K'Naan

as seen on myspace

wed 3/25/2009

 

Canadian MC and singer K'Naan learned to rap in English before he knew how to speak it. “None of the kids in my neighborhood understood English, but we knew what hip hop was," recalls the Somali-born Kanaan Warsame.

Nearly 20 years after he and his family fled the war-torn city of Mogadishu, K'Naan's blend of rap, rock, reggae and other world rhythms is earning him comparisons to Bob Marley, Eminem, Q-Tip and Wyclef Jean. Like Marley, the 30-year-old blends social commentary with head-nodding beats, but like like Wyclef, K'Naan walks a fine line between teaching and overreaching.

In 2005, the wiry rapper released his debut, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, which won him critical acclaim, including a Juno Award (Canada's version of a Grammy) for Rap Recording of The Year. His lead single, Soobax (Come Out), has the third-world hipster vibe that propelled Britian's M.I.A to fame and fortune. Since then, K'Naan has collaborated with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, The Roots, Dead Prez and Pharaohe Monch.

Earlier this year, K'Naan dropped his second album, Troubadour. Recorded in Bob Marley's studio in Jamaica, the album features collaborations with artists as diverse as the album's track list: old-school rapper Chubb Rock, reggae superstar Damian Marley, pop-rocker Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Kirk Hammett of Metallica. The album, including the breakthrough single Wavin' Flag, is currently streaming on his MySpace.

See: myspace.com/knaanmusic

 
 
 

21 responses to “as seen on MySpace: K'Naan”

wow thats kool to learn how to rap in a language u cant even speak yet !!!!!

divina69's picture

★ мιzz yandel ★ ..

wed 3/25 1:41am

THATS CRAZY
JUST GOES TO SHOW U
HIP HOP IS INTERNATIONAL

TuCHYNiTAlOKA914's picture

-:-LA CHYNA -:-

wed 3/25 1:43am

respect al lo maximo!
Damian marly is my dude
welcome to jamrock!!
lol and he worked with alot of gud artistes
and i like nelly furtado
never heard of him but his music is not bad
let me find out more about this Canadian guy

xooflamboyantoox's picture

$$$CARLITO$EL$ PANAMENO$$$

wed 3/25 1:44am

dun forget
wyclef! one
of the best
maan i missed
the fugees one of hiphops
best group wooow
but i think i heard of
him before

PANAMA18's picture

***MR PANAMA***

wed 3/25 8:32am

i loved the BET cypher he did !

Mrjam7's picture

Mrjam7

wed 3/25 10:04am

I'll go take a listen...

Jorge C.'s picture

Jorge C

wed 3/25 2:21pm

NEVA HEARD, BUT HES TALENTED, U GO BOY!!! :D

brownie39's picture

Mizz Alacranes Musical =)

wed 3/25 5:28pm

ive heard of him b4 but idk bout his music that much pero iight cool thats awesome como empezo

Junior1213's picture

Jя.

wed 3/25 5:48pm

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