K'naan

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• stance
• symptom
• social conscience
• troubadour

• take off
• refugee
• anthem
• theme song

• royalties
• PR

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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K’naan has to be the most famous Somali-Canadian poet-rapper-singer-songwriter in the world. Maybe even the universe.

K’naan’s career took off in 1999 when he read a poem in front of the UN, criticizing the organization for their failure to help Somali refugees. Since then, he’s worked with such famous artists as Nelly Furtado and Will.i.am.

K’naan really became an international superstar when his song “Wavin’ Flag” was chosen as the anthem for the World Cup earlier this year. Find out what makes K’naan a singer with a soul.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Mason

Jason:  Did you hear that World Cup theme song?

Mason:  I did see it. It’s pretty unavoidable, right, I mean, World Cup anthem, right?

Jason:  Yeah. I guess the guy who made it, he’s like a Somali-Canadian.

Mason:  Somali, huh? It’s good they’re getting some nice PR for the Somali culture after the whole pirates thing.

Jason:  Yeah, he actually has some stuff to say about that. I guess basically his stance is that Somali piracy is obviously really bad, but it’s more a symptom than a problem in and of itself. It’s brought on by other problems in Somalia, economically and socially.

Mason:  So he’s not just some pop star, he’s got like a social conscience.

Jason:  Yeah, he’s been compared to Bob Marley for being a sort of international poet troubadour kind of guy.

Mason:  That’s interesting. I mean, I hope he can use the millions and millions of dollars in royalty money from getting lots of exposure at the World Cup to further his righteous endeavors.

Jason:  Maybe this will help him get his message to the next level.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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