Lost Boy Lost No More

American rappers make headlines with rival shoot-outs, but this Sudanese-born UK rapper has actually been through a civil war. Jal was lured into the Sudanese People’s Liberation army and put into the battlefield years before he even entered puberty. He ultimately escaped around age 12 and was smuggled to Kenya by a British aid worker. He then found shelter at Christian missions which was where he was first introduced to rap music. Inspired, he and his friends hit the streets to rap about peace. Now 26, Jal has since become one of Africa’s biggest rap stars and a rising star in the UK after a spot at Live 8 in Cornwall. His album, Ceasefire, blends traditional Sudanese folk music with hip-hop beats, resulting in an amalgam of modernity in today’s mash-up culture.
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