"Wavin' Flag" has earned the Somalian-born and Canadian-bred, K'naan Warsame, considerable recognition. It has garnered two Juno awards (the Canadian Grammys), a big corporate paycheck, an accompanying world tour, and international attention. Just what every musician wants right?
But what about his message?
K'naan was born in Mogadishu, Somalia during a civil war. He witnessed the treachery or war first-hand, even losing a close cousin to the carnage. When listening to his music one can easily hear his messages of struggle, war, poverty, hardship, and triumph. To me, his lyrics often chronicle the hidden, ugly truths of the human condition; especially those of the marginalized.
Although K'naan doesn't claim to an activist, many would say his art speaks for itself. Some have classified his work as protest poetry or rebel music and some have even likened him to Bob Marley.
To add to that, K'naan chose to speak out about the issue of Somalian piracy. Although he did not necessarily defend the piracy he criticized the West for causing the conditions that spurred the piracy and not including that in their coverage.
"The major issue that the west is missing context for what is going on, and it’s very easy to have CNN talk about these lunatic pirates, the menace to society […] hostage taking is illegal and inhumane, we get all of that,” K'naan said to RFI. "Give the Somali people some credit, listen to the complaints they have about, not just the loss of their fishing industry, but also the dumping of nuclear toxic waste, that we believe is taking place"
Given the background info on who K'naan is as an artist I am forced to wonder about his decision to participate in Coca-Cola's marketing campaign. The same company that serves as a worldwide symbol of the West, westernization and Cocacolanization. The same company that was sued for racial discrimination (The Washington Post). The same company that did business with Hitler and the Nazis during WWII and used forced laborers in Nazi occupied territories (New Statesman, Snopes). The same company that has been accused of contributing to water shortages and declining water quality in India (Wall Street Journal).
I'm not condemning K'naan or calling him a sell-out, I'm simply stating that it seems that partnering with Coca-Cola is contrary to the messages of his music.
What are your thoughts?
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