Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal first came on the international radar screen when he collaborated with veteran bandleader Abdel Gadir Salim on the album Ceasefire (World Music Network, 2004)—a rare north/south, Muslim/Christian, elder/youth collaboration envisioning peace in Sudan. On this, Jal’s proper debut, he tells his own harrowing story of being drafted into the ranks of an SPLA youth militia as a nine-year-old (“Warchild”), driven to extremes of endurance and behavior (“Forced to Sin”) and rescued by a benevolent foreign aid worker (“Emma”). Now in his late twenties and educated in London, Jal also reflects on the economic politics of southern Sudan (“Vagina,” as in “stop treating Mama Africa” like one), and even on suffering farther from home (“Ninth Ward”). He also offers surprising cultural critiques of the Western, hip-hop suffused world around him. “50 Cent” argues that the megastar rapper is being “used by the man” in promoting violence. “No Bling” rejects the gaudy and sexist trappings of much hip hop culture. And “Skirt too Short” scolds a girl Jal met on MySpace for moving too far too fast.
Jal’s raps are artful and arresting, and there’s a musical statement here as well. Working with London-based, Bahamian producer Roachie (Clinton Outten), Jal comes up with an original sound, especially noteworthy for its use of vocal layering—harmonies, melodies and flashes of the best of African R&B and gospel. Jal is on the cutting edge of a new generation of African rappers, who may at last be capable of engaging a worldwide audience. Time will tell.
Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal first came on the international radar screen when he collaborated with veteran bandleader Abdel Gadir Salim on the album Ceasefire (World Music Network, 2004)—a rare north/south, Muslim/Christian, elder/youth collaboration envisioning peace in Sudan. On this, Jal’s proper debut, he tells his own harrowing story of being drafted into the ranks of an SPLA youth militia as a nine-year-old (“Warchild”), driven to extremes of endurance and behavior (“Forced to Sin”) and rescued by a benevolent foreign aid worker (“Emma”). Now in his late twenties and educated in London, Jal also reflects on the economic politics of southern Sudan (“Vagina,” as in “stop treating Mama Africa” like one), and even on suffering farther from home (“Ninth Ward”). He also offers surprising cultural critiques of the Western, hip-hop suffused world around him. “50 Cent” argues that the megastar rapper is being “used by the man” in promoting violence. “No Bling” rejects the gaudy and sexist trappings of much hip hop culture. And “Skirt too Short” scolds a girl Jal met on MySpace for moving too far too fast. 