K'naan
The Rise & Rise of The Dusty Foot Philosopher. The voice of the new generation urban African artist sat down with Liha Mohass to explain why he is so unique.
Article written by: Liha Mohass
Having just finished a huge European & Australian tour, K’naan looks set to hit the big time in Europe.
There is all of a sudden a sense of…..quite possibly awe. Possibly panic. K’naan arrives at the hotel lobby his stylish hat cocked to one side of his curly Afro. His sheer fabulousness, it seems, makes everyone in this West London hotel lobby, hold their breath. K’naan has the ability to hold an audience in thrall and this is obviously not only on stage.
Having just finished a huge European and Australian tour, K’naan looks set to hit the big time in Europe. Praised by many this multi talented rapper started his tour in London where he supported Damien Marley at the Brixton Academy. His tour took him further to France, Belgium and Australia. He came back to the UK to do his sold out, solo gig which was primarily devoted to his much acclaimed, recent album The Dusty Foot Philosopher, which won him two Canadian, urban music awards. The voice of the new generation urban African artist sat down with Sheeko team to explain why he is so unique.
Today he is the man of the moment but he is quick to down-play his rising fame. “I have never been focused on the aftermath of what I do or what I create. If I had been, what I create could have been different. I’ve never really been the one to say look at my work this is what I do. I’ve really worked on the passion in my sound for years by myself writing and critiquing my work, creating something genuine and unique. What happens after that is left to its own device. It is cool that people are starting to take notice in different parts of the world.”
At the age of nine, K’naan was doing what most kids do. Hanging around his neighbourhood street corner, Mcing for his friends, dropping Nas and Rakim verses and other great American MCs with an almost eerie attention to detail and pronunciation — even though he couldn’t speak English, dreaming of the day when he could posses the lyrical skills and the rhythm.
K’naan was already writing poetry; so taking up hip-hop on his arrival in America was second nature. However, K’naan is not an American kid. He is African; and he wasn’t on the streets of New York and Los Angeles or Detroit. He was on the other side of the world, the dusty streets of Mogadishu Somalia.
His story is more remarkable than most, involving a harrowing odyssey that would see him exiled from this war-torn country before living in New York’s Harlem district and eventually settling in Toronto.
