The Dusty Foot Philosopher (studio album) by K'naan

K'naan establishes himself as someone whose been through more than the mainstream gangster rappers of his time, but proceeds to give us plenty of music that is far more uplifting. The darker tracks about his mental health towards the end hit really hard. Probably the first rap album I ever took seriously. His more braggadocios bars on the title track do the job, but they're nothing too special. It's more interesting to hear his story from nightmarishly bad to where he is at the time of writing. And his all around positive attitude sends a message to his contemporaries that the games they're playing are kind of sad and pathetic. He really does "make 50 cent look like limp bizkit", and I can bob my head to it.