Child soldier turned rap star brings message of hope

by Nick Lewis, Calgary Herald, Published: Friday, August 08, 2008

He was just seven when he was plucked from his family and forced to become a child soldier. Handed an AK-47 that was taller than he was, by age 11, he had already been a veteran of two civil wars in the killing fields of Sudan.

Escaping after five years of unimaginable atrocity and poverty, Emmanuel Jal learned to sing and rap as a means of catharsis, he says. Today, after moving to England he is a prolific rapper with a critically acclaimed album named War Child and is the subject of an award-winning documentary of the same name. His profile went global earlier this summer when he stole the show from the likes of Queen and Peter Gabriel at the huge London birthday concert for Nelson Mandela. He is now in Calgary to perform at this weekend's Afrikadey! festival.

But Jal is doing much more to make his presence felt in Calgary. He has a number of speaking engagements in the city, and is even taking the time to talk to expatriot Sudanese locked in local prisons, hoping to steer them on a course that can benefit their birthland.

"I was born in difficult times and I've seen horrific things," the 28-year-old says softly.

"How did I survive? How did I make the most of what was given to me? I want to talk to them and tell them they need to take responsibility, to help their families back home. A door has been opened for them and they need to go through it. Their people need them. The people back home haven't been educated because there are no schools, so they're the ones who will one day run the country. They're the future, and if they fail, they're failing their country and betraying their people."

While Peter Gabriel told the Wembley Stadium crowd on Mandela's birthday that Jal has the potential of a young Bob Marley, Afrkiday! artistic director Tunde Dawodu believes Jal has the potential of a young Mandela. Which is why he flew to London to convince the rapper to perform at this year's festival...

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Emmanuel Jal Makes A Big impression At Mandela Bash

From Antimusic :

(Noble PR) Former Sudanese child soldier turned rapper, Emmanuel Jal, received rave reviews for his explosive performance of the song 'Emma' with the Soweto Gospel Choir at the '46664 Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert' in London's Hyde Park on June 27th. He was introduced by Peter Gabriel who proclaimed him as "having the potential of a young Bob Marley."

"I met the next artist about 3 years ago and was enormously impressed with this young man from Sudan," said Peter Gabriel, as he introduced Emmanuel Jal at the 46664 Nelson Mandela concert. "His brutal childhood as a 7 year old child soldier taught him to be a mindless killing machine. People expected Mandela to come out of 27 years in jail calling for revenge but he came out calling for forgiveness, compassion and collaboration."

"This next artist came out of the horror of a brutal war, a brutal childhood with a clear voice calling out against violence, hatred and materialism. He's gonna have a huge influence in the world way beyond his music. He's still developing and exploring his musical voice, but I think you have the opportunity to see someone with the potential of a young Bob Marley. Please give an enormous welcome to the amazing Emmanuel Jal."

'Emma' will be released as a digital download single on iTunes from 22nd July. Taken from Jal's new critically acclaimed album 'Warchild', 'Emma' is dedicated to the British Aid worker Emma McCune, who rescued Emmanuel Jal from a continued existence as a child soldier. Emma adopted Emmanuel and smuggled him to Kenya to begin a new life, where he could grow up safe and get an education. Sadly, a few months later Emma died in a car accident. A film based on Emma's life, 'Emma's War, directed by Tony Scott (Enemy of the State), is due for theatrical release in 2009.

Watch Peter Gabriel's intro and Emmanuel's performance of 'Emma' at the Mandela concert here :



* July 12th - Rising Styles Hiphop festival in Brighton
* July 13th - Rise Festival in Finsbury Park, London
* Aug 4th - 9th - Afrikadey Festival in Calgary, Canada
* Aug 16th - 17th - the V Festival
* Aug 22nd - the Greenbelt Festival, Cheltenham