1. Keinan Abdi Warsame was born on 16 April 1978 and, better known by his stage name K'naan, is a Somali-Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter and filmmaker.
32 Facts About K'naan
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K'naan rose to fame after releasing the single "Wavin' Flag", which was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
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Besides hip hop, K'naan's sound is influenced by elements of Somali music and world music.
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K'naan was born 16 April 1978 in Mogadishu, situated in the southeastern Banaadir province of Somalia.
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K'naan's grandfather was a famous poet, and his aunt Magool was a renowned singer.
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K'naan narrowly escaped death one day at his school, when he mistook a grenade that he found in the dirt for a potato and threw it away just before it detonated.
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In 2006, K'naan moved back to New York City, where his father still resided.
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K'naan was married to Deka, a pharmacy technician, with whom he has two sons, born in 2005 and 2007.
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The couple divorced before K'naan started touring for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Coca-Cola.
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K'naan became a friend and associate of Canadian promoter Sol Guy, who helped him secure a speaking engagement before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1999, where K'naan performed a spoken word piece criticizing the UN for its failed peacekeeping missions to Somalia.
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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.
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K'naan toured and collaborated with artists like Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, will.
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K'naan collaborated with Damian Marley on the "Welcome to Jamrock" touring session.
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K'naan released The Dusty Foot on the Road, a collection of recordings made during his world tour on Wrasse Records.
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K'naan rose to mainstream popularity by participating in the 2008 BET Awards Cypher.
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K'naan's music has featured in several video games such as Madden NFL 09 and FIFA 06.
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In 2012, K'naan published a children's book, When I Get Older: The Story Behind Wavin' Flag.
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K'naan is featured along with Howard Shore in the Cosmopolis soundtrack.
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In February 2024, K'naan won his first Grammy Award for a song called "Refugee", which won in the category for Best Song for Social Change.
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K'naan is often regarded as a spokesperson for the Toronto Somali community.
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K'naan specifically tries to avoid gangsta rap cliches and posturing, saying:.
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K'naan has said that he is influenced by Somali music and the traditional instruments of Somalia.
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One of the last performances of this band was on 16 March 2009, when K'naan rendered four songs from the newly launched album for CBC's program Q with Jian Ghomeshi, although Rayzak continued to join his subsequent shows and Kierscey Rand made occasional appearances, such as his World Cup Trophy Tour.
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In December 2009, K'naan performed the song live during the sponsor's FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, which took him to 86 countries around the world.
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On 21 September 2010, K'naan was scheduled as the headlining act of a student organised concert for World Peace Day which was to benefit girls' education in rural Ghana.
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At 11pm, K'naan cancelled for reasons that have been reported as relating to finances.
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K'naan's manager stated that, "this is the first time in K'naan's seven-year career that he has pulled out of a performance for such a reason".
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On 8 May 2011, K'naan performed live at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park for Coca-Cola's employees in light of Coke's 125th anniversary.
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On 15 October 2011, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, K'naan was one of eight performers at the "Decade of Difference" concert.
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K'naan spoke about his childhood in Somalia and how President Clinton's efforts overseas positively impacted his youth.
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Also teaming up with close associate Sol Guy, K'naan performed various concerts for the cause.
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Additionally, K'naan was active in promoting the Canadian Bill C-393 to help increase medical assistance to countries in Africa.