K'naan

K'naan ( /ˈkeɪnɑːn/), born Keinan Abdi Warsame (Somali: Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, Arabic: كنعان عبدي ورسمه‎ Keynān ‘Abdī Warsamah) in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there 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 Mohammad, was a poet. He is Muslim, and his name, Keinan, means "traveler" in the Somali language. He spent the early years of his life listening to the hip-hop records sent to him from America by his father, who had left Somalia earlier. When he was 13, K'naan, his mother, and his three siblings, older brother, Liban, and...