There’s no denying that Somalia is a dangerous place. It conjures up images of warlords riding around in pickup trucks with AK-47s and Black Hawk Down. And now that the Somali pirates have caught the world’s attention, the country is clearly one of the edgiest in the world. It’s also where rapper K’Naaan was born and bred. To him, American emcees have no credibility, cause no matter how destitute, cities in the United States got nothing on war torn Mogadishu, they’re more entertaining than anything else:

“Where rocket-propelled grenades are fired around you on a daily … a guy bragging on TV talking about how gangster he is?” K’Naan says. “For us, it’s more a source of entertainment. It’s more like a comedy or something we watch. Say, ‘Oh wow, that’s kind of cute of American gangsters.’ But it isn’t hardcore, it isn’t that bad. Let’s get things in perspective, you know?”

Strangely though, after listening to a bunch of his tracks, you’d be more likely to think he’s from Stanford then you would Mogadishu. Despite all that grime, intense hardships and third world edge, his music still sucks! |NPR|