All Articles Tagged "knaan"
Chefs, Vixens, and Models, Oh My! 8 Celebs Who Hail From The Horn of Africa
We showed you the Nigerians, the Jamaicans, The Canadians, The Black Brits and now it’s time for those from the Horn of Africa to shine. For those of you who don’t know, the Horn is comprised of East African countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. And although they belong to the same region, these countries (like those in the rest of Africa) boast a myriad of languages, customs, and histories.
Unless you live in Washington DC or Minneapolis, you may not be familiar with many people from the region but best believe, they do represent stateside despite the fact that they don’t have a heavy presence in Hollywood. And although they don’t hail Haile Sellasie, these following 7 celebs are all working the entertainment circuit as models, chefs, musicians and even video vixens. You may be suprised by a few…
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Liya Kebede
Representing: Ethiopia
Even if you don’t know her name, you surely have seen Liya Kebede’s face and body behind some of the most lucrative fashion and beauty brands of our time. Open any magazine and you’ll see the Ethiopian-born beauty modeling H&M, J.Crew, and Estee Lauder (as its official spokeswoman). But like many of her supermodel colleagues, the mother of two hasn’t stopped at just modeling. She also has an Ethiopian-inspired fashion line, has delved into acting, and launched her own philanthropic organization to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.
How Somalian Rapper K’naan Delivered on Coca-Cola’s $300 Million Bet
(Fast Company) In 1980, K’naan was a child in Mogadishu. Twenty years later, Coca-Cola will decide to build its biggest marketing campaign ever, a $300 million — plus global adventure involving 160 countries and the greatest sporting event in the world, around that skinny child from that godforsaken country. The deal will go so well that Coke, which Interbrand calls “the world’s No. 1 brand,” will completely redefine the way it works with content providers. And, of course, it will change K’naan’s life, although not in the ways you might expect. “It was an intense place, said K’naan. “ I now realize it’s healthy for a society to have some middles,” K’naan says, “but Somalis live only in the extremes. There’s extreme violence and extreme poetry, extreme hate and extreme beauty and heartache. There are no in-betweens. It’s good for art but not good for life.”
