Christian Rapper Gives Up AK-47 for the Mic

Emmanuel Jal was eight when his family were told he was being taken to school in Ethiopia – instead he was tortured, beaten and starved by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.. Emmanuel witnessed the brutal slaughter of thousands of Sudanese civilians

After Jal was trained to use a machete and an AK-47 assault rifle he was plunged into a sea of violence in which 1.9 million people died. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. Christ came that we would have life more abundant. Christ came into Emmanuel’s life and now he’s tell all he can about the abundant life found in Christ Jesus.

Jal is now a successful rapper and practicing Christian says he misses the violence because he became immersed in it.He said: “You have seen so much suffering, and then you find yourself in a peaceful place – part of you almost misses it.
“When you’re from a war-torn country, violence is addictive – and it is fun too.
“Otherwise how can you explain why boxing and wrestling or rugby and American football are so popular? Men dominating men for entertainment is nothing new.’
Jal also says that he witnessed his auntie being raped and learned later that his mother Angelina had been killed – but couldn’t grieve for them because he would be savagely beaten for showing weakness.

He said: “Even the gentlest, calmest of animals can become violent if you attack its family. “I wanted to kill as many Arabs and Muslims as I could. “When a child’s mind is developing, it’s influenced by everything it sees and hears. “Now I know the truth, that the war was nothing to do with religion, just oil, and people in power wanting to manipulate the poor.”

He escaped the army at age 13, but was imprisoned in a desert jail, until a British aid worker rescued him. Jal says he is still haunted by the past but that his music allow him to focus, and love of cartoons helps him to relax.

‘The past is not gone, but I have laid down guns and machetes forever – music and lyrics are my weapons now.’ Now that Jal is not being used by Satan he is yielding his body as an instrument for God.

Jal has released three rap albums to date and has been the focus of a documentary on child soldiers, War Child, which won the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Choice Award.

He also performed and the Live 8 concert in 2005 and lists the happiest moment in his career ‘the happiest moment of my career’ as when he performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations last year.
But Jal reckons his transition to rap music comes naturally to someone from his country. He said: “Music is a painkiller for me. If I spend more than a week without music, I can feel myself getting irritable quickly, and maybe my language will start to change.

Emmanuel Jal is not a member of Gospel Elevations yet, and maybe one day he will. To hear and see how God is using other Christian Rappers around the world visit the free exposure site for Gospel Rappers, Holy Hip Hop Rappers, or Christian Rappers visit http://wwww.gospelelevations.net.