Emmanuel Jal: War Child- Songs of Triumph

Emmanuel Jal's "War Child" album is a wonderful and challenging group of songs that need and deserve to be heard. Emmanuel became a child soldier in Sudan at the age of eight. He spent his formative years being indoctinated to kill and to hate. Three years later he escaped with 400 other child warriors. After a 3 month journey less than twenty boys had survived. He sings about his experiences in order to deal with his inner demons as well as to compel the world to take care of its children. He is no only concerned with African children. He enters into the culture wars of today and is a voice of experience that should be listened to. He sings about the "one thing that gives him nightmares" and that one thing on the song "50 Cent" is the violent video games in which children are entertained by killing other "people". This is important coming from a person who knows the difference between real killing and video game violence. To Emmanuel Jal, human life is not expendible and should be valued and what we teach our children about life is so very important because Emmanuel knows extremely well "what this life is worth". Jal notes:

“People sing a lot before they go to war. We need to be especially careful when we’re asked to
sing any tune that’s not God’s."

I have written a few posts on Emmanuel Jal and this album. You can find them here:

War Child Movie - Emmanuel Jal

Emmanuel Jal: War Child- Three Songs to Expand Your World

Emmanuel Jal: War Child- Soul and Culture Wars

I am no expert on Emmanuel Jal and his music. I have only been listening to his music for about a week. But I did want to learn more of his backstory and I find him fascinating. I look forward to viewing his movie, and to listening to his earlier music. The stories about them seem just as interesting.

The last two songs on Emmanuel Jal's "War Child" album are both songs of victory and triumph.



On "Stronger" Emmanuel sings, "What didn't kill me/ Can only make me/ Stronger/ Stronger." He tells of his love for his home village in Sudan, where the people's smiles can be "seen from a mile". He pledges to do everything he can to help his people and he can do it because he is stronger, "This force that is in me is stronger that any force that is against me/ Watch me as I fly..." and "Irrespective of all the bad/ I found some good/ Irrespective of all the bad/ I made it through/ That's' why/ I still smile".



The last song "Emma" is a beautiful and uplifting song that pays homage to Emma McCune, the lady who rescued Emmanual Jal. He sings this song with such sincere emotion and feeling. Here is a video of Emmanual singing Emma at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party. He is introduced by Peter Gabriel.



Here Emmanuel raps out his song "Emma"



In the song Emmanuel asks, "What would a be if Emma hadn't rescued me?" He offers many answers: "another starving refuge", someone who "might have died from starvation or some other wretched disease" or who "might have grown up with no education", and sadly and finaly he may have just been "another corpse on the African Plain". But in the end he sings, "I stand here because someone cared/ I stand here because someone dared/ I know there is a lot of other Emmas out there who are willing and trying to save the life of a child."

He was resuced by his "angel" Emma and sings "Praise God/ Praise the Almighty/ for sending an angel to rescue me/ I've got a reason for being on this earth/ cause I know more than many what this life is worth" and when he sings that he is going to "Run over mountains/ leaps and bounds" and "no one can stop me now" you just want to cheer him on! This is such an upliftinig song that when I hear it on my iPod while running I repeat it again and again.

Emma McCune the British aid worker who rescued Emmanuel when he was an 11 years old ex child soldier. She adopted him and smuggled him to Kenya. He went to school in Nairobi there. Tragically Emma died in a car accident a few months later but friends helped pay for his school education. Emma McCune is also a somewhat controversial figure herself. She ended up marrying Riek Machar, who was one of two leading southern guerrilla commanders. Her story ended up being told in a book called "Emma's War". It seems like a movie based on the book is just as controversial.


In this video Emmanuel Jal answers the question, "Who is your Hero?" He explains how Emma McCune rescued him and became his hero.



Emmanuel Jal's goal is to build a school for children Leer, Sudan, Emmanuel Jal's hometown in Emma mcCune's name as a way to say thanks to her. Here he talks about his mission.



You can find out more on the Emma Academy project at the website http://emmaacademyproject.com/

Emmanuel Jal: War Child- Soul and Culture Wars

The middle part of Emmanuel Jal's cd "War Child" deal with other battles that Emmanuel feels a part of. He is in a battle for his soul and the personal demons that haunt him (from a brutal early life as a child soldier in Sudan and a Lost Boy refuge. He also senses the cultural wars in his songs about how the world treats others based on color, social status, greed, and the images put forth in today's media and music.

"Baakiwara (I'm in another war/ This time it is my soul/ I am fighting for) is the fourth song on Emmanuel Jal's "War Child" album. This is not a song about being a child soldier as much as it is a song about the battle with the flesh and the struggle to overcome temptation (The things I want to do/ I don't do/ And the things I don't want to do/ I do/ My flesh and my spirit always fight).



"Shadow of Death" (As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death/ I fear no evil) is a song about the demons that haunt the singer and his faith that keeps him strong(As I pray to the Lord my soul to keep/ I don't have to worry about where to sleep/ The Lord is my shepherd/ and I'm his sheep).



The next song "Vagina" (To Mr. Oil, Diamond, and Gold miner, stop treating Mama Africa like a vagina. She's not your whore, not anymore. You take the riches and you leave the people poor.”] is about the rape of Africa. Emmanuel used to think the wars on his continent were for religious or ethnic reasons, but now believes it is about resources and unequal development. In an interview Emmanuel said:

“Vagina” was inspired by Blood Diamond. And also the issues in Africa, what is killing us. Gold. Diamonds. Oil. Those are the things. It's a message for both the companies and the leaders of Africa, the presidents. Because a lot of people don't know what is really going on in Africa. They don't know what is crippling Africa. So because I'm from there, I know what's going on. And this is a song that tells you the real truth. And people have to judge for themselves.

"Hai" is a song that tells about the profiling that black men face around the world.



In "No Bling" Emmanuel says he doesn't need the trappings normarly associated with rap stars to make it big. (No hos, no bitches, no bling, I don’t need none of those things / It’s only the love that I bring / representing the King of Kings / No hos, no bitches, no bling, I don’t need none of those things / I don’t need none of those things, to sell a lot of records like Sting.) It is his answer to the producers who wanted to give him an "image" so he could sell some records.



"50 Cent" is another song about western values. He sings this song to rapper 50 Cent telling him to use his fame for good and not for marketing violent video games to children (You have done enough damage selling crack cocaine/now you gotta kill a black man video game).

"Skirt Too Short" is about women dressing more modestly and it evolved from an encounter with a girl from MySpace. (You're skirts too short/ I can almost see your drawers). It is humorous and very direct.

"9th Ward" is a song dedicated to the people who perished in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He had a hard time reconciling the fact that American was spending billions of dollars to fight a war in Iraq and yet had a hard time caring for the people in their own country.

Emmanuel Jal may have grown up as a child soldier but he continues to fight for the things he believes in and he sees lots of troubling things in the world around him.