K'naan

The grandson of a poet and the nephew of one of Somalia's most famous singers, Magool, K'naan was in his early teens when he moved with his family initially to New York and then to Canada. It was there he became hooked on hip hop and, heavily influenced by Nas and Rakim, began rapping himself. In 1999 he performed a spoken-word piece criticising the United Nations for failed aid missions to Somalia which was heard by the Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, who was so impressed he invited K'naan to contribute to his 2001 album, Building Bridges and tour the world with him. This in turn led to K'naan developing his own fusion style of hip hop, jazz and world music, eventually resulting in the 2005 release of his debut album The Dusty Foot Philosopher - which included the forthright tracks I Was Stabbed By Satan and What's Hardcore? On reissue the album helped establish K'naan in the US, as did The Dusty Foot On The Road, featuring live recordings from different parts of the world released in 2007. His 2009 album Troubadour - including the UK hit single Bang Bang - had collaborations with Mos Def, Damian Marley and Adam Levine, and marked his rise as a hip hop original. A re-mix of his single Wavin' Flag was used as Coca Cola's anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and K'naan performed it at the opening ceremony.