(2005) The Dusty Foot Philosopher
(2007) The Dusty Foot on the Road
Fleeing war-torn Somalia at age thirteen, K'naan aka "the traveler," is known for his politically-charged poetry and hip hop activism. Born into a family of performing artists, it's no wonder K'naan was meant to make something of his lyrical gift. As an accomplished spoken-word poet and MC, K'Naan's career took off following a gig he took performing for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, criticizing their failed aid missions to Somalia.
In the past few years he has toured all over the world with artists such as Damian Marley, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, M1, Youssou N’Dour, Amadou and Miriam and many more.
"For me really because of all of the elements that come together in my music that obviously have lyrics being a part of it it’s hard to really think that it’s just one thing, it’s not just rap, it can be called spoken word, it’s not just singing…I don’t really know that it’s just one element of something."- K'naan (thesource.com)