Sunday, January 5, 2014

South Sudanese Music feat. Emmanuel Jal

Hello again, everyone! Happy New Year! 

My first post of each month will be on the first Sunday of the month and will discuss musical traditions of that given country, as well as a particular artist from that country. 

There have been recent issues in the South Sudan, so I have decided to switch around the calendar that I had originally posted so that now the South Sudan is the country that I will be discussing in this month, January.

The musician that I will feature in this post is Emmanuel Jal, who was born in Sudan in the early 1980s. He is a recent discovery for me. In fact, I didn't discover him until I began researching for this post. However, he has quickly become an artist that I am drawn to listen to very frequently. He one of few Sundanese musicians that have pages on Spodify and Pandora and therefore making him very accessible. He was even asked to perform at Bob Geldof's Live * concert and Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration as well as record John Lennon's "Mother" on the "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur" album.

First off, I will start by providing some background information on music in the Sudan. 

Music in the Sudan has mostly been connected in one way or another to Islam, which is the most influential characteristic of the country except in southern Sudan (now South Sudan), but each ethnic group within the Sudan has its own unique musical identity.1  A cultural element that is unique to the South Sudan was the cultural influences by surrounding countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, or Uganda where many South Sudanese fled to during the civil war. Those who stayed and did not leave during the civil war were influenced by the Arabic culture of Sudan and Egypt. Languages were important influences other countries have had on South Sudan and therefore have influenced the traditional folk music of the South Sudan. The Languages that can be heard in much of the music are English, Kiswahili, Arabi Juba, local dialects, or a combination. 

Genres that are popular in the South Sudan: 

  • Afro-beat- defined by the New Oxford Dictionary as a musical genre that incorporates “elements of African much and jazz, soul, and funk.” 
  • R&B
  • Zouk- defined as “an exuberant style of popular music combining Caribbean and Western elements and having a fast, heavy beat.” 
  • Reggae 
  • Folk 
  • Jazz 
  • Pop 
  • Rap 
  • British military band music also had a large impact on Sudanese music and there political usage of music within the Sudan that was viewed as defying Sharia law and therefore the musicians were punished. 
  • Hip-hop is more than a popular musical genre in the South Sudan. Many of the current South Sudanese hip hop artists are former child soldiers and the music talks of empowering people towards civil action through education so that peace can be achieved.


Music in the South Sudan is used to celebrate and empower.

Popular Artist:

Emmanuel Jal- A former child soldier, who at about age seven was sent to fight in the civil war. His job was carrying an AK-47. He was eventually taken in by Emma McCune, a British aid worker who took him to Nairobi. In order to deal with his violent childhood, Jal turned to music. He fell in love with hip hop and rap, but uses many Afro-Beat elements. He was asked to perform at Bob Geldof’s “Live 8” as well as Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert.2 His first album was called “Gua” (“peace” in his dialect- Nuer) and was released in 2005. He has released three other albums. “Ceasefire” was released in 2005 as well. “Warchild” was released in 2008. “See Me Mama” was released in 2012. A song called “Emma” from the “Warchild” album was dedicated to the woman who rescued him, Emma McCune. He performed this song at Nelson Mandela’s birthday celebration. His song “We Want Peace” calls for everyone to reach for peace in the world and integrates worldwide social justice issues into the lyrics of the song. The music video features Alicia Keys, George Clooney, and Peter Gabriel. A documentary was made, called War Child, depicts the life of Emmanuel Jal.

Other popular artists:

  • Yousif Fataki- was punished for by the current Sudanese regime for his music and whose tapes were erased
  • Queen Zee
  • Yaba Angelosi- an Afro-beat, R&B, and Zouk artist
  • Dynamiq- a reggae artist
  • Emmanuel Kembe- a folk, reggae, and Afro-beat artist
  • Abu Araki al-Bakheit- a singer banned from performing political songs
  • Abdel Gadir Salim- a big bandleader that achieved international recognition
  • Abdel Aziz El Mubarak- a big bandleader that also achieved international recognition
  • Kamal Kayla- inspired by James Brown
  • Abdel Karim el Kabli
  • Mohammed el Amin
  • Mohammed Wardi

Popular foreign musicians in Sudan:
  • ·  Bob Marley
  •   Michael Jackson
  •   James Brown

[1] Artur Simon, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (New York: Routledge, 1997), 550
[2] “About Emmanuel Jal,” War Child, January 4, 2014, http://www.warchildmovie.com/about/ .

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