The Somali-Canadian (K'naan)

K'naan (pronounced /ˈkeɪnɑːn/, born Keinan Abdi Warsame (Somali: Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, Arabic: كنعان عبدي ورسمه‎) in 1978, is a Somali-Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist.

Birth name: Keinan Abdi Warsame
Born: 1 February 1978 (1978-02-01) (age 32)
Mogadishu, Somalia
Origin: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres: Hip hop, world music
Occupations: Musician, poet, rapper, singer
Instruments: Guitar, percussion, vocals
Years active: 2001–present
Labels: A&M/Octone, BMG, Wrasse, Interdependent
Associated acts: Chad Hugo, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Damian Marley, Dead Prez, Kirk Hammet, Chubb Rock, Nas, Adam Levine, Nelly Furtado, Amadou & Mariam, Wale, will.i.am, David Guetta, David Bisbal, Nancy Ajram
website: knaanmusic.com


Biography
Born in Somalia and married to a beautiful woman called samiya Ali K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most famous singers. K'naan's grandfather, Haji Mohammad, was a poet. He is Muslim, and his name, Keinan, means "traveler" in the Somali language. He spent the early years of his life listening to the hip-hop records sent to him from America by his father, who had left Somalia earlier. When he was 13, K'naan, his mother, and his three siblings, older brother, Liban, and younger sisters Naciimo, Sagal were able to leave their homeland and join relatives in New York City, where they stayed briefly before moving to Canada, to the Toronto neighbourhood of Rexdale, where there was a large Somali community and his family still resides. There, K'naan began learning English, partly by listening to hip hop albums by artists like Nas and Rakim. Despite the fact that he could not yet speak the language, the young K'naan taught himself hip hop and rap diction, copying the lyrics and style phonetically. He then also began rapping.
He is married to Deqa, a pharmacist. They have two sons, born in 2005 and 2007

Awards

K'naan won the 2010 Juno Awards for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year


Views on Somali piracy

K'naan states that Somali piracy, while not to be condoned, has a reason for existence.
“ It has no basis, no roots, and I'm not talking about, when I say basis – it's not the same as justifications [...] but how there came to be pirates, I think that is probably the most undiscussed thing in major media today – it's as if they just sprung from nowhere. But Somalis have long known about the issues. ”
According to K'naan, Somali fishermen organized and armed themselves so that they could protect the Somali shoreline from illegal dumping of nuclear toxic waste from private companies. He goes on to state that, "greed and the lure of money eventually produced what we see today as Somali piracy". On April 15, 2009 K'naan publicly criticized the approach to the problem of Somali piracy after the kidnapping of Richard Phillips of the United States flagged MV Maersk Alabama container ship 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) southeast of the Somalian port city of Eyl.

Albums

2004: My Life Is a Movie
2005: The Dusty Foot Philosopher
2007: The Dusty Foot on the Road
2009: Troubadour
[edit] Singles
2005: "Soobax"
2005: "Strugglin"
2008: "ABCs" (featuring Chubb Rock)
2008: "Dreamer"
2008: "Somalia"
2008: "I Come Prepared" (featuring Damian Marley)
2009: "If Rap Gets Jealous” (featuring Kirk Hammett of Metallica)
2009: "Wavin' Flag"
2010: "Wavin' Flag (The Celebration Mix)"
2010: "Wavin' Flag" (featuring will.i.am and David Guetta