Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 16 April 1978) (Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama), better known by his stage name K'naan, is a Somali-Canadian rapper and singer.
K'naan was born 16 April 1978 in Mogadishu, situated in the southeastern Banaadir province of Somalia.
K'naan's family was from an artistic background.
His grandfather was a famous poet, and his aunt Magool was a renowned singer.
His name, Keynaan, means "traveller" in the Somali language.
K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu.
His father, Abdi, left earlier when he was still a boy to work as a taxi driver in New York City.
K'naan's early years were idyllic and enveloped in poetry and song, with his aunt Magool often singing to him.
This changed following the start of the civil war, when at the age of 12, three of his friends were shot by an older adolescent gunman.
K'naan also 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.
These incidents and the general escalation in violence prompted his mother to seek a visa so that the family could join his father in New York.
When he was 13, K'naan and his mother and two siblings, older brother Liban and younger sister Sagal, moved to the United States.
They stayed in New York for half a year, before relocating to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where his family still resides.
In his new environment, K'naan began learning English, partly by listening to hip hop albums by artists like Nas and Rakim.
Despite the fact that he could not yet speak the language, he taught himself hip-hop and rap diction, copying the lyrics and style phonetically.
He then also began rapping.
While growing up in Toronto's Rexdale neighbourhood, K'naan lost many friends to murder, suicide, prison, and deportation.
1999
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.
2001
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.
This project led to his work at other UN events, as well as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Halifax Pop Explosion.
2002
It also helped him meet Canadian producer Brian West and Jarvis Church and his Track & Field team in 2002, who produced his debut album The Dusty Foot Philosopher, which was released in 2005 to critical acclaim.
2005
K'naan was married to Deka, a pharmacy technician, with whom he has two sons, born in 2005 and 2007.
2006
In 2006, K'naan moved back to New York City, where his father still resided.
In 2006, it won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year, and was nominated for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize.
2007
It also won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the newcomer category for 2007.
2008
The Dusty Foot Philosopher was re-released and repackaged as a "Deluxe Edition" featuring new mixes and a bonus DVD in the United States (and various international territories) by the emerging media company and record label iM (Interdependent Media, Inc.) in 2008.
K'naan toured and collaborated with artists like Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, will.i.am, The Roots, Dead Prez, and Pharoahe Monch on tours such as Live 8 and Breedlove Odyssey.
He also collaborated with Damian Marley on the "Welcome to Jamrock" touring session.
K'naan released The Dusty Foot on the Road, a collection of recordings made during his world tour on Wrasse Records.
K'naan rose to mainstream popularity by participating in the 2008 BET Awards Cypher.
This was his first appearance on American television.
The album's first single, "ABC's", was released in late 2008.
K'naan's music has featured in several video games such as Madden NFL 09 (with his song "ABC's") and FIFA 06 (with his song "Soobax").
The song "If Rap Gets Jealous", a re-recording of a track of the same name – with different verses – from The Dusty Foot Philosopher, features Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett.
K'naan was also the first featured artist on X3, a collaborative project between CBC Radio 3, Exclaim! magazine and aux.tv to promote new Canadian music.
2009
His second studio album, Troubadour, was released on 24 February 2009, on A&M/Octone Records, and distributed through Universal Music Group worldwide.
2010
He rose to prominence with the success of his single "Wavin' Flag", which was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Besides hip hop, K'naan's sound is influenced by elements of Somali music and world music.
He is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives.
The couple divorced before K'naan started touring for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with Coca-Cola.
