K’naan the movie star? The musician sets down at the Sundance Film Festival
K’naan is the latest local talent hoping to join the ranks of the multi-disciplined celebrity. The Toronto singer has been wavin’ his flag all over the Sundance Film Festival this week. He’s there as one of a group of musicians interested in film invited to perform at the fest, and has been speaking to various media outlets about his desire to break into the movie biz, his love of Bollywood and, most importantly, the great Canadian music debate: Drake vs. Justin Bieber.
Of the film industry, K’naan says he isn’t sure what role he’d like to play—actor, director, producer? He grew up watching Indian song and dance movies and says he loves them “because they lack the cynicism of the intellect that affects a lot of films. You can really dream when you watch them.”
And speaking of dreaming, he calls the Sundance festival a “beautiful reality,” which sounds a lot nicer than the celebrity ass-kissing swag fest we keep hearing about. Maybe he’s just being diplomatic, as he was when an Etalk reporter asked him to compare Canada’s two biggest music stars. Rather than show any obvious favouritism, K’naan praised Drake for going where no local musician has gone before in terms of representing Canadian hip hop. As for Bieber, he compared the bubble gum boy wonder to Michael Jackson in terms of his ability to incite female hysteria.
Note: he did not compare the Biebs’ music-writing abilities to those of the King of Pop. K’naan may be upbeat, but he’s not insane.
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
