MC & Poet Ian Kamau
Spark Africa in conjunction with Kwani Trust are bringing Ian Kamau to Kenya on the 1st of August and he will perform at Kwani Open Mic on 7th of August.
Ian Kamau is a Canadian rapper and poet. One of the truest artists the world has encountered in the last five years.He is born and bred in Toronto, Canada. His Trini father named him Kamau – the ‘Silent Warrior’.
Kamau will be in Kenya till the 10th of August before heading to South Africa for a tour after the launch of his album ‘One Day Soon’.
As Buddha Blaze, the Creative Director of Spark Africa put it;
I made sure he graces Kenya with his presence as it is the country of his given name.
He will be available for interviews, paid performances, charity performances, meaningful collaborations and basically exploring the Kenyan arts and life.
Sample his awesome album One Day Soon: http://www.zshare.ma/38jjacnofmpr
About Ian Kamau
Ian Kamau is a prolific poet, MC and storyteller out of Toronto, Canada. His name itself is a subject for
narration. Born to Trinidadian filmmaker parents with a love for world culture and history they chose to
name him Ian; a Gaelic name for John meaning ‘God’s Gift’ and Kamau a Kikuyu name which means the
‘Quiet Warrior’; a distinct name for one who is highly gifted and also very reserved. Growing up artistic
has influenced him in what type of wise artist he has become. His ability to communicate through words
is something that he was blessed with as a young boy growing up in Toronto and he has grown to
become a profound poet with great admiration all over the world. However, Ian prefers to remain on
the ground where he gets more satisfaction artistically. The one thing that distinguishes Ian Kamau is
that he uses his artistic excellence to for a purpose and that is to influence his community and those of
others wherever he goes. His prefers to design his work to arts-based community projects. That side of
his life has always run parallel to his artistic life. Making music has taken him around the world; it has
opened doors to experiences he never dreamed he would have and has put him in the position to have
conversations with a diversity of dynamic, interesting individuals.
He has opened shows for K’Naan, K-OS, Saul Williams, The Roots, Michael Franti, Ben Harper, Ursula
Rucker, Talib Kweli and Shad as well as collaborating with the likes of K-OS, Tumi (from Tumi & the
Volume), Shad and many more. His connection with Africa is special to him and he loves spending time
here performing and connecting with people. His desire is to put his experiences into the world so that
he may enter a larger conversation with people in different places. Ian recently released a new album
‘One Day Soon’ where he opens up about his life and times.
Follow the twitter hash tag #IanKamauInKenya