MyWeku

K’naan’s song Wavin’ Flag has been chosen as this year’s official song for the FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa.

K’naan whose name means “traveller” was born in Mogadishu, Somalia where he spent his formative years, partly as a child soldier. He is reputed to have left Somalia with his mother and two siblings on the last commercial flight to leave the country before it crumbled, firstly to New York and then later to Ontario, Canada.

He began rapping at an early age, mimicking the style of US based hip hop artists in Somalia where he received regular supply of records from his US based Dad.

K’naan got his breakthrough when as a teenager; he was invited to speak before the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in 1999. Youssou N’Dour the famous Senegalese musician was in the audience and was impressed by K’naan’s performance. K’naan contributed to Youssou N’Dour’s album building bridges in 2001.

His sound has been described as “a sound that fuses Bob Marley, conscious American hip hop, and brilliant protest poetry.” Largely focused on but not limited to the dire situation in his home country, Somalia. Like many African born musicians, he makes good use of traditional African instruments with other instruments, and draws a great deal on Ethiopian Jazz.

In 2009, K’naan collaborated with J. Period, an LA born DJ/ music producer, to release “The Messengers”. The Messengers was a three part remix project that paid tribute to music icons: Fela Kuti, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. It is hosted online for free at Jperiod.com/knaan.

Click Here for the Lyrics to Wavin’ Flag