Artist · chart history
K'naan
Solo artist Mogadishu Canada
K'naan is an artist from Mogadishu. K'naan has 12 chart appearances on 11 radio countdowns from 9 stations on RockLists, spanning 2009–2022. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Wavin' Flag”, which appears on 9 lists with a best position of #24. The station that charted K'naan most often is WYEP (Pittsburgh, PA), with 3 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2009.
K'naan was born Keinan Abdi Warsame in Mogadishu on 1 February 1978, and he grew into a Somali-Canadian rapper, singer and songwriter who doesn't sound quite like anybody else in hip-hop. Somali music runs all through his records, along with world-music textures, reggae lilt and a spoken-word poet's feel for a line, and he picks up a guitar as easily as a microphone.
The Dusty Foot Philosopher, in 2006, laid it out, and "If Rap Gets Jealous" hits as hard as anything on it. Troubadour followed in 2009, and its "Wavin' Flag", a big, stirring, hands-in-the-air anthem, went global when Coca-Cola picked it as its promotional song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
He has won a Grammy along the way, and away from the music he has made films, taking a FIPRESCI Prize as a director, and thrown himself into charitable work.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by K'naan on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wavin' Flag | 9 | #24 | – | 2009 | |
| 2 | Take a Minute | 1 | #520 | – | – | |
| 3 | If Rap Gets Jealous | 2 | #73 | – | 2009 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Featured on
Songs by other artists credited with K'naan as a guest.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 674 | Wavin' Flag | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s |
| 2018 | 301 | Wavin' Flag | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 |
| 2016 | 754 | Wavin' Flag | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 |
| 2010 | 69 | Wavin' Flag | 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2010 |
| 2009 | 73 | If Rap Gets Jealous | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2009 |
| 2009 | 89 | If Rap Gets Jealous | 89X Top 89 Songs of 2009 |
| 2009 | 24 | Wavin' Flag | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2009 |
| 2009 | 79 | Wavin' Flag | WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2009 |
| 2009 | 93 | Wavin' Flag | 106.1 The Corner Top 106 Songs of 2009 |
| 2009 | 96 | Wavin' Flag | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2009 |
| 2009 | 247 | Wavin' Flag | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade |
| 2009 | 520 | Take a Minute | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade |
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