World Cup anthem-writing K'naan is demanding that a South African newspaper issue a formal apology to him after they published a story where an unnamed source called the Somalian-born Canadian rapper "difficult" and that he "complains and whines."
The story, originally printed in the Johannesburg Times on Sunday night (July 11), cited an anonymous source saying K'naan had been trouble for organizers of the World Cup.
As the Toronto Star reports, K'naan is asking for an apology and a retraction of the article, tweeting on Monday (July 12) that "it's unfortunate that one of the biggest [newspapers] in South Africa can publish a rumour piece without ever qualifying any of their statements," and, "if the Times in Joburg has any journalistic integrity, they need to retract and publish an apology."
The rapper, whose song "Wavin' Flag" was selected by Coca-Cola as the company's official World Cup anthem, was touring to promote the soccer tournament and spent time in South Africa during the games.
The unnamed source in the newspaper article also claims that K'naan said he would not go to Alexandria Township to play a show because it was too dangerous, something that the rapper outright denies on his Twitter.
"Actually, to be completely honest, I prefer playing in the townships 'cause I enjoy the energy and vibe," he tweeted.
After playing in more than 80 countries on the World Cup tour, K'naan returns to Canada on Friday (July 16) to play the Festival d'été de Quebec, as well as Montreal's Osheaga Festival and the Deep River Summerfest in Deep River, ON later in the summer.
As we told you last month, the rapper recently defended his decision to change "Wavin' Flag" for a mainstream audience during the World Cup, editing out sections that spoke candidly about his homeland of Somalia.
The story, originally printed in the Johannesburg Times on Sunday night (July 11), cited an anonymous source saying K'naan had been trouble for organizers of the World Cup.
As the Toronto Star reports, K'naan is asking for an apology and a retraction of the article, tweeting on Monday (July 12) that "it's unfortunate that one of the biggest [newspapers] in South Africa can publish a rumour piece without ever qualifying any of their statements," and, "if the Times in Joburg has any journalistic integrity, they need to retract and publish an apology."
The rapper, whose song "Wavin' Flag" was selected by Coca-Cola as the company's official World Cup anthem, was touring to promote the soccer tournament and spent time in South Africa during the games.
The unnamed source in the newspaper article also claims that K'naan said he would not go to Alexandria Township to play a show because it was too dangerous, something that the rapper outright denies on his Twitter.
"Actually, to be completely honest, I prefer playing in the townships 'cause I enjoy the energy and vibe," he tweeted.
After playing in more than 80 countries on the World Cup tour, K'naan returns to Canada on Friday (July 16) to play the Festival d'été de Quebec, as well as Montreal's Osheaga Festival and the Deep River Summerfest in Deep River, ON later in the summer.
As we told you last month, the rapper recently defended his decision to change "Wavin' Flag" for a mainstream audience during the World Cup, editing out sections that spoke candidly about his homeland of Somalia.
