"Wavin'Flag" has become an international anthem. Its powerful words of
hope have crossed generations and borders, and have made K'NAAN an
international star.
In his first book for children, When I Get Older, Somali-Canadian
poet, rapper, singer, and songwriter K'NAAN tells his own story. Born in
Somalia, he grew up in Mogadishu. His grandfather was a renowned poet
who passed on his love of words to his grandson. When the Somali Civil
War began in 1991, K'NAAN was just thirteen. His mother made the
difficult decision to move her family so that they could grow up in
safety. First in New York and then in Toronto, K'NAAN faced many
challenges.
Like so many other immigrants, he had to make a place for himself in a
world of alien customs, clothes, and language. His road was a hard one:
he lost many friends to violence. But K'NAAN's love of music, and his
enormous talent, became a way for him to connect with his past, with his
classmates, and eventually, to millions of people around the world. Not
only does K'NAAN tell a story that will inspire and encourage young
readers, but he provides a brief history of the Somalian conflict. The
lyrics of "Wavin' Flag" are also included.
Born Keinan Abdi Warsame, K'NAAN first came to prominence when he
performed a spoken word piece before the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees in 1999. A member of the audience, the singer
Youssou N'Dour, was so impressed that he asked K'NAAN to take part in an
album and to tour with him.
Since then, K'NAAN has performed in more than 86 countries and has
received many honors, including three Juno Awards and the BBC Radio 3
Award for World Music. During the Vancouver Olympics, he worked with
other Canadian musicians and artists under the name Young Artists for
Haiti to produce a charity version of "Wavin' Flag." The song was
adapted again to become the FIFA World Cup theme song. There are now
twenty-two versions of the song, which hit #1 in nineteen countries.
