The BBC has honoured Canadian hip-hop artist K'naan with a best newcomer award in its annual Radio 3 Awards for World Music.

The Somali-born singer, full name K'naan Warsame, released his first full-length album in 2005 — The Dusty Foot Philosopher — to great acclaim.

Canadian rapper K'naan, born in Somalia, released his first full-length album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, in 2005.
(Steve Carty)

K'naan, also a poet, comes from artistic pedigree — his aunt, Magool, is one of East Africa's best-known singers while his grandfather, Haji Mohamed, is a gifted poet.

The 29-year-old musician, who spoke to CBC Arts Online back in 2005, said he learned about hip hop after his father fled the fighting in Somalia to New York City in 1977, where he drove a cab.  His father started sending tapes home to his three children.

"I learned their rhythm, their diction, their mannerisms, their fierceness — all of it," K'naan said of the American rappers.

The artist, who fired a gun for the first time at age eight, knew first-hand the dangers of living in the capital, Mogadishu. As a boy of 11, he saw gunmen slaughter several of his friends.

"I didn't shoot anybody, I didn't kill anyone," K'naan said in his 2005 interview. "That's huge. If you kill somebody, you carry their burden. I'm very fortunate."

K'naan's mother, desperate to escape the escalating violence in Somalia, managed to get the family visas to the U.S. in 1991. 

After living for a few months in Harlem, the family moved to Rexdale, a west Toronto neighbourhood.

Other winners include:

• Malian musician Ali Farka Toure for album of the year with Savane.
• Camille of France in the Europe category.
• Lebanese singer Ghade Shbeir in the Middle East and North.
• Debashish Bhattacharya (Asia/Pacific).
• Gogol Bordello (Americas).