K'naan Quotes

I know that often times a lot of people who work in music, whether they be labels and so on or even artists, want personal recognition. We want to be recognized for something, for what we did. I'd rather my song be recognized for what it's doing and that's important. It's not so important how many people know me.

Hip-hop in Africa has been very often a duplication of an American experience, but in a context that's totally alien to it.

I'm an optimist about other people. I'm not an optimist about myself.

My question about my art and my music has always been, 'Am I good, or am I good because?' I'm not the artist who wants to have the 'because' attached.

I have moments of darkness, of anger, and moments of rage. They do creep up at the most inopportune times. Not to recognize that in my music would give people a sense of sainthood that I don't necessarily have or even want to have.

The problem is that rap is so often a caricature of its own image. Nobody comes to the table with the seriousness of the effect that it can have; nobody is prepared for that.

The poetry I grew up on is really an intense form of poetry; it's so pure and powerful.

I'm not about trying to get and get and get. I feel good when I get, but I kind of feel better when I give.

I am one of those people that's never been really cynical about life, you know.

You want to reach people, but you also want to reach them in the most authentic way. You now have a mass market and an audience that's listening, but they're in love with a song that means absolutely nothing to you.

You have to let the world speak to you and then you speak, you know, so I'm in that moment now where I'm finding the world's voice.

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I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.

We're fabricating a state-of-the-art concessions system for our touring, so we can feed the people and give them everything they need without having to wait on it.

I remember the first time I heard 'The Thunder Rolls.' It was dark, and we were driving to the beach. There was the thunder outside and the thunder in the song. It was eerie.

I never intended on starting a charity; I never intended on cancer, health, and wellness becoming my life.

The fact that my mother's life was cut short is something that pushes me to always move forward and live the best life I possibly can. In a way, I feel like I can take her along with me through every experience, and in that sense, her beautiful energy and spirit will live on.

K'naan Quotes

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