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  San Francisco (California), USA -
Emmanuel Jal is one of the hottest rappers
to explode out of the African music scene. A former child-soldier from war-torn
Sudan, Jal recently entranced the audience at Africa Calling/Live 8 at the Eden
Project, Cornwall.Watch Emmanuel Jal's performance from Live 8 - Africa Calling
here.
His latest album, Ceasefire, brings Jal (a Christian rapper from the south) and Abdel Gadir Salim (a Moslem musician from the north), two musicians from opposite sides of the bloody Sudanese conflict, together for the first time.
After twenty-one years of civil war, the 2005 peace deal between the Sudanese
government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) brings a fragile truce
between the Moslem north and the predominantly Christian south. The Sudanese
people have suffered from the cultural, ethnic and religious friction between
the north and the south, and this collaboration is a symbolic and peaceful
contribution to the ongoing peace process.
Recorded in Nairobi and London, Ceasefire, was produced by Paul Borg, who
is uniquely placed to bridge popular rap culture and African music. He has
worked for artists such as Naughty By Nature, MC Solar and Urban Species, and
has earned an excellent reputation within the world music scene working with
Cheb Bilal and Mory Kante.
Musically, Ceasefire, is an album of two parts. Abdel Gadir Salim
composed 'Ya Salam' - a tribute to peace that Jal guest raps on - 'Lemon Bara',
'Hadiya' and 'Gamearina'. Jal composed Aiwa', 'Elengwen', 'Nyambol', 'Baai' and
'Gua', performed with his rap crew, the Reborn Warriors. Salim and his band,
Merdoum All Stars, feature on some of Jal's compositions, bringing ud, electric
guitar, saxophone, accordion, bass guitar and percussion playing to the mix,
while Jal and his rap crew, the Reborn Warriors, add raps to Salim's innovative
compositions. 'Asabi' was co-written by both artists and all the material
featured on Ceasefire focuses on the central theme of peace and reconciliation.
The album includes a re-recording of 'Gua' (meaning 'good' in Nuer and 'power'
in Arabic), Jal's Kenyan chart-topper, and the lyrics discuss his aspirations
for peace in Sudan.
Despite different musical traditions, Ceasefire, brings out the common
links between the Sudanese traditions and creates a captivating musical fusion.
Both artists have been scarred by the violence (Salim was brutally stabbed by a
fundamentalist campaigning against music in Khartoum) and this incredible
collaboration brings together a Sudanese music maestro with a young rapper
capturing the world's attention, and produces music bursting with talent and
intricate melodies. As Jal is fond of repeating: 'It is better to build
bridges than to burn them.'
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