Over a hundred people packed the George Brown College St. James student lounge on Tues. Feb. 23 to see artist sensation K’naan in person.
In a 90-minute special presentation, the Somali Toronto singer spoke about who he was, where he has been, and what inspires his music before opening the floor to student questions.
His hit Wavin’ Flag has become the official anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and he has also recently become involved in a recording of We Are The World fundraiser for Haiti, but despite this success K’naan says he is still surprised at the attention his music attracts.
“There was a time when I could not imagine anyone outside of my family and friends listening to my music and appreciating it,” said K’naan. “You couldn’t tell me that some crowd in Vienna would be singing these songs because they were so personal.”
Everything K’naan sings about is personal, as he uses writing as a type of catharsis to help cope with his dark past, which involved being witness to horrific violence during a civil war in Mogadishu, Somalia, before relocating to Toronto with his family in 1992.
“I consider writing sort of like a leech, which you have to get off. It’s not a pleasure thing. I don’t sit down saying, ‘man, I got to write!’ I think, ‘fuck, I got to write,’” said K’naan when explaining how he wrote his first successful album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher.
Students asked the singer a variety of questions, from his choice to never smoke marijuana to his advice for struggling artists.
While always maintaining an appreciation for music, K’naan said he did not always want to be an artist, but rather, his dream was to become an optometrist.
“My grandmother, my mom and me took my grandmother to the doctor to see what was going on with her eyes. When we got there the doctor came […] and said, ‘I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do about this. It’s old age.’ And I was so disappointed by that comment. I felt, man, if I was a doctor and I was wearing that white coat that he’s wearing, I would fix my grandma’s eyes. I’m going to be an eye doctor and I’ll never turn away somebody’s grandma.”
K’naan recalled telling this story to a friend who mused that he still became a doctor through his music, which opens the eyes of all who listen.
K’naan has recorded his music in the house of one of his major idols, Bob Marley, and he has also been on tour with the famed singer’s sons, Damian and Stephen.
As such, smoking marijuana may come with the territory of keeping the company of the Marleys, but K’naan said he is proud to have never smoked a day in his life.
“It started out of personal arrogance. I was like, ‘no, I’m different. I’m special, and I won’t do what [everyone else does]. And then I realized I felt I had a connection with this certain high that I have internally that I write from, and I don’t want things to disturb that because I think that once you do disturb it, it’s very difficult to go back to that place, and I want to keep it.”
K’naan said all aspiring artists should march to the beat of their own drum and focus on the music instead of the business side of the industry.
“I never focused on career. I just believe you have to be very good. And the other thing u have to do is really, really focus on your passion more than your career. In Toronto the coolest thing to do was to go out to all the open mikes and get heard and [maybe] get signed. I stayed home. I never went to any of that ever. I was just like, ‘why would I do that?’ My love is to do something great. Do you better than anyone else ever, and that’s it.”

By Laura Cicchirillo