K'naan wins MOBO Award in U.K.

British acts Tinie Tempah and JLS were the big winners at the annual awards for Music of Black Origin.

South London rapper Tinie Tempah, whose real name is Patrick Okogwu, won best newcomer and best video for Frisky.

JLS, the British boy band that emerged from talent show The X Factor in 2008, were named best British act and won the best album honours for their self-titled debut album. They were declared best newcomers at the Brit Awards earlier this year.

K'naan won in a field that included Angélique Kidjo of Benin, BLK JKS from South Africa, Spain's Concha Buika and Nigerian duo P-Square. Canadian rapper Drake was nominated in the best international act category, but lost out to Eminem.

Eminem soared to near the top of U.K. charts this year with Not Afraid and Love the Way You Lie, recorded with Rihanna.

K'naan, who had an international hit with his Wavin' Flag and performed at the World Cup, often focuses on his Somali heritage in his writing.

The singer, who escaped the war-torn country for Canada when he was a child, believes the world has forgotten about Somalia.

"I understand why. I understand the silence why. The difference between early '90s and now is that Somalia broke America's heart in the '90s, that's literally what happened," he said in a recent interview.

"After Somalia, it's the reason why America did not go in to mediate in Rwanda. The result is a million people died."

The 32-year-old singer said his often melancholy work is a reflection of the contrast between the life he is living as an international star and the plight of friends and family still suffering in Somalia.

"I do most of my work to publicly forgive myself," he said.

"Somalia's scenario is that it's not good left alone, and it's even worse intervened. That's the dilemma of Somalia, because we do not accept foreign intervention.... It doesn't seem like we can fix our own problems either. That's the tragedy of Somalia," he said.

Other MOBO winners:

Source: CBC