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Somali-Canadian Rapper K’Naan Performs 'Wavin' Flag' in Democracy Now's Firehouse Studio
For those who think there aren't any good freedom songs being written these days, here's but one example...
....Out of the darkness, I came the farthest
Among the hardest survival
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak
Except no defeat, surrender retreatSo we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we'll be free
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day
It's not far away, so for now we sayWhen I get older, I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes backSo many wars, settling scores
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor
I heard them say, love is the way
Love is the answer, that's what they say,
But look how they treat us, make us believers
We fight their battles, then they deceive us
Try to control us, they couldn't hold us
Cause we just move forward like Buffalo SoldiersBut we struggling, fighting to eat
And we wondering, when we'll be free
So we patiently wait, for that faithful day
It's not far away, but for now we say....
Hip hop artist K’Naan joined DN recently in their firehouse studio for an
interview about his life growing up in war-torn Somalia, the media’s
coverage of Somali pirates, his latest album, “Troubadour” and much
more. Stay tuned for the broadcast of that interview in the coming days.



9 Comments so far
Show AllPure poetry.
I love that message in the song:
Everytime they tell you to wait for a better future, be patient, wait your turn, we are working on "it", reform is complicated, give us more time, etc. they are bullshitting us.
So now that our illustrious leader in the senate tells us there will be no vote on healthcare until the fall, what do you think we should answer?
Go to hell. Go directly to hell. Do not pass go and do not collect two hundred, Senator rotton Reid.
I am in 100% agreement.
How many more studies, analyses, research projects, theses, investigations, interviews, exposes...it's all a game of stalling; we've seen it before, it happens when people are moving forwrd in their struggle.
But we must stay awake! keep making the ripple in the pond, keep working at it in your own life however you can. it is the only hope we can count on.
too many people would rather live with their heads in their asses.
This is the U.S. budget:
- = War and weapons
+ = Social Programs
* = INTEREST PAYMENTS ON THE NATIONAL DEBT
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The Federal reserve banks have gamed the government so that deficit spending is ensured (i.e. lots of "defense" spending) because deficits require borrowing from that group of private banks called the "fed". If we did not run deficits, we would then pay less and less interest as the national debt was paid down. This is a no-no for bankers. The "social programs will break the government" canard is total bullshit. Our government would run a surplus if we didn't have the bloated war and war profiteering budget. Our people would be more secure, healthier and more productive. The big downside to all this is that bankers would make less money, the stock market wouldn't be as profitable (more capital would be invested in productivity than speculation) and wealth would be more evenly spread. Why is this a downside? Because a happy, secure and independent ppopulace is very difficult to manipulate and intimidate.
When did the elite figure all this out? Just before the Spanish-American war. It's been great for the elite ever since. Corporate personhood began the attack on all people of conscience and good will. Stop believing the myths and allowing yourself to be gamed. Don't cooperate with the crooks.
The capital, Mogadishu, in 2007 had approximately 7,000 murders. Thats right the city suffered maybe 20 murders a day. "We got no police, ambulance or fire fighters. We start riots by burning car tires. They lootin', and everybody start shootin'. Bullshit politicians talk about solutions. But its all talk. You cant go half block w/out the road block. You dont pay at the road block you git yo throat shot...' This is K'Naan's music. And you know I had to get a copy from Great Britain(not sold here in the states!). Now this will begin to look familiar to the U.S. in the near future following the wealthy not paying their share. It will be called, 'rugged individualism', remember that? I am fucking sick of all media sitting by and saying/doing NOTHING. We watch these pro (true) health care reform ads that are so weak and feeble that it is plunderous to even air them. These ads dare not mention the word 'lobbyist'(sp)...too persuasive. So I am getting used to the notion of dying on a living planet rather then trying to live on a dead one. And while you are at it...http://zeitgeistmovie.com/ and Jeff Sharlet's book, THE FAMILY.
Good info and perspective, except for the zeitgeist movie suggestion. Zeitgeist is illuminati propaganda/psyop, subtly mixing truth with elements of their agenda. Do more research on that one, many of the claims against Christianity are completely false at worst, misleading and unsubstantiated at best. Not defending the ills of organized religion, but from an academic/scholarly perspective, the 1st part is garbage.
If this music is Rap, it is the best Rap yet.
There's an .MP3 file and a video for this at Dem. Now! using the DN! link provided with this above article.
I wasn't sure what you were referring to, but NOW that I've listened to the MP3, and then viewed the video, I think you're likely just expressing surprise that the piece is called "rap". I'm surprised for that reason and am not sure that I could think of what musical category it fits in, but might say folk, or peace, anti-war, pro-justice, compassion, ... sort of folk. He's referred as a rapper, and as a "hip hop" entertainer, but I'm not really sure what "hip hop" is; not following the music industry details enough. But I've learned what US American style rap sounds like and can easily recognise any of it anywhere now.
In any case, it's an excellent piece, and I just did a Web search to see what'd turn up for links to videos, audios, and articles with and about him, and there evidently is plenty. There are videos at Youtube and there's the Wikipedia page, which provides a link to his or his group's website.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K'naan
http://www.knaanmusic.com
A couple of the videos at youtube seem good to point out.
"Riz Khan - Rapper K'naan on Somalia's descent - 13 Apr - Part 1" (10:27), AlJazeeraEnglish, April 14, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiPXOCF-nsM
Quote: "Riz talks to the rapper K'naan about the deteriorating situation in Somalia and the conditions of his fellow countrymen scattered around the globe."
"K'Naan - If Rap Gets Jealous ft Kirk Hammett" (3:39), Jan 10 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlBFLuW-_ek
QUOTE:
"If Rap Gets Jealous" by K'naan, ft. Kirk Hammett of Metallica on guitar. Off of the Troubadour ablum, which will be out on February 24th.
I heard this song on the radio the other day and its amazing. Its a newer arrangement of the previous version off of K'naan's first album "The Dusty Foot Philosopher", with a bigger rock feel to it. ...
END QUOTE
When loading the homepage of his or his band's website we then see right away that they're rap, hip hop. It's clear, there.
can't stop listening to this!