Tuesday, August 03, 2010
 K'naan was told to tone down the political messages in his music |
The Wavin' Flag singer recalled there were people - mainly Somalis - who told him he should consider abandoning his socially conscious frame of mind for material that wasn't so sombre.
"They didn't want someone's shining talent to be wasted on such a disaster," he said. "They wanted to see themselves out there, and they knew there was rarely a chance that you could do it while carrying the baggage of Somalia. So they would say, 'Put it down and just go and be a star like these other people are.'"
The Somalian enjoyed global success this summer with the World Cup song Wavin' Flag, which he performed at the tournament's opening ceremony while holding his country's flag up.
But he acknowledged it was difficult to get heard amid the music of Lady Gaga and other pop music.
"Let's be honest, that doesn't get played on radio," he admitted.
Source: Belfast Telegraph