A US Army recruiter in the Atlanta area is hoping his rap will be picked up by the Army on an official level- and bring in new recruits in the process.
Sergeant First Class Arlondo Sutton -also known by his rap name, “Rookie Baby”- released a music video last month for the song “Enlisted,” which stars the personnel of the Army recruiting station at Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Sutton’s rap outlines the benefits of joining the Army in an urban demographic-friendly package, designed to appeal to younger audiences.
“This particular song was made to open younger generations’ eyes and show the parents that they can be successful, follow their dreams and get an education while still giving service to their country,” Sutton told the Stars and Stripes.
Sutton hopes the US Army will officially back him in his endeavor, hoping to turn the music video into a commercial.
“I’m working hard to try and turn this into a commercial,” he said. “If I can make this happen, then more people will see it and think, ‘Wow, if he can do it in the Army, then I can as well.’”
For Sutton, the Army was somewhat of a life-saver: prior to enlisting, he grew up in an impoverished single-parent home in Virginia and would never have enlisted if it weren’t for his late role model.
“My track coach was in the Army before he died, and he was the only father figure I had in my life, so I followed in his footsteps,” he said.
Sutton enlisted in 2004 as a Combat Engineer and has been deployed to Iraq twice. Since then, he became a recruiter and is assigned to the top recruiting center in all of Georgia.
“I told myself if given the opportunity I will inspire as many as I can to do better,” he said. “As a father, that is my responsibility, and I also understand my social responsibilities to my community. This is who I am, and what I want to convey to the world.”
Sutton’s video has been viewed across social media well over a million times, and not all reactions have been positive. Some see the recruiter’s rap as “gimmicky,” unprofessional or even cringe-worthy.
“So happy I’m ETSing,” one Army medic wrote.
“This makes me cringe so fu**ing bad,” user GunBunnyHE responded. “If you need a rap video to make you think you want to join these ranks, we don’t need you.”
Still, it just might be working as it was designed to.
“Straight up fire,” replied YouTube user Dumpstermuffin1.
Hopefully, that will be “Private Dumpstermuffin” in the near future.
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