K'naan Somali Hip Hop Artist

K'naan spent his childhood doing what he could to survive during the Somali civil war in the early 90's. Such experiences heavily influenced his music. K'naan later moved to Harlem, then to Canada, escaping the war on the last commercial flight to leave Somalia. Undoubtedly, he has a tremendous sense of purpose and is not shy about reflecting it in his music. The proud African speaks of war, poverty, the rich cultural resilience of his people, spoken of in the song "Smile", which brings the message, "smile while your bleeding". In other words, the African way is to find happiness in your existence and wear a smile no matter how painful life is. No doubt, with the brutality and violence these people endure daily, it amounts smiling while your literally bleeding.

K'naan released his debut, "The Dusty Foot Philosopher" One of my personal favorite albums. He speaks of the meaning behind the title, "The Dusty Foot Philosopher" refers to one of his fallen brothers who earned that name from living a life of poverty, but living in a dignified way, having no access to education but being aware of the solar system, having a rich sense of history and culture, being deep with wisdom and poetry.

K'naan also isn't impressed by the so called hardcore rappers who brag about gun play and the hard life in the US ghetto, as he reflects in the song "What's Hardcore".

I think K'naan's music has something in it for everyone. Check his albums out on i-tunes.