Somali-born hip-hop artist K'naan, who  fled the war-torn country for a new life in Canada and turned to rap to learn  English, will be one of the stars of this summer's 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The 31-year-old musician and political campaigner on African issues has  signed up to be the face for giant drinks company Coca-Cola at June and July  event in South Africa.

Emmanuel Seuge of Coca-Cola said at the annual MIDEM music industry fest  that the company had set out to find an African-born musician and chose K'naan  because of his background and musical journey. "The match and shared values have to be very strong and the artist is  critical to what you want say through the campaign," Seuge said.

source: AFP

photo: flickr/megan cole