The Somali-born rapper K'naan arrives at the K West, the west London hotel much loved by today's rock stars looking half the part: hip-hop fly in his cardigan but also shy, fresh from shooting a video with the band Keane, prepping himself for a wearying flight out of Heathrow to Mozambique. He is on the cusp of global recognition now that his song "Wavin' Flag" has been chosen (by sponsors Coca-Cola) as the official anthem of this summer's World Cup in South Africa. It's an uplifting song which "fits their theme of trying to see the positive in people, and the positive in Africa", he says; but it's a surprising choice, too, not simply because it demonstrates considerable good taste on the part of Coca-Cola, but because K'naan himself is not the most obvious poster boy for such an event.
K'naan is 31 and reaching a far wider audience than he ever imagined possible. The video he's been making with Keane marks his appearance as a guest on their new EP ("He's just ultra cool," says their singer Tom Chaplin. "Very down to earth, as well as being just an incredible wordsmith."); recently, Jay-Z came to one of his concerts, and later emailed to say of "Wavin' Flag", "Congratulations, you just made an anthem for a generation."
Nonetheless, there is still a huge vulnerability to him. "I'm an optimist about other people," he says to me at one point. "I'm not an optimist about myself. Before I went to Somalia last year I didn't know if I could write another album.
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Guardian UK - K'naan: 'My success is their success'
