Concert: K'NAAN November 7, 2012

With his unique voice but still truly authentic style, K'NAAN brings an enormous dose of realness and urgency to the hip-hop world in a time when people are desperate for it. From a personal and cultural history rooted in poetry (being the grandson of one of Somalia's most famous poets ), K'NAAN widens the traditional hip hop perspective, from ghetto's to slums, from drug dealers to war lords, from 9mm and eagle 440's to AK's and rocket propelled grenades. "Where I’m from there are no police or fire fighters, we start riot's by burning car tires." from K'NAAN’s song entitled "What's Hardcore". Leaving Somalia at the age of thirteen on what turned out to be the very last commercial flight to ever do so, amidst a crumbling society and the end to this day of any form of central government, K'NAAN carried with him a very strong sense of purpose. It is this sense of purpose as well as his amazing lyrical gift, which has made him a beacon for other artists as well as those dedicated to global change.

In 2001 after gaining notoriety as a skilled mc and spoken word poet, K'NAAN was invited to Geneva to perform a spoken word piece at the 2001 50th anniversary of the UN Commission for Refugee's. In front of some of the biggest suits in the world, K'NAAN brought the house down with his politically charged poem, K'NAAN explains, "I basically called out the UN for its failed relief mission in Somalia" The audience was so moved by the piece that they gave K'NAAN a standing ovation and African superstar Youssou N'Dour who was also in attendance loved the performance so much that he invited K'NAAN to Senegal to record with him.

Official Website: http://www.bottomlounge.com/shows/knaan-city-sun