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From Experience, Emmanuel Jal Raps Tales Of War

By CURTIS ROSS

cross@tampatrib.com

Published: October 7, 2008

Updated: 10/07/2008 12:33 am

TAMPA - Rappers often refer to themselves and members of their posses as soldiers.

Hip-hop artist Emmanuel Jal's relationship to that term is more than metaphorical.

At age 6 or 7 - he's unsure of his birth date - he was forced into military service by a rebel army in his homeland of Sudan. He spent five years fighting in not one but two civil wars before being rescued by a British aid worker.

His story has been documented in a book, a film and a hip-hop album, all titled "Warchild." Jal also tours as a speaker, discussing his own experiences and the ongoing crises in his homeland and its war-ravaged Darfur region.

Jal chose hip-hop as his medium because "it's just a guy talking, using his voice," he says by telephone the morning after a speaking engagement at the University of Rochester.

"You can put so many words in one place. You can finish up a whole story," Jal says. "So my hip-hop, apart from having a metaphoric style, I sing stories. I make it clear what I'm talking about."

What he's talking about is a world away from the celebration of bling and glorification of violence for which American hip-hop performers such as 50 Cent often are criticized. Can Jal compete with bigger names with less substance?

"Because my music has a lot of truth in it, the radio doesn't want to play it. I've not been given the same platform," Jal says. "If my music is given the same platform, it can actually sell."