May/June 2008 Issue

Music Review: Warchild

Emmanuel Jal. <i>Sonic360/Fontana/Universal</i>

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While 28-year-old former Sudanese child soldier Emmanuel Jal speaks with an authority other rappers lack, he also passes muster musically. Blending hip-hop and African and Jamaican grooves, Jal’s spellbinding third album would be good party fodder if it weren’t for the disturbing subject matter. Somberly emphatic, he spins tales of war without histrionics, letting startling lines like “I was tempted to eat the rotten flesh of my comrade” stand on their own. His scornful dismissal of gangsta posturing is also memorable. Hearing an angelic choir chant “No hos, no bitches, no bling” is both outrageously funny and oddly compelling.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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