K'naan

K'naan (2010)

K'naan (* 1. February 1978 in Mogadishu , Somalia as Kaynaan Cabdi Warsame , also Keinan Abdi Warsame ) is a Somali - Canadian hip-hop - musicians . He is a nephew of the late singer Magool .

Life

Childhood and youth

K'naan - the name means "traveler" in Somali , whose aunt Magool was one of the most famous Somali singers, was born in Mogadishu , the capital of Somalia , and spent the first years of his life there. Today he refers to the streets of the city, on which he made his first experiences with rap music at the age of nine, as "the meanest streets in the universe", which in German means something like: "The worst streets in the universe".

When the civil war reached Mogadishu in 1991, his Hawiye clan parents emigrated to New York City with K'naan, then 13 . A little later, the family in Rexdale, a district of leaving Canadian Toronto with many Somalis down. There he learned English relatively quickly , which was also due to the fact that he listened to a lot of hip-hop music by artists like Nas and Rakim and began to rap in English himself. He dropped out of school after the tenth grade to travel to different places like Washington , Minnesota , Ohio , England and Switzerland for two years . Then he returned to Toronto.

Musical beginnings

In 2000, K'naan and the artist Salam, who plays bongo , formed a music group that still exists today. In 2001 he performed in Geneva to celebrate the 50th birthday of the UN Commissioner for Refugees . In 2005 he performed with Doba Caracol at the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario . He took part in the Breedlove Odysseys Tour with Mos Def , Talib Kweli , Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae and took part in the “Welcome to Jamrock” (in FIFA 06 with K'naans Soobax ) with Damian Marley . In spring 2006 K'naan and Salam crossed Europe together with Damian Marley as part of a major tour.

International breakthrough

In 2009 and 2010, K'naan's song Wavin 'Flag from the album Troubadour was released in several versions: With this album you could purchase the original version of the song, in addition, the title for the charity project Young Artists for Haiti , in which many Canadian artists such as Nelly Furtado , Avril Lavigne and K'naan collected money themselves for the victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti , and used it in a celebration version as a promotional song for the 2010 World Cup . This is how Wavin 'Flag, which also appeared in a Coca-Cola commercial for the World Cup, achieved its international breakthrough. The song became an international hit and reached number 1 on the charts in many countries. In Germany, the single was awarded platinum . Thereupon the French DJ David Guetta recorded a remix of the song with him and will.i.am.

The rapper had previously taken part in the Coca-Cola-sponsored FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour with this song in December 2009 , which took him through 86 countries, including all African countries. He also sang the song at the official opening concert of the World Cup the evening before the opening game.

Relationship to the homeland Somalia

In various interviews, K'naan criticized the state of civil war in his native Somalia , where he had never given a concert. In a conversation with the WDR radio wave Funkhaus Europa , the musician commented on his relationship with his homeland as follows:

“The problem with Somalis is that they are so proud as a people and as a nation. Even if they are treated incorrectly, they will not react negatively and aggressively to it. [...] It is one of my greatest dreams to live in this country again at some point. Even if I had the privilege and the good fortune to be able to survive in other parts of the world. "

Music genre

In his songs, K'naan mixes traditional American hip-hop with reggae and African music . In his lyrics, the artist also speaks of bringing hip-hop "home" to Africa: "I take it home."

He sings his lyrics almost exclusively in English , which he says he only learned at the age of 15. Only in the song America does he begin with a symbolic passage in his native language. His texts also often deal with his origins and the situation in his home country Somalia . Rolling Stone .de therefore sees him with his music as a "traveling salesman between pop and politics." He himself says about his lyrics:

“I have always seen myself as a mediator between the different worlds. [...] I also find it rather pleasant that you can read me and my art in different ways. I hate being pinned to a role. "

In December 2012, just two months after the release of his Country album , God Or The Girl , an article he wrote appeared in the New York Times in which he strongly criticized his new album and apologized for the change in style. He explains how he was put under pressure by his label to continue writing and singing “radio-friendly songs” after his world success Wavin 'Flag , which caused him to lose more and more of his real roots, namely hip-hop with the influence of traditional Somali music .

Discography

K'naan (2007)

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
2003	My Life Is a Movie (Mixtape) Self-Released	-	-	-	-	-	-	First published: 2004
2004	The Dusty Foot Philosopher BMG	-	-	-	-	-	-	First published: June 7, 2005
2009	Troubadour A&M / Octone	DE55 (6 weeks) DE	AT15 (11 weeks) AT	CH9 (14 weeks) CH	-	US32 (4 weeks) US	CA7 (2 weeks) CA	First published: February 24, 2009
2012	Country, God or the Girl A & M / Octone	-	-	-	-	US129 (1 week) US	-	First published: October 16, 2012

Live albums

• 2007: The Dusty Foot on the Road (first release: July 17, 2007, music label: EMI / Virgin Records)

EPs

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
2012	More Beautiful Than Silence A & M / Octone	-	-	-	-	-	CA37 (... weeks) CA	First published: January 24, 2012

Mix tapes

• 2009: You Can't Buy This (Mixed By K-Salaam & Beatnick)
• 2009: The Messengers 1 ( Fela Kuti ) (with J.Period)
• 2009: The Messengers 2 ( Bob Marley ) (with J.Period)
• 2009: The Messengers 3 ( Bob Dylan ) (with J.Period)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
2008	ABC troubadour	-	-	-	-	-	CA75 (5 weeks) CA	First published: November 18th, 2008 feat. Chubb Rock
2009	Bang Bang Troubadour	-	-	-	-	-	CA71 (7 weeks) CA	First published: March 14, 2009 feat. Adam Levine
	Wavin 'Flag Troubadour	-	-	-	-	-	CA2 (41 weeks) CA	First published: March 18, 2009
	Take a minute troubadour	-	-	-	-	-	CA11 (20 weeks) CA	First published: July 7, 2010
2010	Wavin 'Flag (Celebration Mix) Troubadour: Champion Edition	DE1 × 3 Triple gold (28 weeks)DE	AT1 (24 weeks) AT	CH1 × 2 Double platinum (30 weeks)CH	UK2 gold (14 weeks)UK	US82 (7 weeks) US	CA1 × 3 Triple platinum (41 weeks)CA	First published: April 30, 2010 Remix feat. will.i.am & David Guetta
2012	Is Anybody Out There? More Beautiful Than Silence	DE11 (10 weeks) DE	AT7 (15 weeks) AT	CH20 (11 weeks) CH	-	US92 (2 weeks) US	CA14th platinum (20 weeks)CA	First published: February 11, 2012 feat. Nelly Furtado
	Hurt Me Tomorrow Country, God or the Girl	-	-	-	-	-	CA12 platinum (22 weeks)CA	First published: May 1, 2012

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
2010	Wavin 'flag	-	-	-	-	-	CA1 (20 weeks) CA	First published: March 27, 2010 with Young Artists for Haiti
	Stop for a Minute Night Train	-	-	-	UK40 (3 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: May 22nd, 2010 Keane feat. K'naan
2011	Summer Paradise Get Your Heart On!	-	-	-	-	-	CA8 (35 weeks) CA	First published: December 13th, 2011 Simple Plan feat. K'naan

Further guest contributions

• 2006: Till We Get There (Confidential; First published: 2006; M-1 feat.K'naan)
• 2009: L'Arme de Paix (L'Arme de Paix; First published: 2009; Oxmo Puccino feat. K'naan)
• 2009: Think of All the Things (Survival_Skills; First published: 2009; KRS-One & Buckshot feat. K'naan)
• 2010: In Jamaica (Beatnick & K-Salaam Present - Where the Streets Have No Name; First published: 2010; Beatnick & K-Salaam feat. K'naan and Buckshot)

Awards

year	Award	category	annotation	Result
2006	Juno Award	Rap recording of the year	for The Dusty Foot Philosopher	Won
2010	Juno Award	Rap recording of the year	for troubadour	Nominated
	Juno Award	Artist of the year		Won
	Juno Award	Songwriter of the year		Won
	MOBO Award	African artist of the year		Won

literature

• Stephanie Conn: K'naan. In: Grove Music Online, September 3, 2014

Web links

• Video interview in Berlin

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Somali rapper K'Naan Schools American MCs NPR music, accessed November 13, 2010.
2. ↑ laut.de biography
3. ↑ Universal Music refines K'naan's football World Cup anthem ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Music Market, September 14, 2010 
4. ↑ K'Naan Celebrates His World Cup Anthem ( Memento from January 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ WM 2010: the opening concert
6. ↑ K'Naan. ( Memento from December 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Funkhaus Europa interview
7. ↑ African Hip-Hop - "Music Could Heal Me"
8. ↑ K'naan in an interview. "Troubador" to preview. ( Memento from June 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US / CA
10. ↑ Awards: DE CH UK CA