K'naan (Keinaan, meaning traveller in Somali, born 1978) is a Somali-Canadian poet and hip-hop artist. The Coming To America Songfacts states that born in Mogadishu, Somalia, he spent his childhood there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. K’naan’s grandfather, Haji Mohammad, was a poet and his aunt, Magool, one of Somalia's most famous singers. The young Somalian acquired an early interest in hip-hop from the records that were sent to him from America by his father. K’naan describes growing up in Somalia amidst the ongoing warfare on his song "Coming To America".