Fighting Boko Haram: This Nigerian soldier just dropped a fire rap freestyle from Sambisa

From the heart of the warfront, the soldier who goes by the name "Paparazzi" dropped some fire bars to the beat of Ice Prince's "I Swear".

War is a tedious and gory experience, the difference between life and death can usually be down to a second’s notice or a slight loss in concentration.

There’s usually no time to waste time, especially when you’re out in the North fighting a deadly terrorist group that made a meal of kidnapping teenage schoolgirls.

Yet this video of a Nigerian soldier dropping a freestyle rap in Maiduguri is the best thing you’ll see today.

As one of the many souvenirs of his trip across Nigeria’s 36 states, Pulse’s Fu’ad Lawal shared stories about the Nigerian army and how soldiers deal with the rigours of war.

Music in the battlefield

When they sit, mounting roadblocks or keeping watch over communities, their companion is music, usually the latest pop songs beaming from Bluetooth speakers or a radio.

 

Listening to music is one but making it is completely different. And judging by the quality of his bars and the rhythm in his delivery, this soldier may have more career options than he’s willing to admit.

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With the instrumental for Ice Prince’s “I Swear” which features French Montana, a makeshift microphone and two fellow soldiers in the back as support staff, the soldier launches into a scathing verse that would have made DMX proud.

“We no dey carry last, say we go kill them all, these “insert swear word here” say we go kill them all”

From Boko Haram, he gives a shout-out to his commander and the Nigerian army.

Somewhere between this is a shout-out to marijuana, a herb many soldiers are said to use in coping with the strain of their work.

We don’t know how well this will go down with his superiors but hey, poetic licence.

Give the man a medal already

All of this is before Ice Prince’s hook comes on for the first time.

 

After that brief interruption, our soldier finally reveals a bit of his identity.

“They call me Paparazzi”

Why, hello Paparazzi!

Is it even hip-hop if you don’t big up yourself? Paparazzi understands this because he goes on to do some chest-thumping.

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“Who wan try me? Ahua-rugged, Ahua-strong”

If nothing, this video is proof that there is joy and happiness to find in the gloomiest situations.

It’s hard to imagine being at the front-lines and thinking about anything other than life and death, but our rapper soldier has shown us that rap music can make you happy too.

There are thousands of men fighting to protect us in conditions that would break even the best of us. We should appreciate Nigerian soldiers more.