Artist Spotlight: Emmanuel Jal

Rappers sometimes claim that they rap about violence to entertain their audiences like, you know, Hollywood movies. For Emmanuel Jal, though, there's nothing entertaining about violence. Well, unless unless you can see the humor in a 9 year-old child cradling an AK47 to bed and occasionally eating human flesh to stave off starvation. Jal has done both and much worse.

Jal's father was a member of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and his mother was killed in the civil war when he was a little boy. He was later forced to become a child soldier in southern Sudan when he was seven. Jal fought with the SPLA until a British aid worker reportedly smuggled him to safety in Kenya. He eventually ended up in London where he became a rap phenom.

Ever since he escaped violence in Sudan, Jal has been on a mission to spread the message of peace through his music. "I believe I survived for a reason - to tell my story, to touch lives," he raps on "Warchild." Jal has two notable albums under his belt, 2005's Ceasefire (Buy) and 2008's Warchild (Buy). The former is an exercise in gospel rap while the latter sustains the moralistic themes with a dash of pop elements.

Jal isn't a technically sound MC. His style is as raw as his upbringing. While his message is refreshing, he lacks the lyrical chops of Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan. Still, he's one worth keeping an eye on. Jal's fourth studio album is due out sometime in 2010.