From Child Soldier to International Superstar: Emmanuel Jal on Life and Peace

Emmanuel Jal captured the hearts of the international community with his novel, War Child: A Child Soldiers Story. A former child soldier, a musician, actor and peace activist Jal’s first song ‘Gua’ (”peace” in his native Nuer tongue) produced by our very own Chris Adwar, kicked off his rocketing musical career. He stars in the new movie ‘The Good Lie’ featuring Reese Witherspoon while his peace activism through Gua Africa and other initiatives has affected and changed many lives the world over.

Not just an actor and film activism, Jal is best known as a mad MC. He released his new album The Key, on September 9th featuring big names like Nile Rodgers, Nelly Furtado, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (Run DMC), the widely popular African Children’s Choir, Anthony Marshall (Craig David), long time collaborators Roachie, Silvastone and Chris Adwar.

In a skype interview, just as the sun set in Nairobi, nearing lunchtime in Canada where Jal was, UP takes a journey into the acclaimed artist’s work and the beliefs that have made him an international sensation. He takes his laptop outside and sits cross legged before it. He smiles often as he speaks about music and his work, his smile only goes when he speaks about what is happening in his home, South Sudan. There is a genuine vitality and warmth in his manner and his words surrounded by a quiet humility.

What is your NGO Gua Africa is about?

Gua Africa is about providing opportunities; scholarships for young people to go to school. Some have scholarships abroad, some are working for big corporate banks now.

In your new album I see you’re working with Chris Adwar

Yeah Chris Adwar! You know Chris Adwar is one of the Kenyan producers that understands international music. Because it’s the track I produced with him called Gua that gave me international attention. And a number of his tracks are in Blood Diamond. So every time I do an album if I don’t put Chris Adwar in it I feel like I haven’t completed my album.

You’re affecting Kenyans and Sudanese people by being who you are and spreading the message of peace; you’re very real and that reflects on the places you come from. Does it ever get hard?

Most of everything that I’m doing has been impacted by Kenya, because that’s where I was given an opportunity to go to school and learn all these skills. That’s why I like doing stuff with Kenya. Especially the first time I was introduced to Juliani, by DJ Mos, and I said wow. So we signed Juliani to Gatwich Records and helped produce his first album and since then Juliani exploded. We never gave any more support, we just pushed the album and now the guy is on his own. So once in a while if I find somebody and they’re cool and I have a muscle I try to flex it.

So you’re looking out not just for yourself but for artists you connect with too.

The problem if you’re cause driven, when you take the cause to be more about you, you get frustrated easily, you get manipulated by the system and it’s easier for you to sell your soul. But when you realise you’re moving in a community, it’s no longer about you. Because when you care about your community you’ll be lost in that world and other people will join you and give you support.

You also worked with Nelly Furtado?

Yeah, you know Nelly Furtado is very connected in Kenya. She supports schools there, she goes every December to some of the schools that she’s supporting in Maasai Mara.

What was it like working with Nile Rodgers?

Nile Rodgers completely changed the way I write. He told me you can make music that only you will enjoy or you can make music where you can get other people to jump on board and like it. And the way the system is it’s been organized in a certain way that only certain type of music can be played. We spent hours before we started making the song.

He said when you’re making music the flow and the rhythm, the hook are very important. Lyrics should not come as number one, you can be too lyrical and then you lose the point. But when you have a tight flow it’s easy to get people into the flow. Learning from those skills he taught me it’s how we were able to create that song.

So every record is growth, a new way of looking at things…

It’s growth, trying to grow. I started my career as a musician when I was twenty, that’s when I was trying. But when I became 25 that’s when I began taking it seriously. If you exploded in just one year you’re going to fall down real hard. It takes years of consistent hard work. Since 2005, years have just passed by . I don’t get a lot of airplay like other guys but I’m constantly doing little things here and there just keeping myself relevant to the cause and the message I’m trying to put out.

But even the songs getting airplay aren’t putting out any relevant or significant message necessarily. But you speak from the heart and there will always be people who appreciate and feel your music.

Thank you for the support.

You started out with a book, then you went to music, then now a film. Is it difficult moving from one thing to the other?

Actually I started with the music then my story took over. My first song Gua was with Chris Adwar, and it gave birth to Gua Africa. Then the second album, Cease fire, where the songs that Chris helped produce are in the Blood Diamond.

How much of your time do you spend travelling how much of your time do you spend at home?

I’m always travelling, always. I’m always on the road.

What would you say about the development of music in Kenya and South Sudan since you started until now.

Well Kenyan music has had a big effect on South Sudanese artist, Uganda as well. But the problem we are facing is getting East African music to the main stream, getting it to the west. It will take a lot of East Africans to actually understand the international market. There are a couple here, I am here, we’re trying to get Juliani on tour.

The problem is East Africans don’t know how to support their artists properly, locally or internationally. You find that Ugandan artists will get paid more than a Kenyan artist to perform. So the Kenyan government needs to have money to support the arts, the corporations there too need to think about bringing global attention to Kenya through the arts. Safaricom was doing something amazing before, used to tour artist to develop them into a certain standard so they can play at an international level. We had people like Nameless who was getting out and touring.

So if there are some brands that can challenge themselves to push artists forward, organize international tours, support a big artist on the road. That way the art scene could develop. Juliani is doing it properly, he’s working hard, he’s making it happen.

You’ve seen many sides of the world, from being a child soldier, to a musician, peace activist… what’s that like, what’s the effect of being in so many different places and times.

For me I feel like I’m in a dream and I haven’t woken up, I’m trying to figure out things to do and I have an opportunity to participate in making a history and I don’t want to be left behind because I’m finding a lot of good people who are doing the same. And so I don’t know what will happen when I wake up, that’s the way I’m dreaming it.

So all the proceeds from the new album, The Key, are going to an enterprise to fund entrepreneurs. We’ll start with East African entrepreneurs. So we’re going to come in November to identify two entrepreneurs that have got a business with a purpose, a business that benefits children’s lives, those are the ones we want to support.

It came about because of a guy called Paul Lindley, an entrepreneur, founder of Ella’s Kitchen a food company that makes food for children. He’s from Zambia but moved to the UK. He founded this enterprise and made this album happen to fight for human rights and children’s rights. Some of the proceeds we make from it goes to the enterprise.

So that’s what we’re doing, using art to try and make a difference. No one man can change the world but each one of us has a responsibility to do what we can. And if every person that does a little thing here and there, all these little things become like sources of little light shining. And as more people do it we will end up creating a big beam of light that can push off this darkness that is trying to engulf everybody. That’s how I look at it.

That’s a positive outlook, spread the love. Thank you.

Rapper, humanitarian, activist and actor Emmanuel Jal’s fifth studio album The Key will be available on September 9, 2014 released on Gatwitch / Universal. The new 13 track album which includes collaborations with Grammy Winners Nile Rodgers (who produced the lead single “My Power”) and Nelly Furtado (who appears on the duet “Scars” and “Party”) follows on the heels of Jal’s highly anticipated co-starring role in major motion picture The Good Lie featuring Reese Witherspoon – which world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival – that traces the journey of four young Sudanese refugees (based on The Lost Boys of Sudan) who win a lottery for relocation to the United States.