With Aar Maanta’s talent, passion and willpower, he is today revered as one of the most creative and talented Somali musicians both in the Horn of Africa and the Diaspora. After the challenges of an uprooted childhood and resettlement due to the Revolution in Somalia, Aar had to overcome further obstacles to arrive at this point in his career. Residing in London since the 1990’s, Aar Maanta formed his band, The Urban Nomads, a multinational and multi-talented collective. Tony Benjamin of Bristol Post summed up a recent concert in London with the following review “The band sound is nicely dominated by articulate hand drum and swooning sax/guitar interplay, the rhythms varying from slinky North African to choppy reggae and a couple of grandstand funk numbers, with Aar Maanta’s soulful vocals soaring over them all. It’s a fine voice, too, with the dusty echo of desert dust colouring the sweetness of his tone.” Aar Maanta has performed at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis to a packed house that included a very mixed audience of local Somali, near-by college students and larger community members coming together to enjoy wonderful music and a powerful message.