k'naan's philosophical travels

i know that he is not considered a pop musician in some sense, but i just luv this artist and wanted to mention him and let everyone know that he has released his new album and you'll should run out and but it ^_^

K'naan - ABC's
credit ajmiller61981


"K'naan (pronounced /ˈkeɪnɑːn/;[1]), born Kanaan Warsame (Somali: Kaynaan Warsame, Arabic: كنعان وارسام‎) in 1978,[2] is a Somali-Canadian poet, rapper and musician. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in the district of Wardhiigleey ("The Lake of Blood") during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most famous singers. K'naan's grandfather, Haji Mohamed, was a poet. K'naan is also a Muslim. His name, K'naan, means "traveller" in the Somali language.

In 1991 he boarded the last commercial flight out of Somalia and joined relatives in Harlem, New York City, before moving to the Toronto, Ontario neighbourhood of Rexdale, where there was a large Somali Canadian community, where his family still lives. In Canada K'naan began learning English, some through hip hop albums by artists like Nas and Rakim. Despite speaking no English, the young K'naan taught himself hip hop and rap diction, copying the lyrics and style phonetically. He then also began rapping. He dropped out of school in grade ten to travel for a time, rapping at open mic events, and eventually returned to Toronto.

K'naan became a friend and associate of Canadian promoter, Sol Guy, who helped him secure a gig speaking before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1999, where K'naan performed a spoken word piece criticizing the UN for its failed aid missions to Somalia. 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 lead to his work at other UN events, as well as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Halifax Pop Explosion. It also helped him meet Canadian producer 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. In 2006, it won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year, and was nominated for the inaugural Polaris Music Prize. It also won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the newcomer category for 2007.

His second studio album, Troubadour, was released on February 24, 2009 on A&M/Octone Records, and will be distributed through Universal Music Group worldwide. The album's first single, "ABC's", was released to radio in late 2008"
credit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K'naan