11.04.2006
One World is returning to Brighton, and this year it is bringing with it one of the hottest artists to come out of Africa - Emmanuel Jal (picured below). The rapper, who topped the Kenyan charts earlier this month, joins headliners for the festival, Los Albertos and Barulho, as well as others such as Boy who Cried Wolf - an alternative country rock band.
The festival, which was a sell out last year, takes place at Sallis Benney Theatre on 22 April and is organised and promoted by the University of Brighton students' union.
Tickets cost from £8 to £12 and, thanks to sponsorship from the university, 100% of the ticket revenue will be donated to the local children's hospital charity The Rockinghorse Appeal and Connected Lakes Initiative - a locally based project setting up Community Internet Resource Centres in Eastern Africa.
One of the stars who comes from Eastern Africa, Emmanuel Jal, has already performed at Live 8 and was part of the African Soul Rebels UK Tour alongside Malian talents Amadou and Miriam. Jal's tale is the stuff of Hollywood movies.
He was born in southern Sudan where he was trained to fight for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and at the age of just eight he was taken to Ethiopia where he was taught to use a gun. Three years after arriving he was sent to the front line where he recalls tales of death and starvation: "I remember how people used to die; how the tanks used to crush people... when we saw many skeletons and skulls, it was a sign that we were all going to die - there was no water there."
After four years in the army he escaped with some friends and it was when they arrived in Kenya after the escape that he started making rap songs. His music often features childhood memories and he said about the album: "It's a sort of prayer for peace in my motherland... it's talking about if there was peace in my land."
Jal is doing as much as he can to help both his birth country and the country where he has lived much of his life, Kenya. After the release of his international debut CD 'Ceasefire' last year he has gathered a huge fan base in Africa as well as Europe.
To see Jal, Los Albertos, Barulho, as well as Boy who Cried Wolf perform live, get your tickets from the Brighton Dome Box Office (01273 709 709) or the University of Brighton Students' Union (01273 642879). For more information email s.u.v.p.education@brighton.ac.uk.
Written by James Walker-Roberts
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
