'The best way to effect change is through music'

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 broader messages, however, are not so distant from some of the debates in Northern Ireland's society today.

Smack Jay asked a class of children: "What is your race?"

The pupils respond with a variety of answers: British; Northern Irish; White.

He challenges the latter.

"Am I black?" he asks.

"No, I'm kind of brown."

"Are you white?"

"You're more of a peach colour" he said, and the children began checking their hands.

Identity, he tells them, is often "more personal" than the collective ideas that are known and understood.

In June, Smack Jay was a special guest at the Refugee Picnic, an event hosted by Belfast City of Sanctuary, the outreach group for migrants and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.

"I met fellow Africans from Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Sudan and many other countries," he said.

"The way these people have been welcomed in Northern Ireland proved how important it is to care for one another.

"I've built relationships with rap artists in Northern Ireland and I find them very welcoming.

"If we try to advocate more on peaceful issues through music, we are really going to get it right."