--- title: "11 You Quotes By K'naan" description: "11 You quotes by K'naan. Plus more from K'naan and more You sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/k-naan-16145_cinema_it-s-not-really-that-i-m-interested-in-f_117042.png" --- > [It's not really that I'm interested in filmmaking. I'm interested in the instrument of it, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-s-not-really-that-i-m-interested-in-filmmaking-i-m-interested-in/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/k-naan-16145_cinema_it-s-not-really-that-i-m-interested-in-f_117042.png) > [I am one of those people that's never been really cynical about life, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-am-one-of-those-people-that-s-never-been-really-cynical-about-life/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/k-naan-16145_about_i-am-one-of-those-people-that-s-never-be_2206817.png) > [To reach your goal authentically is probably, in the end, going to mean much more to you than having reached it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/to-reach-your-goal-authentically-is-probably-in-the-end-going-to-mean/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/k-naan-16145_end_to-reach-your-goal-authentically-is-prob_659802.png) > [You have to let the world speak to you and then you speak, you know, so I'm in that moment now where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/you-have-to-let-the-world-speak-to-you-and-then-you-speak-you-know-so/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/k-naan-16145_finding_you-have-to-let-the-world-speak-to-you-a_929029.png) > [I think it's a mistake to work on success in career. I've worked on my passions obsessively. How can I say what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-success-in-career-i-ve-worked-on-my/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/k-naan-16145_career_i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-succes_658102.jpg) > [Art isn't held with the same high regard as it is after success. In any country, in any language, you're a loser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/art-isn-t-held-with-the-same-high-regard-as-it-is-after-success-in/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/k-naan-16145_after_art-isn-t-held-with-the-same-high-regard_999897.png) > [It was not my dream to be an artist. How could it have been? I thought, artist, much like a leader, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how-could-it-have-been-i-thought/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/k-naan-16145_art_it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how_685586.png) > [From the stage, I can reach a large audience, and you learn from being on stage how much a song reaches, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/from-the-stage-i-can-reach-a-large-audience-and-you-learn-from-being/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/975/k-naan-16145_also_from-the-stage-i-can-reach-a-large-audie_2266764.png) > [I faced quite a few challenging times, and in front of those, I was more positive than some people not facing those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-faced-quite-a-few-challenging-times-and-in-front-of-those-i-was/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/k-naan-16145_actually_i-faced-quite-a-few-challenging-times-an_2026401.png) > [The only way I see the world now is through coming out of and growing up and living in Somalia. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/the-only-way-i-see-the-world-now-is-through-coming-out-of-and-growing/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/k-naan-16145_also_the-only-way-i-see-the-world-now-is-thro_2599211.png) > [You want to reach people, but you also want to reach them in the most authentic way. You now have a mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/you-want-to-reach-people-but-you-also-want-to-reach-them-in-the-most/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/k-naan-16145_absolutely_you-want-to-reach-people-but-you-also-wa_2874549.png) ## Other authors on You ## More by K'naan > [Until the lion learns to speak, the tales of hunting will be weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/until-the-lion-learns-to-speak-the-tales-of-hunting-will-be-weak/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [The problem is that rap is so often a caricature of its own image. Nobody comes to the table with the seriousness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/the-problem-is-that-rap-is-so-often-a-caricature-of-its-own-image/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [There's definitely anger, the demand of more from the world, a demand for justice. There's no other way I can perform the vocals than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/there-s-definitely-anger-the-demand-of-more-from-the-world-a-demand/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [It's not really that I'm interested in filmmaking. I'm interested in the instrument of it, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-s-not-really-that-i-m-interested-in-filmmaking-i-m-interested-in/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [My life owes me. Like an overdose, I'm slowly Drifting into the arms of trouble, then trouble holds me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/my-life-owes-me-like-an-overdose-i-m-slowly-drifting-into-the-arms-of/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [The people of Somalia just do not have a voice. They are to me the most forgotten people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/the-people-of-somalia-just-do-not-have-a-voice-they-are-to-me-the/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [My question about my art and my music has always been, 'Am I good, or am I good because?' I'm not the artist who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-has-always-been-am-i-good-or-am/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [Hip-hop in Africa has been very often a duplication of an American experience, but in a context that's totally alien to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/hip-hop-in-africa-has-been-very-often-a-duplication-of-an-american/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [I do think that some of my songs, like Take a Minute, are like the train between the two worlds. It starts out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-do-think-that-some-of-my-songs-like-take-a-minute-are-like-the/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [It's better to light a candle than to curse the dark In the eyes of the youth, there are question marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-s-better-to-light-a-candle-than-to-curse-the-dark-in-the-eyes-of/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [I think it's a mistake to work on success in career. I've worked on my passions obsessively. How can I say what I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-success-in-career-i-ve-worked-on-my/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [To reach your goal authentically is probably, in the end, going to mean much more to you than having reached it in a false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/to-reach-your-goal-authentically-is-probably-in-the-end-going-to-mean/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [It was not my dream to be an artist. How could it have been? I thought, artist, much like a leader, was something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how-could-it-have-been-i-thought/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [I learned to fire guns at the age of nine or so, but luckily was not out killing people. We zigzagged the streets to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-learned-to-fire-guns-at-the-age-of-nine-or-so-but-luckily-was-not/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [You have to let the world speak to you and then you speak, you know, so I'm in that moment now where I'm finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/you-have-to-let-the-world-speak-to-you-and-then-you-speak-you-know-so/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/k-naan/#itemlist", "name": "11 You Quotes By K'naan", "numberOfItems": 11, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's not really that I'm interested in filmmaking. 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I've worked on my passions obsessively. How can I say what I want to say more precisely than the last time I said it? Success is such an elusive concept. When you work for it, I think you get it in a way you might regret it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-success-in-career-i-ve-worked-on-my/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/k-naan-16145_career_i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-succes_658102.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/k-naan-16145_career_i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-succes_658102.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/k-naan-16145_career_i-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-work-on-succes_658102.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think it's a mistake to work on success in career. I've worked on my passions obsessively. 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In any country, in any language, you're a loser if you're making music until you prove otherwise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/art-isn-t-held-with-the-same-high-regard-as-it-is-after-success-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/k-naan-16145_after_art-isn-t-held-with-the-same-high-regard_999897.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/k-naan-16145_after_art-isn-t-held-with-the-same-high-regard_999897.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/k-naan-16145_after_art-isn-t-held-with-the-same-high-regard_999897.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art isn't held with the same high regard as it is after success. 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Never something you set out to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how-could-it-have-been-i-thought/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/k-naan-16145_art_it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how_685586.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/k-naan-16145_art_it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how_685586.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/k-naan-16145_art_it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how_685586.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was not my dream to be an artist. How could it have been? 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I write in a way that can reach most of the audience, but I also wanted to have truly intimate moments as well, many intimate moments, more so than the big moments.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/from-the-stage-i-can-reach-a-large-audience-and-you-learn-from-being/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/975/k-naan-16145_also_from-the-stage-i-can-reach-a-large-audie_2266764.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/975/k-naan-16145_also_from-the-stage-i-can-reach-a-large-audie_2266764.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/975/k-naan-16145_also_from-the-stage-i-can-reach-a-large-audie_2266764.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From the stage, I can reach a large audience, and you learn from being on stage how much a song reaches…” — K'naan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I faced quite a few challenging times, and in front of those, I was more positive than some people not facing those conditions. I'm actually of the belief now that it is that struggle that offers you that open-hearted hope.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-faced-quite-a-few-challenging-times-and-in-front-of-those-i-was/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/k-naan-16145_actually_i-faced-quite-a-few-challenging-times-an_2026401.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/k-naan-16145_actually_i-faced-quite-a-few-challenging-times-an_2026401.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/k-naan-16145_actually_i-faced-quite-a-few-challenging-times-an_2026401.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I faced quite a few challenging times, and in front of those, I was more positive than some people not…” — K'naan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only way I see the world now is through coming out of and growing up and living in Somalia. In the time of war, everyone was basically trying to live and manage the best they could. But you also had another period which was not a hard time at all - it was just a beautiful time. I lived in both eras.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/the-only-way-i-see-the-world-now-is-through-coming-out-of-and-growing/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/k-naan-16145_also_the-only-way-i-see-the-world-now-is-thro_2599211.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/k-naan-16145_also_the-only-way-i-see-the-world-now-is-thro_2599211.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/k-naan-16145_also_the-only-way-i-see-the-world-now-is-thro_2599211.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only way I see the world now is through coming out of and growing up and living in Somalia. In the time…” — K'naan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You want to reach people, but you also want to reach them in the most authentic way. You now have a mass market and an audience that's listening, but they're in love with a song that means absolutely nothing to you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/you-want-to-reach-people-but-you-also-want-to-reach-them-in-the-most/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/k-naan-16145_absolutely_you-want-to-reach-people-but-you-also-wa_2874549.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/k-naan-16145_absolutely_you-want-to-reach-people-but-you-also-wa_2874549.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/k-naan-16145_absolutely_you-want-to-reach-people-but-you-also-wa_2874549.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You want to reach people, but you also want to reach them in the most authentic way. 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