Emmanuel Jal

Emmanuel Jal was born in war-torn southern Sudan on an unknown date in the early 1980s, into the life of a child solider. For nearly five years, he was a "child warrior", put into battle carrying an AK-47 that was taller than he was.

Through unbelievable struggles, Emmanuel managed to survive and emerge as a recording artist, achieving worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation, born out of his personal experiences.

In 2005 he released his first album, Gua ("peace" in his native Nuer tongue). The title track was broadcast across Africa and became a number one hit in Kenya. Emmanuel has gone on to release three more studio albums, including Ceasefire, Warchild and See Me Mama.

In 2008 a full-length documentary was released about Emmanuel’s life, entitled Warchild. It won 12 film festival awards worldwide, including the audience choice award at the prestigious Tribeca film festival. The same year, Emmanuel’s autobiography of the same name was published by Little Brown.

Despite his accomplishments in music and film, one of Emmanuel's biggest passions is Gua Africa, the charity he founded to work with individuals, families and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty.

In 2013 he was awarded the Calgary Peace Prize and the Humanitarian Award from the Hunt Institute.

Watch Emmanuel’s 2009 TED talk, ‘The music of a war child’, here.

Photo: © Dave Watts