(Blog) Somalia-Canadian rapper K'Naan stole beats from Oromo singer

By Blogger Jaalala

Why would an African steal songs and beats from another African? I just heard this week that one of my new favorite singers/rappers, Somali-Canadian K'Naan, stole the beats of Oromo-Ethiopian singer Tilahun Gessesse. Even worse, K'Naan is getting millions of hits, awards and fame from these songs at the same time while the great legend Tilahun recently passed away. Tilahun was one of the best muti-ethnic singers in Ethiopian history, very talented and the first Oromo singer to use modern mass media technology for Afan Oromo songs. Especially for those who love oldies tunes, Tilahune's songs will surely live forever.

It is sad that K'Naan did not respect Tilahun and other singers which he copied beats from. It is one thing to casually acknowledge that he was influenced by music from Ethiopia, which he had admitted before on the sideline. But it is completely another thing to copy and paste full similar themes and exactly identical beats from other singers WITHOUT GIVING FORMAL CREDIT to the original composer (s). The somali rapper K'Naan should respect fellow African singers instead of making money from other people's work or not giving credit.

Please watch the video below and judge for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZZyP0i5B5w

By the way, i liked K'Naan and his songs. He got skills and a growing African fan base. He was even wearing an Ethiopian flag wristband in some of his music videos. (not many somalis would ever do that) Some of his songs are simply amazing but if he hopes to keep his fans, he should apoligize or formally give credit to Tilahun and other singers, composers he stole works from.