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It’s hot as hell backstage at Rock the Bells in Chicago, but Kanaan “K’Naan” Warsame is cool as a breeze, clearly unfazed by the rising temperatures. Rocking his signature fedora atop a well-kempt afro, the Somalian-Canadian MC comes off like a music reporter as he surveys the throngs of artists, groupies and managers scurrying around. Since his A&M/Octone release, Troubadour, along with the success of his single, “ABC’s,” K’Naan has quickly found a following with American audiences who praise his ability to take world issues and present them in a way that speaks to people of all ages and cultures. Rolling out sat down with K’Naan to talk about Michael Jackson’s influence on his life, rappers playing tough and why Iran gets more publicity than any embattled country in Africa.
–gavin philip godfrey
How has Michael Jackson influenced you and what makes him such a powerful force in music? Mike was like the only person that was doing music, but [he was] treated more like a real cultural ambassador. Even in my country — growing up in Somalia, you thought Michael Jackson was from Somalia — [that’s] how proud people were whenever they saw his star shine. We were playing in Idaho the other night when he passed away and I really didn’t know how to make myself feel better. We played Mike’s songs, I went into the audience and we just danced, just [to] give that energy back.
You come from a country torn by civil war. Are you tired of rappers talking about their ‘hoods and their tough upbringing? Most of the people I know, and the circumstances we come from — the streets … we don’t really try to be hard. We don’t even really have to make it a thing, you know? Either you are, you got it, or you don’t got it. I’m cool, man. I’m like, ‘You guys do you, you’re hard — do what you do. I already know who I am so it’s all good.’
Why does it feel like more people know what’s going in Iran than what happens in countries in Africa? With Africa, the double standard has always been that if you were to kind of unravel the conditions of Africa and what is going on, a lot of people in the Western world will begin to feel responsible and you don’t want to do that. Out there in Iran, you don’t really have a serious history, you have [a] recent history with them, so it’s easier to say, ‘Oh, look how messed up that place is.’
Why are American audiences and artists alike feeling K’Naan?
I’m the first artist to come from Africa, to have been raised in Africa and be able to do music that is able to translate to the people here. You’ve always got like a bit of a wall between people who come from a different country who are MCs, who are trying to do their thing here. The way I’ve been doing it — it’s so real, as well different — people are like, ‘Oh, I actually get him. I’m from the ‘hood here, but I actually understand him.’
