Hip Hop, the modern Opera
Child soldier of war-torn Sudan sits down with the DS and talks about his life, his music and his mission to help the world.
Michael Thomas
Issue date: 12/4/09 Section: Life
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"It's a long story," Jal said in reference to his life. The now 30-year old or so musician (he's not completely certain of his age) spends his time performing around the world and spreading the word about his past and what it means to the future of his homeland.
After his mother was murdered, his brothers were scattered and his sisters were raped and beaten, Jal was taken from his home to fight on behalf of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a revolutionary group determined to overthrow the Sudanese government. After months of training, the young boy was sent to fight.
"We were all excited in a way," Jal said. "We wanted revenge for our families. We didn't know what the war was for, we only knew that my aunt was raped, that my brother and sisters were taken, my mother was claimed by the war. People were disappearing … that's why I wanted to be trained, for revenge."
After escaping from Sudan and the war that continued to rage on, Jal was rescued by a British aid worker who took him to Kenya, and put him in school; so the journey of the modern Emmanuel Jal begins.
Hip hop, the modern opera
It wasn't long after moving to Kenya that Jal found music as a medium of expression and a source of escape. Now, in 2009, Jal has performed around the world in the hopes of letting people know about what is going on in Africa.
In his song Gua (War Child) Jal asks, "Is there anyone to hear my cry?" After years of performing, he says that people are beginning to hear his cry and they are listening to the issues that he and thousands others have had to face in their lives.
His eclectic mix of hip hop, R&B, rap with hints of reggae and pop combined with his energetic and eccentric stage presence has made Jal a dynamic yet under appreciated musician. While some of his songs are gaining in popularity, he has gone somewhat unnoticed. But more than his music, Jal wants his voice about poverty, corruption and the demise of many people in Africa to be heard.
"Hip hop just flows," he said. "I love it so much because it tells a story. It's the modern opera. No music has conquered the world like hip hop. All of the corners of the world, you will hear hip hop. Rock is only in America and Europe, but hip hop, it's in the ghettos, it's in the cities, it's everywhere. It's a voice for the people of the ghetto, it's a theory, it's for the community."
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