Emmanuel Jal (née Jal Jok, 1 January 1980) is a South Sudanese-Canadian rapper, actor, author, former child soldier, and political activist. His autobiography, War Child: A Child Soldier's Story, was published in 2009.
Contents
Childhood
Jal was born to a Nuer family in the village of Tonj, Warrap State in the Bahr el Ghazal region of Sudan (now South Sudan). He does not know exactly when he was born, and records his date of birth as 1 January 1980.
Jal was a young child when the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out. His father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). When Jal was roughly seven years old, his mother was killed by Sudanese government soldiers. He then decided to join the thousands of children travelling to Ethiopia seeking education and opportunity.
Along the way however, many of the children, Jal included, were recruited by the SPLA and taken to military training camps in the bush in Etwas disguised as a school in front of international aid agencies and UN representatives, but behind closed doors the children were training to fight.
Jal spent several years fighting with the SPLA in Ethiopia, until war broke out there too and the child soldiers were forced back into Sudan by the fighting and joined the SPLA's efforts to fight the government in the town of Juba. "Many kids there were so bitter, they wanted to know what happened to them. And we all wanted revenge."
When the fighting became unbearable Jal and some other children decided to run away. They were on the move for three months, with many dying on the way, until they reached the town of Waat, which was the headquarters of a small group that had separated themselves from the main SPLA.
In Waat, Jal met Emma McCune, a British aid worker married to senior SPLA commandant Riek Machar. Jal was only 11 years old then and McCune insisted he should not be a soldier. She adopted him and smuggled him to Kenya. There he attended school in Brookhouse International School in Nairobi. McCune died in a road accident a few months later, but her friends (Madeleine Bunting and Anna Ledgard) helped Jal to continue his studies. However, after McCune died, her husband Machar did not agree with Emmanuel staying with him, and he was forced to live in the slums (maybe before he came to Kileleshwa). He stayed in Kileleshwa with other refugees while attending Arboretum Sixth Form College.
Music
With the help of a British aid worker (Emma McCune), Jal escaped into Kenya. But even that came with hardships as he lived for years in the slums. But Jal eventually stumbled upon hip-hop and discovered the genre harboured incredible power, both spiritual and political. While studying in Kenya, Jal started singing to ease the pain of what he had experienced. He also became very active in the community, raising money for local street children and refugees. With the encouragement of those around him like Gatkuoth Jal who has also gone through the same experience, Jal became increasingly involved in music and formed several groups. His first single, "All We Need Is Jesus", was a hit in Kenya and received airplay in the UK.
Through his music, Jal counts on the unity of the citizens to overcome ethnic and religious division and motivate the youth in Sudan. After escaping to Kenya, he fell in love with hip hop in the way that it identified issues being faced by the neighbourhood, which he was able to identify with in a unique manner. Although he lacked any music background or knowledge of its history, he felt that hip hop could provide the easiest and most effective vehicle to express his story and lobby for political change.
He went on to produce his first album, Gua, a mix of rap in Arabic, English, Swahili, Dinka and Nuer. The symbolism of unity is expressed in the title, meaning both "peace" in Nuer and "power" in Sudanese Arabic. His lyrics illustrate the desires of the Sudanese people to return to a peaceful, independent homeland. Although the only hip hop Jal had ever listened to was American, while he was in Kenya, the beat to "Gua" is not the usual American hip hop, but rather is strongly African. The title track, also called "Gua", was a number one hit in Kenya and featured on The Rough Guide to the Music of Sudan and Help: A Day in the Life, bringing together some of Britain's best known on a CD in aid of children in conflict zones (produced by War Child).
His next single, "War Child", mixes rap with soul to produce a world music vibe. He begins with telling his story through powerful lyrics; "I'm a war child / I believe I've survived for a reason / To tell my story, to touch lives." He continues the song with the narrative of his life and the pain inflicted upon him. "Written in English, Jal's second language, the new album [War-Child] may lack the poetic gymnastics of hip-hop's more fluent stars, but the plainness of the words – half-spoken, half-chanted over a mix of hip-hop and African-flavored choruses – keeps the focus on the story."
Activism
Jal aims to protect the childhood of others through music. "Music is powerful. It is the only thing that can speak into your mind, your heart and your soul without your permission." Asked in an interview in a New Statesman magazine article if politics and art should mix, Jal answers: "When there is a need, they should mix. In times of war, starvation, hunger and injustice, such tragedy can only be put aside if you allow yourself to be uplifted through music, film and dance. It can be used to communicate messages to the masses and create awareness, to influence the people positively. A perfect example is Bob Marley: his message is still being heard today." Through his heartfelt lyrics, he opens the world up to the corruption and greed of the Sudanese government; central to the themes of his songs is the campaign for peace of opposing sides in Sudan and the clear message that children have no place in wars.
He has also passionately criticised the current state of hip hop culture in the United States. He sees hip hop as a vehicle to communicate an authentic message, rather than a space to pursue street credibility. "As well as simply being great songs, people are really getting into the lyrics, really understanding his message, and he is a great role model." He has expressed concern about the message being sent by American hip-hop artists, saying "American hip hop is still entwined with gang culture, drugs, sexual violence, and greed. It's a battleground." His song "50 Cent" speaks to the successful American rapper to change his violent messages, which have a destructive influence on children, as exemplified through his Bulletproof videogame. "You have done enough damage selling crack cocaine/now you got a 'kill a black man' video game/We have lost a whole generation through this lifestyle/now you want to put it in the game for a little child to play..." "The Roots and Jal set the hip-hop bar higher," wrote The Washington Post in 2008.
Emmanuel is a spokesman for the Make Poverty History campaign, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Control Arms campaign. In 2008, Jal also got involved in the musical movement of spreading awareness about current slavery and human trafficking by performing various songs for the rockumentary, Call+Response.
A documentary about Emmanuel Jal called War Child was made in 2008 by C. Karim Chrobog and Interface Media Group. It made its international debut at the Berlin Film Festival and its North American debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Cadillac Audience Award. An autobiography under the same name was released in 2009.
Discography
Solo albums
2004 – Gua – Independent
2005 – Ceasefire – Riverboat
2008 – Warchild – Sonic360
2010 – Emmanuel Jal's 4th Studio Album
2012 – See Me Mama – Gatwitch Records
2014 – The Key – Gatwitch Records
2022 – Shangah – Gatwitch Records
Collaborative albums
2018 - Naath, with Nyaruach - nominated for a 2019 Juno Award
Contributing artist
2005 – Help!: A Day in the Life – War Child
2005 – The Rough Guide to the Music of Sudan – World Music Network
2006 – Live 8 at Eden: Africa Calling – Emd Int'l
2007 – Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur – Amnesty International USA and Art for Amnesty
2010 – Sudan Votes Music Hopes – MICT
2010 – Sudan Votes Music Hopes REMIXED "kuar" remixes by Henrik Schwarz and Olof Dreijer (The Knife)
2013 – The Rough Guide to Acoustic Africa – 2013, World Music Network
Book
War Child: A Child Soldier's Story. St. Martin's Press, 2009; St. Martin's Griffin, 2010 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-312-60297-0
