A week ago the US Army posted a youtube video of the Army Field Band’s new hip-hop track ‘Won’t Be Defeated’. At the time of writing its likes-dislikes ratio is 625 to 593, and the comments section is littered with mocking and ironic comments. As a PR and recruiting effort it has backfired quite spectacularly, and is being criticised by soldiers, veterans and the public.
The song was written by Active-Duty Soldiers Sergeant First Class Arlondo Sutton and Staff Sergeant Kyra Dorn and the music was composed by Master Sergeant Adrian Hernandez. Dorn in particular spends most of the video acting all West Side n shit in what appears to be a crude parody of the Beastie Boys.
‘Won’t be defeated’ is described on the page:
As the U.S. Army enters a new phase of readiness, “Won’t Be Defeated” was created to motivate our fellow #Soldiers and to remind the American people that their #Army is made up of highly trained professionals who stand ready to meet and defeat any challenge.
#Jobwelldone you #talentlessmorons.
Perhaps I’m being too harsh. The vocals and production aren’t bad, but they sound like every other cheesy commercial hip hop track you’ve ever heard, and the section where the marching band joins in utterly ruins the flow. What is especially embarassing is that the Army have posted audio tracks on their website (currently unavailable) in the hope that music producers will remix this aural abomination.
The video is not much better. Much of it is shot in what appears to be a high school gym (a hackneyed trope in hip hop videos). But for some reason Sutton and Dorn are in full dress uniform. Not only is this visually inconsistent with the setting, it also results in them moving awkwardly due to the constrictive nature of their outfits. Also, the incessant Army branding is obnoxious.
If the youtube comments section is anything to go by, the public is not feeling it, and nor are current and former soldiers.
Jesus this is the corniest thing I’ve ever seen. Not joining the army now
I’m going to stop telling people I was in the army, that’s embarrassing!
This makes my tax dollars hurt
Wow that was bad. Been out of the Army for 25 years and this is what it has come to? 😡 The Army is now clown shoes.
This video is incredibly disrespectful. Wow it sucks.
imagine dying for an oil company and this was the video that convinced you to join
Our government co-opts black culture to trick black youth into thinking joining the military will make them feel cool.
So not only will the US Military come to your country and murder your people, they’ll come back a few years later and make a movie about how murdering your people made them feel sad. And THEN they’ll produce the world’s worst rap song to celebrate that.
The Army’s newest weapon: death by cringe.