Could you imagine being a child soldier when you were 13 years old? Growing up with guns, blood, and constant murder? Ishmael Beah was a victim of those things; his childhood taken away from him and having grown up in what we would call total chaos. He grew up from ages 13 to 16 fighting for what he believed to be the good guys of the civil war. Beah was taught to kill the enemies by shooting, burying them alive, and cutting their throats. Before this low point in life there was one thing that influenced his life more than anything else; music. The impact it had on him showed on what he wore, the way he acted, and the things he did, such as signing up for contests he could perform in. Rap was the major genre that Ishmael took an interest …show more content…
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The people at the rehab center wanted the kids to believe that what they had been through was over and that they could move on to living a better, happier life. They wanted the kids the forget about the past and start to focus on the life that they hoped to live before the war. The workers at the center would constantly tell the children, “It’s not your fault.” hoping they would believe in what they were saying. At first, when they said that to Ishmael and other boys they would get frustrated with them and attack. However, later on after months and months they soon started to accept
Little 3 what they were saying. There were many other artists that Ishmael admired and strived to be as such as the Sugarhill Gang. “Rapper’s Paradise,” by the Sugarhill Gang was the song that first brought him into his love for hip hop. It was before the war when Ishmael was 8, he and his friends were sitting around tv watching the music video for “Rapper’s Delight.” Since the video the group of boys ganged together and created a rap and dance group for themselves. Committed to their group, they worked constantly on their songs and dance moves, even changed their