I would advise dancers, musicians and others in the entertainment industry to take up yoga, as it clears the mind and creates a sense of balance and stillness which is important for any performing artist. – Emmanuel Jal
I still have nightmares of dead comrades, a long time ago, talking to me. ‘Emmanuel, don’t forget about us, don’t give up, keep telling our story.’ – Emmanuel Jal
Music – it’s the only thing that can enter your system, your mind, your heart, without your permission. – Emmanuel Jal
I’m rapping in English but in an African way. I’m not trying to sound like an American. – Emmanuel Jal
Any child soldier has to go through a lot of love, care and understanding to become normal. – Emmanuel Jal
Rap music is amazing, it’s beautiful. But the problem is the lyrics. The person who writes the lyrics – that’s the problem. – Emmanuel Jal
What music does to me, it helps me balance my inner pressure so that I can deal with the forces outside that are trying to pressure me. – Emmanuel Jal
If I sleep for more than half an hour, I get horrible dreams in which I’m firing a gun and helicopters are coming down. – Emmanuel Jal
When I first went to school, I was fighting all the time. The soldier mentality was still in me. I kept getting expelled. I found it hard to take instructions from anyone who wasn’t a military commander. – Emmanuel Jal
As a child, I didn’t know what they mean by ‘to die.’ So I grew up in a place where people used to die all the time, but a child is not allowed to see a dead body. When you ask, ‘Where is so-and so?’ you’re told, ‘He’s gone to another world where we all go to live in the future.’ – Emmanuel Jal
For many Sudanese, it’s for strength they choose to be Christian rather than Muslim. My mum was a Muslim but she became a Christian later. – Emmanuel Jal
The only foreign policy advice I heard from China was when they said to Sudan, ‘Don’t go back to war.’ That’s all they said. They didn’t push anything else. – Emmanuel Jal
Sometimes words are not needed, and the simplicity of expressing yourself through an art form is one of the best ways of communication. – Emmanuel Jal
I lost my childhood. I didn’t play football or video games. Or have birthdays or the love of a family. – Emmanuel Jal
In times of war, starvation, hunger and injustice, such tragedy can only be put aside if you allow yourself to be uplifted through music, film and dance. – Emmanuel Jal
In Africa, music is for everything, Music was originally used for community. That was what music was for. – Emmanuel Jal
