K'naan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| K'Naan | ||
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 Promotional Picture of K'Naan in 2005
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | K'Naan | |
| Born | 1978 | |
| Origin | Mogadishu, Somalia | |
| Genre(s) | Hip Hop/ Folk/Acoustic/R&B | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician | |
| Years active | 2001 – present | |
| Label(s) | BMG Music | |
| Associated acts |
Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Damian Marley, Dead Prez | |
| Website | http://www.thedustyfoot.com | |
K'naan (Keynaan, meaning traveler in Somali, born 1978) is a poet and hip-hop artist from Somalia from the Hawiye clan.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, he spent the early years of his life struggling to survive and listening to hip-hop records by artists like Nas and Rakim, sent to him by his father, who had left Somalia to work as a taxi driver in New York City . When K'Naan was 13, he, his mother, and his two siblings were able to leave their homeland and join relatives in Harlem, where they stayed briefly before moving to Rexdale, Ontario, where there was a large Somali community. As soon as K'Naan's English started improving he began rapping, and in tenth grade he dropped out of school and traveled around North America for two years, performing occasionally.
Through his friendship with Sol Guy, part of promotion team Direct Current Media, K'naan performed in Geneva at the 50th anniversary of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2001, where he used his platform to publicly criticize the United Nations' handling of the Somali crisis in the 1990s.
One of the audience members, Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, was so impressed by the young MC's performance and courage that he invited him to contribute to his 2001 album Building Bridges, a somali project through which K'Naan was able to tour the world.
[edit] Solo Career
In 2002 K'naan met Jarvis Church, part of the Track and Field Productions team that helped to propel Nelly Furtado to fame, a connection that eventually led to a record.[1]
In 2005 he performed with DobaCaracol during the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario. His full-length debut album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, was released in 2005.
His song "Soobax" (pronounced "So-Bah") is now featured in Electronic Arts' best-selling video game FIFA Football 2006.
K'naan participated in the Breedlove Odyssey Tour with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae. He also participated in the "Welcome to Jamrock" tour with Damian Marley.
The Dusty Foot Philosopher received a 2006 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year, and was nominated for the inaugural Polaris Music Prize. He also featured in a song by M1, titled "Till We Get There".
[edit] Discography
The Dusty Foot Philosopher (2005)
