Zambian rapper and human rights activist Samuel Miyoba, known by his stage name Smack Jay, believes that a country’s music reveals a lot about its character and culture. He is visiting Northern Ireland in partnership with the peacebuilding charity Beyond Skin and its Zambian partner organisation OpenNet 40. Smack Jay uses music to promote hope and advocate for social change, and has been collaborating with local artists in Belfast.
If you want something to change, music is one of the best tools for advocacy, he said. On Friday, he conducted workshops at Rathcoole Primary School in north Belfast, performing songs that carried powerful messages. His lyrics highlight the fight for fundamental rights, such as education and access to food and water, by young people in Zambia.
The rapper also read from The Children’s Code – a landmark law passed by Zambia’s parliament in 2022 which the government said has transformed education in the country. It was the first time children’s rights had been formally codified in Zambia. You have the right to education, to freedom of expression. You have the right to a name and a national identity, the rapper read to the class.
The chorus of one of Smack Jay’s songs features the mantra: I know my rights. During the workshop at Rathcoole Primary, he got the children involved, encouraging them to stand and join in as he raps into the microphone. He told BBC News NI: We can only move forward if the young ones come with even better ideas. If they come with bad ideas, they will cut ties with the good people around them, so it’s really important that drug abuse and other things are fought seriously.
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