Canadian-based hip-hop artist and poet K'Naan was 13 years old when his family boarded the last commercial flight out of civil-war-ravaged Somalia in 1991. After a brief stint in Harlem, N.Y., the family relocated to Rexdale, Ontario, where K'naan began learning English. But even before he had the language down, he had already phonetically mastered the rhythm and flow of the Nas and Rakim rap albums he'd first heard across the world in his homeland. The grandson of a poet and the nephew of a famous East African singer, he made up his mind early on to make music and rhyme his own trade - and to use his voice as a potent instrument for political activism. His 2005 debut, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, won a Juno (Canadian Grammy) for Rap Recording of the Year in 2006.