�A Johns Hopkins enquiry team reports it may have an explanation for at least some of the higher organ rejection rates seen among black as compared to tweed kidney graft recipients.
In a study of 50 goodly adult hands, 25 black and 25 white, importantly different amounts of certain immune arrangement cells were found between the races.
These cells, known as human leukocyte antigen-specific, or HLA-specific B cells, when "hypersensitive" produce antibodies linked to transplanted kidney rejection, says Andrea Zachary, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and lead researcher of the study.
It's been foresightful known that HLA-reactive antibodies produced by B cells are one of the ways that transplanted organs are jilted. Zachary developed a novel method for counting HLA-specific B cells more accurately, leading to the hypothesis that B cell book of Numbers make a difference in transplant retentivity and rejection.
"Now that we have an accurate way to bet these cells, we ar able to confirm what we tenacious suspected, that blacks might have a bigger army of HLA-specific B cells," says Zachary who presented her findings at the Congress of the International Transplant Society in Sydney, Australia on Aug. 12.
Zachary says that patients turn sensitized when exposed to HLA in blood or tissue that is non their have. Sensitized HLA-specific B cells then produce antibodies that attack transplanted organs containing foreign HLA. Patients tin become sensitised from a blood blood transfusion, transplantation or pregnancy.
"If the recipient is not hypersensitized, B cells represent simply a patient's potential for making antibodies," says Zachary. "However around a third of patients in motive of a kidney are sensitized since they're often on their second or third transplanting and may have undergone transfusions. In the written report, Zachary and her squad gathered blood samples from 25 adult black males and 25 adult albumen males. They were all healthy and all non-sensitized. They as well gathered stock samples from 10 sensitized adult disastrous males and 25 supersensitive white males.
Results showed that the bleak non-sensitized males tested had an average of 17.2 per centum more HLA-sensitive B cells than the white non-sensitized males time-tested. Among the sensitized chemical group, black males had an average of 22.9 percent more HLA-sensitive B cells than white males.
HLA antigens are proteins that sit on the surface of origin and tissue paper cells. Each person has a specific set, standardized to a fingerprint. Rejection of a transplant occurs when the recipient's immune system sees the donor's HLA antigens as alien and attacks those antigens with cells or antibodies. The amount of antibody made depends on the number of B cells a recipient has.
"Knowing that blacks have an increased number of HLA-specific B cells - which increases their opportunity for antibody-mediated rejection - we may be able to custom-make treatments for black recipients to account for these differences and lessen the likelihood that the organ will be rejected," says Zachary.
Additional Johns Hopkins researchers who worked on this study ar Mary S. Leffell, Ph.D.; and Dessislava Kopchaliifka, Ph.D., of the Department of Medicine and J. Keith Melancon, M.D., of the Department of Surgery.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
901 S Bond St., Ste. 550
Baltimore, MD 21231
United States
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org
More info
Tuesday 9 September 2008
Saturday 30 August 2008
Video-game reviews: "Soulcalibur IV" and "The Bourne Conspiracy"
Battle it out with Yoda or Bourne in two modern fighting games.
"Soulcalibur IV"
"Soulcalibur IV" may not be the quintessential one-on-one fighting game, but it's certainly the quintessential "Soulcalibur."
It features the most various lineup, the most extensive character-building options and by far the best art of whatsoever recent combat game.
Plus, Yoda is in the Xbox 360 version, and Darth Vader is playable for those with the PS3 edition. Another "Star Wars" character makes an visual aspect in both versions as well: Vader's secret learner from the upcoming "Force Unleashed" game. They all play well � Yoda dips and spins, Vader employs crushing blows and Force attacks and the Apprentice is quick and powerful with unpredictable strikes.
The game play is what one expects from a fighting-game sequel: familiar simply with tweaks. Fighters cause new moves, and some old moves have been replaced or require different motions to carry out.
Fighters now experience three pieces of protective equipment that can be shattered during battle, and a type that blocks too much can expression an instant-kill attack.
The story mode cuts out a lot of the extraneous map piloting and early annoyances of previous "Soulcaliburs." The downside is that the narrative is all but lost.
Character creation is where the game very shines. "Soulcalibur III" introduced the concept, but it's refined here. Players can create characters using earned items and any of the main cast's scrap styles and weapons.
The options are sparse, but "Soulcalibur IV" allows for on-line play, victimization a well-done queue system for players waiting for a match.
System: Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3
Price: $59.99
Age rating: Teen
"The Bourne Conspiracy"
"The Bourne Conspiracy" serves as the banner model of how to construct a good game based on a movie.
It offers something beyond the events of the movie, and the game play is strong enough to stand on its own.
Though Matt Damon's alikeness is nowhere to be found, the character models and voices are well-done. Each mission is either based on an action sequence from the start movie or takes position as a flashback mission covering events not seen in the movies.
Though he'll occasionally take to the streets for a car chase, amnesiac assassin Bourne spends to the highest degree of his time taking out enemies with a selection of guns or bruising hand-to-hand combat. This is where the secret plan rocks.
After a few rounds of punches and kicks with a foe, Bourne's adrenaline metre gains a level so he stern pull off powerful takedown moves. If he has more than one adrenaline level, he can dispatch multiple foes.
Takedowns are perchance too unproblematic to manipulation, but they're fun to watch and surprisingly varied � "Bourne" will use different maneuvers, depending on his position relative to his opposer and whatsoever objects ar nearby.
System: Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Price: $59.99
Age rating: Teen
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Wednesday 20 August 2008
Kanye West Joins Lil Wayne, Bemoans Nine Inch Nails Face-Off At Virgin Fest
BALTIMORE � Fans got more than they bargained for at this weekend's Virgin Mobile Festival � more Kanye, anyway.
Not depicted object to close out the two-day festival with his headlining Sunday slot, Mr. West stormed the stage earlier in the day, joining Lil Wayne for a meeting of hip-hop's hottest. Maybe 'Ye was pulling doubled duty to outshine the legends (Bob Dylan, Iggy and the Stooges), heavy rock veterans (Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails, Offspring), and upstarts (Paramore, Jack Johnson, Duffy) wHO took the Virgin stage over the weekend at Pimlico Race Course.
Rocking a Louis Vuitton backpack, West joined Weezy on Sunday afternoon to spit his verse from the "Lollipop" remix without skipping a beat. The collabo was the high-energy point of a blistery, better-late-than-never performance. Showing up a 30 minutes late for an hourlong set would be a cardinal hell for almost artists, merely Weezy more than made up for it. The crowd chanted his identify and even booed in short while waiting for his set, simply it was all making love once Lil Wayne hit the stage. Wayne came with a mix of old-school, new-school and a lot of gratitude. "How many of y'all got Tha Carter III?" he asked. "I f---in' appreciate you."
He even took time to honor Static Major, asking for a minute of silence for the late rapper and songster before jumping into the song that catapulted Wayne from an underground mixtaper to an undeniable mainstream superstar. After welcoming Kanye up for "Lollipop," Wayne wrapped his set with even more than gratitude and some laughs, lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" earlier leaving the stage.
While Wayne's day was done, Kanye was simply getting started. He returned to the stage later that night like a hurricane, shrouded in flashing lights and fog. Fans threw up their Roc-A-Fella diamonds early and held them high all night. No irony was disoriented on 'Ye, who made it a point to prove his authenticity in front jumping into "Diamonds From Sierra Leone."
"I work real hard at this rapping sh--," he said. "This is real rap."
Kanye dove into a set spanning his entire career, from his most recent verse from Young Jeezy's "Put On" to his humble beginnings on "All Comes Down," asking fans to "scream so loud I can't see the music" if they knew the song.
And, of course, 'Ye talked, touch on everything from his mother's last to Barack Obama's nomination to criminal offence in the festival's host city of Baltimore. He freestyled as well, expressing his gratitude for fame and his frustration that comes along with it. The in the raw emotion was undeniable. "I lost my mama/ I went through so lots drama/ I went through so much drama/ I'm for Obama," he rapped. He then described his journey over to Pimlico Race Course, noting the flashing blasphemous lights supra cameras stationed throughout the 'hood and being content with the fact that even though many Baltimore natives couldn't afford to attend the concert, they could still see and hear the show from the parking lot outside the bill Gates. He as well shouted taboo MySpace, the Internet and Lil Wayne before beginning "Touch the Sky."
West took a bit of a jab at the festival's schedule, specifically the choice concertgoers had to make between his performance and one from Nine Inch Nails happening at the same clock time at the other end of the park (a dilemma faced by fans at Chicago's Lollapalooza a week to begin with). "It's not a black-or-white thing, it's not a rap-or-rock-and-roll thing," he exclaimed. "It's a good-music thing. We jam about good things from the heart. How can you cull between me and Trent Reznor?"
But at the end of the day, Kanye's focus all came back down to his fans. Again freestyling, 'Ye expressed his zeal to please those wHO came out to support him. "I hope you had a good time ... f--- that, the time of your life!" And with diamonds high in the sky and screams that could be heard around the block, the crowd's enthusiasm matched Kanye's (no easy feat).
The solar day before, it was up to West's fellow Chi-Town native Lupe Fiasco, wHO had fans bobbing their heads and singing on to "Superstar" and "Kick, Push." Despite technical difficulties, Lupe aimed to please, shouting subsequently his mike problem was resolved, "Let's hype this bitch back up, all right?" Given the measure of crowd-surfing during his set and the loudness of fans chanting his name when he left the stage, he seemed to succeed.
But the weekend wasn't all about hip-hop. The Foos, the Stooges, Paramore and NIN brought the rock, but the guitar heroes of the day power have been Stone Temple Pilots. Taking the microscope stage later than expected (thanks, Weezy), STP seemed to be the picture of reunification. The band was completely in sync thanks to its current 65-date tour. The focus wasn't mainly on themselves, though. Scott Weiland shared the love, cheering out those sharing the bill. "What a great day of f---ing music!," he gushed. "How about Iggy and the Stooges? And Nine Inch Nails are approach up!" He also had love for the crowd. "What a sea of energy," he exclaimed scarcely before the crowd american ginseng and bobbed along to every eminence of the band's breakthrough hit "Plush."
For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, retard out MTV News Tour Reports. And send your own concert pics, videos and reviews to MTV News You R Here!
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Sunday 10 August 2008
Ralph Lundsten
Artist: Ralph Lundsten
Genre(s):
Ambient
New Age
Discography:
Pe Drumbda Stigar
Year: 2004
Tracks: 18
De Drumda Stigar
Year: 2004
Tracks: 18
Dreamlight Cd2
Year: 2003
Tracks: 15
Dreamlight Cd1
Year: 2003
Tracks: 17
Music For Relaxation and Meditation
Year: 2001
Tracks: 10
The Seasons
Year: 1996
Tracks: 9
The Joy Of Being
Year: 1994
Tracks: 12
Nordic Light
Year: 1993
Tracks: 14
Ralphinated Symphonies
Year: 1992
Tracks: 8
Mindscape Music
Year: 1992
Tracks: 2
Lyckolegend and En Midvintersaga
Year: 1992
Tracks: 8
Lustbarheter
Year: 1992
Tracks: 13
Elderstrappan
Year: 1990
Tracks: 18
Nordic Nature Symphony No 2 Johannes And The Lady Ofthe Woods Op. 99
Year: 1988
Tracks: 11
Nordic Nature Symphony No 1 The Water Sprite Op. 75 1972
Year: 1988
Tracks: 9
Horrorscope
Year: 1988
Tracks: 15
Dancing In The New Age
Year: 1988
Tracks: 14
Romance In The New Age
Year: 1987
Tracks: 12
Paradise Symphony
Year: 1987
Tracks: 7
Nordic Nature Symphony No 4 and No 5 A Summer Saga Bewitched
Year: 1987
Tracks: 10
Nordic Nature Symphony No 3 A Midwinter Saga
Year: 1987
Tracks: 7
Cosmic Phantazy
Year: 1987
Tracks: 2
Nordiska Natursymfonier
Year: 1974
Tracks: 4
Midnight Hour and Other Works
Year: 1973
Tracks: 15
Svit Elektroniskt Dragspel
Year: 1968
Tracks: 4
Feel It
Year: 1968
Tracks: 2
The Ages Of Man
Year:
Tracks: 8
Pat Vingliga Tar
Year:
Tracks: 6
Inspiration Sweden - Landscape Of Dream
Year:
Tracks: 13
Diskophrenia Remixes (SVEK 023)
Year:
Tracks: 4
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Saturday 14 June 2008
Bill's Wife -- Kid CaddyWhacker?
Bill Murray isn't the only Murray who gets lit and lets it out on the kids -- allegedly.Murray's wife Jennifer Butler-Murray was pinched by the po-po in South Carolina on March 17 after allegedly getting drunk -- and then violent with her kids, according to a report filed with the Sullivan's Island Police. A witness caught Jennifer yelling at one of the couple's kids, and the cop who cornered her wrote that she was "very impaired."
Butler-Murray's been blabbing in a divorce filing that Bill was addicted to booze and drugs, abused, abandoned, and "lucky he didn't kill her."
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Monday 9 June 2008
Britney's dad becomes her full time conservator
Washington (ANI): Britney Spears has become a full-time priority for her dad Jamie Spears, for he has now quit his catering job and is devoting all his time to look after his daughter"s affairs, court papers have revealed. Thus, Spears senior was handed over a sum of 10,000 dollars as back pay for covering up the month of his co-conservatorship of her estate, which started on Feb. 1. He even started getting a 2,500-dollar weekly salary beginning in March. "The responsibilities he has assumed as conservator ... have required [his] full-time attention," People quoted the request for "replacement compensation," as saying. It further read: "As a result, he has been unable to continue to his prior employment and he has lost his source of income which he needs to pay his living expenses."
Sunday 8 June 2008
George Clooney - The Things They Say 8272
"One kid around makes me nervous, Any time I feel I want to have a family, I take one look at them and calm down". GEORGE CLOONEY's dreams of building a family are cut short when he thinks of pal BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE's growing brood.
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Williams arrives in Perth for Ledger funeral
Michelle Williams and her two-year-old daughter Matilda have arrived in Perth, Australia for Heath Ledger's funeral, according to People magazine.
The magazine's website reports that Williams and her daughter arrived in the city earlier today under heavy security with more than five police officers and airport security helping to escort them through the airport.
Williams' arrival comes one day after Ledger's father, Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate all returned home from the US.
In a statement released earlier this week on Ledger's death, Williams said: "My heart is broken."
A private funeral for the 28-year-old actor - who was found dead in New York last month - is expected in the coming days.
The magazine's website reports that Williams and her daughter arrived in the city earlier today under heavy security with more than five police officers and airport security helping to escort them through the airport.
Williams' arrival comes one day after Ledger's father, Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate all returned home from the US.
In a statement released earlier this week on Ledger's death, Williams said: "My heart is broken."
A private funeral for the 28-year-old actor - who was found dead in New York last month - is expected in the coming days.
McCartney invites fans to dinner
At first it seems like the bargain of the century. When you leave work tonight, pay just $25 (£12) to attend a Paul McCartney-hosted charity dinner, with a menu by none other than Jamie Oliver. The only trouble is it's "virtual".
The event is part of the Night of a Thousand Dinners, a worldwide campaign to raise funds for landmine charities by hosting meals. Most of these dinners happen in homes, schools and churches. But this one, at least, will happen only on the internet.
In honour of World Environment Day, users will be able to log on to Paul McCartney's website www.paulmccartney.com and then, after donating a minimum of $25 (£12) to Adopt-A-Minefield, gain access to McCartney's online dining table. Of course, in this case "virtual dinner" is a euphemism for "an MP3 file and some recipes", but don't let that get you down.
McCartney will be offering an exclusive thank-you download of Lifelong Passion (Sail Away), a previously unreleased song recorded under the name The Fireman. During the 90s, McCartney worked under this moniker with the producer Youth (from the band Killing Joke), releasing two albums. According to McCartney's website, the pair are again working on new material and Lifelong Passion "gives you a taste of what is to come".
Along with the song download, party-goers will also be given recipes for a menu devised by chef Jamie Oliver. And then they can go and cook their own bloody food. McCartney joined the Adopt-A-Minefield initiative in 2000, becoming a "Goodwill Ambassador" along with his then wife Heather Mills.
"With the growing concerns about world hunger, it should be a priority to clear arable land of landmines so that communities can once again use their land to grow their own food," McCartney said in a statement. "Some music, some fantastic recipes from Jamie and, hopefully, with your help, we'll be able to raise the much-needed funds for the cause."
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Batman - Batman Milks It
BATMAN is set to become the latest face of the Got Milk? dairy campaign.
Christian Bale will don the batsuit and the milk moustache for a new pro-dairy promotion, which will air in June (08) - weeks before the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, hits the big screen.
The ad reads: "Others reload. Batman refuels. Research suggests that milk's unique mix of nutrients can help athletes recover after exercise. And its protein can help build muscle.
"So train hard and drink low fat or fat free milk, because the Batmobile isn't the only thing that needs to refuel."
See Also
Nine Inch Nails settle on 'final' touring lineup
Nine Inch Nails [ tickets ] leader Trent Reznor has settled on a touring lineup for the band as it prepares to hit the road for an extensive summer arena tour."I am proud to announce the final personnel lineup of Nine Inch Nails for the foreseeable future," Reznor said in a statement posted on the band's website. "We've added, we've subtracted and we've wound up with unquestionably the strongest lineup I've EVER had."Joining the frontman and sole fulltime member of NIN on the tour will be returning guitarist Robin Finck, keyboardist Alessandro Cortini, drummer Josh Freese and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen. Aside from Meldal-Johnsen--best known for his work with Beck--all have played with Nine Inch Nails in the past, with Cortini and Freese having participated in the band's 2005 and 2006 world tours, and Finck a veteran of the band's 1994 and 1995 touring lineup.The 27-city tour kicks off with a July 25 appearance at British Columbia's Pemberton Festival. The first headlining date follows a day later, a July 25 show in Seattle. Details are below.Reznor and NIN are supporting a pair of recent albums releases, most recently "The Slip," which the band released as a free download through its website in April.The collection--which comprises 11 tracks that clock in at a total of about 45 minutes--is offered in high-quality MP3 format, as well as the CD-quality FLAC lossless and M4A lossless formats, and the "better-than-CD-quality" high-definition WAVE format, according to the album's website. Fans can download any or all versions without charge.The free set followed a four-disc, 36-track instrumental collection, "Ghosts I-IV," which appeared in early March. The first disc can be downloaded free, while fans were given the option of paying $5 for the other three volumes, $10 for a physical double-CD set, or $75 for a deluxe edition including audiophile versions of the album's tracks on Blu-Ray and DVD discs and a 48-page hardcover book.
Idris Muhammad with Pharoah Sanders
Artist: Idris Muhammad with Pharoah Sanders
Genre(s):
Jazz
Discography:
Idris Muhammad with Pharoah Sanders
Year: 1980
Tracks: 8
Warchild grows through rap
NEW YORK - After spending his youth mired in harrowing brutality and poverty as a child soldier in Sudan’s ethnic conflict, Emmanuel Jal was rescued by aid workers who pushed to give him a new start at life in a different country.
But there were times when he didn’t want it.
“When I was in Kenya I hated myself, I even cursed the day I was born. I hated it. I wanted to commit suicide. I went to England, when there was a car coming I would want to stop and the car to hit me,” says Jal, a slight, soft-spoken man whose gentle demeanor belies his past. “I was trying to look for death.”
Inspiration for a better life would come in an unusual form - the violent, crime-plagued rhymes of rappers in the United States.
“What made me brave is American hip-hop,” says Jal in his heavily accented English. “Someone come and say to me, ‘They have to rob for them to eat.’ So I would try and picture, how does America look like because I’ve never been there. So for me when I look at it and look at my situation - I was a child soldier, we never had food, we raid villages and we take the food and we eat ... So I said, ‘OK, let me testify.’ ”
Jal’s testimony came in the form of his raps - and now, through his music, his is hoping to heal not only the wounds of his people, but to promote peace while inspiring others.
“I lost my childhood, yes. My country is (at) war. People are dying now. What could I do with what I have?” asks Jal, who last month released his third international CD, “WARchild,” and is the subject of a new documentary of the same name.
Karim Chrobog, the director of the award-winning “War Child” film, says Jal’s story shows that “you can really survive horrible horrible things and come out of them and really make a difference ... he has put all the bitter things in life aside, his sense of revenge, his sense of the war and how it’s affected him personally.”
The dreadlocked Jal, who doesn’t know his age but believes he is in his 20s, was about 7 when the Sudanese civil war, which pitted Muslims against non-Muslims, tore apart his family and led to his life as a child warrior for the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. His pregnant mother was killed, and his father, a member of the SPLA, allowed his son to be trained as a solider for the anti-Muslim faction. Bands of children were taught how to use machine guns and put on the frontlines as the militia carried out attacks against government loyalists.
Jal, who says he is still growing as a rapper, recalls participating in verbal battles in the Sudan before the violence, much like playing the dozens in the United States, though he says he was never any good: “(It’s like) maybe telling somebody like, your sister is so skinny that she can shoot through a straw,” he says, laughing.
But as he grew older and started writing lyrics, Jal’s music struck a chord in Kenya, where his song “Gua” (which means peace) became a hit, and internationally. He performed at 2005’s Live 8 concert in Britain, was supported by PeterGabriel, collaborated with Moby, and realized that his rhymes were not only therapeutic for himself but others as well.
The lyrics on “WARchild” are not only inspirational and spiritual, but also political. One song talks about Africa being financially raped by the outside world, while “Forced to Sin” talks about his life as a soldier.
And while Jal was once inspired by American rap, he uses the CD to also criticize some rappers’ glorification of violence, sex and crime, most notably on the song “50 Cent,” which urges the multiplatinum rapper to stop promoting songs that might encourage black-on-black crime. The chorus: “Now 50 Cent I ain’t hating on you, still I think it’s my civic duty to warn you, you’re being played brother man, you’re being played by the man.”
“I sometimes ask myself, you say you’re a gangster, you deal drugs, you kill people,” Jal says of 50 and other rappers of his ilk. “If you’re a real killer, it’s not fun talking about killing people. It’s hard ... participating in killing someone is hard because human life - it doesn’t matter who you are, there’s no one can say, ‘I’m hardcore, I kill people.’ Somehow, someday it will burst in you.”
“You can’t be a gangster until you die,” adds Jal. “(50) should do something different, and maybe going back to the community because if we don’t do that, if we don’t save this generation, then it’s going to be a genocide, especially on black people.”
But there were times when he didn’t want it.
“When I was in Kenya I hated myself, I even cursed the day I was born. I hated it. I wanted to commit suicide. I went to England, when there was a car coming I would want to stop and the car to hit me,” says Jal, a slight, soft-spoken man whose gentle demeanor belies his past. “I was trying to look for death.”
Inspiration for a better life would come in an unusual form - the violent, crime-plagued rhymes of rappers in the United States.
“What made me brave is American hip-hop,” says Jal in his heavily accented English. “Someone come and say to me, ‘They have to rob for them to eat.’ So I would try and picture, how does America look like because I’ve never been there. So for me when I look at it and look at my situation - I was a child soldier, we never had food, we raid villages and we take the food and we eat ... So I said, ‘OK, let me testify.’ ”
Jal’s testimony came in the form of his raps - and now, through his music, his is hoping to heal not only the wounds of his people, but to promote peace while inspiring others.
“I lost my childhood, yes. My country is (at) war. People are dying now. What could I do with what I have?” asks Jal, who last month released his third international CD, “WARchild,” and is the subject of a new documentary of the same name.
Karim Chrobog, the director of the award-winning “War Child” film, says Jal’s story shows that “you can really survive horrible horrible things and come out of them and really make a difference ... he has put all the bitter things in life aside, his sense of revenge, his sense of the war and how it’s affected him personally.”
The dreadlocked Jal, who doesn’t know his age but believes he is in his 20s, was about 7 when the Sudanese civil war, which pitted Muslims against non-Muslims, tore apart his family and led to his life as a child warrior for the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. His pregnant mother was killed, and his father, a member of the SPLA, allowed his son to be trained as a solider for the anti-Muslim faction. Bands of children were taught how to use machine guns and put on the frontlines as the militia carried out attacks against government loyalists.
Jal, who says he is still growing as a rapper, recalls participating in verbal battles in the Sudan before the violence, much like playing the dozens in the United States, though he says he was never any good: “(It’s like) maybe telling somebody like, your sister is so skinny that she can shoot through a straw,” he says, laughing.
But as he grew older and started writing lyrics, Jal’s music struck a chord in Kenya, where his song “Gua” (which means peace) became a hit, and internationally. He performed at 2005’s Live 8 concert in Britain, was supported by PeterGabriel, collaborated with Moby, and realized that his rhymes were not only therapeutic for himself but others as well.
The lyrics on “WARchild” are not only inspirational and spiritual, but also political. One song talks about Africa being financially raped by the outside world, while “Forced to Sin” talks about his life as a soldier.
And while Jal was once inspired by American rap, he uses the CD to also criticize some rappers’ glorification of violence, sex and crime, most notably on the song “50 Cent,” which urges the multiplatinum rapper to stop promoting songs that might encourage black-on-black crime. The chorus: “Now 50 Cent I ain’t hating on you, still I think it’s my civic duty to warn you, you’re being played brother man, you’re being played by the man.”
“I sometimes ask myself, you say you’re a gangster, you deal drugs, you kill people,” Jal says of 50 and other rappers of his ilk. “If you’re a real killer, it’s not fun talking about killing people. It’s hard ... participating in killing someone is hard because human life - it doesn’t matter who you are, there’s no one can say, ‘I’m hardcore, I kill people.’ Somehow, someday it will burst in you.”
“You can’t be a gangster until you die,” adds Jal. “(50) should do something different, and maybe going back to the community because if we don’t do that, if we don’t save this generation, then it’s going to be a genocide, especially on black people.”
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