K'naan Preps Autobiographical Children's Book

BY Alex HudsonPublished Aug 15, 2012

K'naan has undoubtedly had an interesting life, as he spent his childhood in Somalia before moving to Canada at the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991 and later achieved fame. Soon, the rapper will be chronicling it all in a children's book. Entitled When I Get Older: The Story Behind Wavin' Flag, it will come out on September 25 through Tundra Books.

Written by K'naan along with Sol Guy and illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, the 32-page book is geared towards kids aged six to nine. It will offer some background on the Somali war and tell K'naan's own inspiring story. The lyrics and sheet music for "Wavin' Flag" are included.

"I think of empathy as a muscle in the soul, which develops through the nutrition we provide for it. The stories we hear as children can be that nutrition," K'naan said in a statement. "I wanted to write a children's story that reflects the new immigrant's sense of family and identity, which can sometimes be lost in translation. In this book, the main character is 'Wavin' Flag,' a song whose ownership has been long claimed by children all over the world."

K'naan's upcoming album is called Country, God or the Girl. It's expected out later this year, although tentative release dates have come and gone without an official announcement.

Below, watch K'naan talk about "Wavin' Flag" and see a performance of the track by a host of insanely famous Canadian musicians.

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