A powerful example of where creative and social worlds collide comes from Emmanuel Jal, a former child-soldier of Sudan who has incorporated his experience into his hip hop lyrics, and his solo album debut, Warchild.

Born into, one of the longest lasting and deadliest wars of the later 20th century, Emmanuel Jal was taken from his family home in 1987 when he was six years old, and sent to fight with the rebel army in Sudan’s bloody civil war, carrying an AK-47 that was taller than he was. By age 13, he was a veteran of two civil wars, struggling among other child soldiers to survive on the killing fields of Southern Sudan. Rescued by a British aid worker who smuggled him into Nairobi to raise him as her own, Emmanuel started singing to help ease the pain of what he had experienced.

Now his music aims to bring awareness and to ease the pain of others. From the CD’s title track:

I’m a war child/I believe I’ve survived for a reason/to tell my story/to touch lives.

A collaboration with a powerful series of music industry buffs, (mixed and produced by Grammy winner Neal Pogue and UK-based writer/producer Roachie, with a video by director Tinge Krishnan, produced by Radical Media) it’s no wonder the the story’s hit big, but with a message that’s no less powerful.

A North American tour to support the release will be announced shortly but Jal also frequently speaks on college campus about his experiences in an effort to raise awareness of and halt the inhumane treatment of children in Sudan.

You can see the video below, watch the behind the scenes here, and buy the music here.

via Giant Step