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K'NAAN
K'NAAN
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Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, just as the civil unrest that rocked the country was beginning, rapper K'NAAN spent the early years of his life trying to avoid death and listening to the hip-hop records sent to him from America by his father, who had left Somalia earlier. When K'NAAN (whose name means "traveler" in Somali) 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 his 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 was able to perform at the United Nations' 50th anniversary concert in 1999, held in Geneva, 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 project through which K'NAAN was able to tour the world. In 2002, he met Jarvis Church, part of the Track and Field Productions team that helped propel Nelly Furtado to fame, a connection that eventually led to a record. The Dusty Foot Philosopher came out in Canada in 2005, and was followed with tour spots with Mos Def and Talib Kweli, as well as a performance at Live 8. In 2007 the live album On the Road appeared and then, two years later, the album Troubadour became K'NAAN's first for the major label A&M. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

K'NAAN - Troubadour in stores & online NOW!
Somalia.The name alone conjures up images of unbridled destruction, merciless warlords and ruthless ...
Songs: 20, Videos: 11, Playlists: 5, Blog Posts: 10, Polls: 0, Battles: 0

Fan Comments

Sep 14th, 4:41pm
your songs never get old, i can listen to them all day :)
Jul 1st, 4:08pm Last edited Jul 1st, 4:09pm.
OMG, I listen to ur song like EVERYDAY at the gym, I don't even have a choice, but I love its in heavy rotation... "Dayless Nite" be getting me THRU MY WORKOUTS... LOL... WORD. Didn't even know this was you... da track is tight. Who knew?? When you getting some NY dates, would love to see u at summer stage, lets make that happen... Word. ~SaySu
Jun 26th, 10:37pm Last edited Jun 26th, 10:39pm.
Jun 15th, 4:10pm
GREAT SHOW THIS WEEKEND AT THE FESTIVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS FRONT AND CENTER...I WILL BE POSTING YOUR VIDS ON MY YOUTBUBE... Youtube.com--->LYRIKALTOMBOI
Jun 12th, 8:39pm
hey wats good

Thanx 4 following up on tha Canadian hip hop movement
cuz we're next to blow in tha muzik industry
with ur support....

I'm rep'n my city with a
NEWLY RELEASED UNDAGROUND SMASH
BLOWING UP MYSPACE:

"T.O T.O (MEGA CITY)" ft. Infamous Starks & Left Lane...
free download @

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6094808772f33474/

&

PLUS HOT NEW EXCLUSIVE HOOD 09' BONNIE & CLYDE TRACK

"Down4u" ft.Infamous Starks & Ms.Millions

Don't forget to join tha fast growing
Canadian hip hop movement and become a fan
and/or join the street team
already at 500 and growing if u didn't already
@ http://www.reverbnation.com/infamousstarks

STAY TUNED 4 MORE.....1
Jun 3rd, 10:49pm
wssp k.naan hola bk?
hop u cl t.c
May 27th, 9:26pm
Hey K'naan, check out the new music video, Computer Freak, from your friendly Canadian competition. What do you think?

http://www.imeem.com/zoloworld/video/dLDfprIL/zolo-computer-freak-official-music-video-by-zolo-music-video/

-Zolo
May 11th, 7:17pm
Love you music
I Can't stop playin' the Fatima song
Great work!
Xxx
Apr 29th, 6:24pm
asc k.naan sifican bad wax u wada sxb lakin ku dadal inad tintada haysato cami gd jobz ilahay wayo ku daa ind
Apr 18th, 1:29am
We're so excited you'll be playing our festival on June 12 & 13 in Santa Rosa, California! http://techno-tribal.com