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Emmanuel Jal:Boy Soldier :: From Sudanese child soldier to liberated indie rapper, Emmanuel Jal's stance is crystal clear

By Nokware Knight   Photography by Tim Bret-Day

06/27/08 :: URB web

Sudan-born, London-based rapper Emmanuel Jal seems to have as much affection for hip-hop music as he does discontent with its mainstream image. As a surviving childhood soldier of Sudanese civil war, one that saw him toting guns and fighting off starvation from age seven through his early teens, Jal witnessed struggle, poverty and violence far more severe than hip-hop’s domestic tales of street life. And while he loves that hip-hop gives a voice to the struggle, he does believe that the overemphasis on machismo has the music headed in the wrong direction.

“I take them as movies,” Jal says of mainstream hip-hop songs. “But when I came to England and saw how it has affected the lives of young people actually trying to act what they see on TV, thinking it’s cool to be a gangster.”

The arrest of Jal’s younger cousin in association with London gang activity and the involvement of his producer’s son in a drive-by shooting prompted
him to record “50 Cent.” The song chastises his fellow rapper for the negative influences his images imposes while at the same time creating buzz for Jal in the U.S. (without having to take nine bullets.) Yet, with attention comes inevitable backlash. Some have argued that Jal’s latest album, Warchild, lacks the level of wit and lyrical wordplay generally associated with talented rappers. Such criticism underestimates the effectiveness of Jal’s delivery style. He uses simple language and a confident, understated and authentic swagger to address weighty issues most artists couldn’t touch without sounding preachy or lulling listeners to sleep. The result is entertaining, thought-provoking music put into a universal context anyone can understand. It makes for a powerfully distinctive product...one Jal plans to stick with for now.
“I don’t want to come and sound like an American or sound like something that really already existed,” says Jal. “I wanted to be different."

 Video: Warchild