K

Joining Mos Def tonight is K’NAAN. Born in war-torn Somali and raised in New York and Ontario, K’NAAN (whose name means “traveler” in Somalian) left high school after tenth grade to travel North American and hone his craft. Invited to perform at the United Nations’ 50^th anniversary concert in Geneva, he presented a protest performance that gained him a guest spot on international world music star Youssou N’Dour’s latest album. Returning to Canada, he released his debut The Dusty Foot Philosopher in 2006, which won the Juno Award (Canada’s Grammy equivalent) for Rap Recording of the Year. After working with artists as varied as Nelly Furtado, Mos Def and Damian Marley, K’NAAN signed to major label A&M and recorded The Troubadour, a genre-crossing album that mixes African music with American hip-hop, and boasts guest stars Mos Def, Chubb Rock, Chali 2una (from Jurassic 5), Adam Levine (from Maroon 5) and Kirk Hammett (from Metallica). Favoring a message that calls for an end to violence and bloodshed over the gangsta talk of mainstream rap, K’NAAN brings his style and band to the 6A stage in preview of his Festival set.