Artist	Song
K'naan	Wavin' Flag
from Troubadour (2010)
K'naan	Take a Minute
from Troubadour (2010)
K'naan	Bang Bang
from Troubadour (2010)
K'naan	Dreamer
from Troubadour (2010)
K'naan	I Come Prepared
from Troubadour (2010)
K'naan	ABC's
from Troubadour (2010)
K'naan	Somalia
from Troubadour (2010)
Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley	Africa Must Wake Up
from Distant Relatives (Bonus Track Version) (2010)
Young Artists for Haiti	Wavin' Flag
from Wavin' Flag - Single (2010)

Comment:

Every now and again, the forced dislocation of refugees generates, against all odds, a pop cultural ray of light like . . . K'naan. The Muslim rapper was raised until age 13 in lawless Somalia (where he saw three of his friends shot dead, and learned his English from Eric B. & Rakim tracks), and was then relocated to Rexdale, Ontario, via Harlem. What that amounts to, musically, is an electrifying blend of principled, socially conscious hip-hop (he has spoken out in support of the Somali pirates), various core African rhythms, and an accessible underlay of pop/rock production. Here, we've picked out a few choice K'naan highlights to date, including the energised Damian Marley collaboration "I Come Prepared," the autobiographical "Dreamer," the tribally percussive "Soobax" from 2005's [i]The Dusty Foot Philosopher[/i], and "Wavin' Flag" — F.I.F.A.'s choice of official anthem for the 2010 World Cup.

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