Emmanuel Jal

Emmanuel Jal is a musician from Tonj in South Sudan, born in 1980. He is also known as a former child soldier. As a child, he grows up during the Sudanese civil war; his father joins the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, and after his mother dies he leaves home with other children who are travelling to Ethiopia for education. Instead, many of them are taken into SPLA recruitment and military training camps in Ethiopia. Jal later spends several years fighting with the SPLA before escaping with other children.

Early life and escape

Jal’s route out of the war takes him through Waat, where he meets British aid worker Emma McCune. She opposes the idea of him remaining a soldier, adopts him and smuggles him to Kenya. He attends school in Nairobi, while McCune dies in a road accident a few months later. Her friends help him continue his studies.

Music career

While living in Kenya, Jal begins singing to cope with his experiences and becomes active in his community, raising money for local street children and refugees. He forms several groups and builds a recording career that includes rap in Arabic, English, Kiswahili, Dinka and Nuer. His first single, “All We Need Is Jesus,” becomes a hit in Kenya and receives airplay in the UK.

His first album, Gua, includes the title track “Gua,” which becomes a number one hit in Kenya. That track also appears on The Rough Guide To The Music Of Sudan and on Help: A Day In The Life, a War Child charity compilation. He later releases Ceasefire, a collaboration with the Sudanese Muslim musician Abdel Gadir Salim. The album brings together different sides of the Sudanese conflict and different musical traditions around the idea of peace in Sudan. It includes a re-recording of “Gua,” which is used in the American television series ER.

His album Warchild is produced by Roachie and Silvastone, with additional production by Neal Pogue. It presents his story as a former child soldier and his life after arriving in the West. His discography also includes Help: A Day In The Life, Ceasefire and Warchild.

Campaigning and recognition

Jal serves as a spokesman for the Make Poverty History campaign, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Control Arms campaign. He performs at Live 8 in Cornwall and receives a 2005 American Gospel Music Award for best international artist. He also founds Gua Africa.