Somali Hip-Hop star K’naan will give fans more than enough opportunities to see him live as he hits the road for a series of summer festival performances in the US and Canada.
The trek will kick off June 14 with a performance at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
K’naan will follow Bonnaroo with a stop at Lollapalooza in Chicago, the Star Belly Jam Music Festival in Crawford Bay, British Columbia and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in Edmonton, Alberta.
At age 9, K’naan, who was born in war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia, learned how to rap by listening to tapes by Nas, Rakim and other rappers, before he could speak English.
He left Somalia for the United States at age 13. His family eventually settled in Toronto, Canada.
In 1999, K’naan befriended a promoter who landed him an audience in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where he performed a poem criticizing the UN for their failed efforts in aiding Somalia.
Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour was in the crowd and invited the rapper to appear on his 2001 album Building Bridges.
K’naan then linked with Jarvis Church and his Track & Field production team (Nelly Furtado) and produced the rapper’s critically acclaimed 2005 debut, The Dusty Foot Philosopher.
“This is isn’t very surprising to those that are familiar with him,” said Dominic Del Bene, the label manager for K’naan’s recording home, Interdependent Media. “In the past two years he’s played at everything from reggae music festivals to Live 8 and [has] been on tour with Mos Def, Nelly Furtado, The Roots, Damian Marley, dead prez, and Pharoahe Monch.”
K’naan’s summer festival tour comes as Interdependent releases The Dusty Foot Philosopher Deluxe Edition for the first time ever in the United States.
Originally released in June of 2005, The Dusty Foot Philosopher was a favorite among critics and won a Juno Award [Canada’s Grammy] for Rap Recording of the Year in 2006.
The album also earned a BBC Radio 3 Award for Best New Artist, World Music.
K’naan’s The Dusty Foot Philosopher Deluxe Edition is slated to hit stores in June.
The following is a list of summer festival dates that will feature K’naan: June 14 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival – Manchester, Tennessee July 19 – Star Belly Jam Music Festival – Crawford Bay, British Columbia Aug. 1 – Lollapalooza – Chicago, Illinois Aug. 8 – Edmonton Folk Music Festival – Edmonton, Alberta Aug. 9 – All Points West Music & Arts Festival – Jersey City, New Jersey Aug. 23 – Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival – San Francisco, California
