where they hear Legend, buy a poster of Bob Marley and throw it up on their wall. Since that point, I have subscribed to the Barney Stinson school of reggae, "Does she know that one song that goes: Umm-Umm-Chalka Umm-Umm-Chalka? What's that song called? Oh right, its called every reggae song". Of course I'm not that crass, but I couldn't name another reggae artist in the history of the genre... Peter Tosh? Do Sean Paul or Kardinal count?

Well, after an email from the good people at Urbnet, I can add Kae Sun to the list as my second favourite reggae artist, ever. Kae Sun, like Shad or K'Naan, certainly seems be inspired by his move from his country of birth, Ghana; and also like Shad and K'Naan, that inspiration has lead him to create a song - and presumably other songs as well - that give us all a small glimpse into his journey from Accra to the Hammer and Hogtown.

The video, both the them - the official one (above) and the 'live' video (below) - are simple and straight forward, like "More than Words" sort of simple, which I think is a really smart move on the part of Kae Sun, Urbnet, and the video director. The reason being, the straight ahead playing guitar on a stool format really serves to highlight how powerful the music and his message is. Kae speaks (sings) with the authority of someone who has seen and experienced the world in a way most of us in North America have not, and he can does that without coming across as arrogant or preachy. Mostly, he comes across as awesome.

I am very excited about Lion On A Leash, the album, to be released Tuesday, October 6th and the CD release show the following day, Wednesday, October 7th at the Lula Lounge (1585 Dundas St. W).