Who has not heard K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag song? If you haven’t click HERE to listen to it. (With Lyrics) The lyrics and music of this song are so powerful. It currently holds the number one position on the Canadian Hot 100 list. But, this song made me realize that music is a weapon. I remember watching all those movies where actresses and actors become overnight stars with one song, and I remember thinking that’s just a movie. But, with K’naan’s success, I realized one song really can make a HUGE difference.
K’naan was born in Somalia, and lived there during Somalia’s 1991 civil war. His family fled the violence, and immigrated to Rexdale, Toronto. He was very passionate about music, he slowly learned English, taught himself rap, hip hop and music style. He started just performing at small events, and later found himself speaking at the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees in 1999 where he criticized the UN for its failure of delivering aid in Somalia. The crowd was so impressed by him, and through that event he was able to network with other human rights activists and music artists. His song, Wavin’ Flag has been chosen as the Anthem for the2010 FIFA World Cup.
K’naan’s success made me think of our youth. We have thousands of young talented Tamils artists out there, and these youths talents will also come to the limelight in the near future. They just need to continue to preserve, expose their music and continue to be passionate about their music. Some of the songs I’ve heard on the net done by our Tamil youth is on my favorites playlist (remember Pulihalikae Savala?). I wish young emerging artists the best of luck in their music and future endeavors. Music is a weapon, it creates emotions, it changes people, it creates mood, it evokes feeling, it instills hope. Music is a weapon.
– Anjali
Tags: Cafe, K’naan, Music, Pulihalikae Savala, Wavin’ Flag
