Soldier's Music Carries Positive Messages
(July 9, 2008) | 
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CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 7, 2008 – He has
the fast-flowing lips of a rap artist whose lyrics don't
stumble. His songs tell stories instead of just describing
hanging emotions. He rhymes with passion and recites his own
words as if he were creating them on the spot.
“You know, I like to tell
stories with my music, that's the thing,” Army
Master Sgt. Isaac Alexis, a Houston native,
said. “Stories will capture people. ... Songs work
best when there's something that falls in a role
that people can see in, something that people
can relate to, ... because then they know somebody
went through what they went through.”
On stage, Alexis goes by
Abcd, pronounced “Absidy.” The letters stand for
Ambitious Behavior, Confident and Disciplined --
characteristics Alexis said he values and shows
when performing his music.
Around Camp Victory and
Camp Liberty, Alexis attends and even hosts
open-mic events and contests at Morale, Welfare
and Recreation centers. His main goal through
music, he said, is to tell stories that make
people want to rethink and improve their lives.
He said he understands that rap |
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Army Master Sgt. Isaac Alexis of Houston
performs “We Gotta Go,” a song about soldiers
leaving their homes to serve in Iraq, during an
open-mic night at Camp Liberty, Iraq, June 8,
2008. ... Army photo by Michel Sauret,
Multinational Division Center |
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music often evokes values that
aren't constructive, but that he wants his
lyrics to evoke more than fame, sex or violence. |
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“If you really want to get something
across to people, music is the way to make it happen,” he
said. “A lot of my songs are positive, ... trying to make
change in someone's life.”
His music promotes ideas such as taking care of one's
spouse, maintaining a commitment to service, discouraging
youth from joining gangs and becoming involved in the
church, among others.
His first album is titled, “Soldier for Life.” He said he's
served in the Army for 18 years and feels as if his whole
life revolves around being a soldier. He served as a drill
sergeant in Fort Knox, Ky., as an instructor at the New
Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, as a gunner and as a
team leader. He has been stationed in Hawaii and South
Korea, and at Fort Campbell, Ky., Fort Benning, Ga., and
Fort Drum, N.Y.
Now is on his third deployment, Alexis leads troops as the
noncommissioned officer in charge of Team Hunter under Task
Force Vigilant, a unit that conducts presence patrols around
Camp Victory. His team also secures and manages an entry
control point with Ugandan soldiers.
“Here, you see soldiers who work hard all the time,” Alexis
said. “It's the reason why we're here.”
Alexis has been writing music since he was a private in the
early 1990s, he said, but it was during his second
deployment, from 2004 to 2005, that he realized his music
touched people. After his performances at MWR events, Alexis
had audience members come to him and tell him how much his
lyrics touched them. He's even seen people cry during his
performance of “We Gotta Go,” a song about soldiers leaving
their homes to serve in Iraq.
“That's an emotional song for people,” he said. “When I
performed that song, [other musicians] moved closer to the
stage, and when I got done, there was a whole line of
performers up there who hugged me on the way out.”
Those types of reactions, Alexis said, make him realize his
music has more than volume; it has impact.
Following his second deployment, Alexis taught at the New
Mexico Military Institute and would visit local middle
schools to give inspirational speeches and perform songs to
kids in danger of being swallowed up by gangs. With a song
titled “Think on Your Own,” he encouraged the youth to
rethink their commitment to violence. There, he saw former
gang members attend the church where Alexis worshiped with
his wife, Darla, who sings gospel music.
“Definitely powerful,” he said about the experience. “I'm
not going to give myself credit for that. You know, it was
the Lord, since he pretty much guided me to do everything I
did. To see them actually get out of the gang and get a job
and try to live right, ... that's great. And that's what I
wanted to see.”
Since then, Alexis wrote songs and performed for special
events such as boxing matches and redeployment ceremonies.
He organized concerts, performed for cadets at the military
institute, sang at a city council meeting, helped his church
reach out to his community, opened for rap artist Lil' Flip,
and organized other music events. He said he's even sold
more than 3,000 CDs on his own, out of the back of his
truck.
During this deployment, he said, he hopes to revise about 30
of his songs and compile at least one more CD. He also has
shifted some of his music toward gospel singing because of
rap music's image. Most importantly, he's made a commitment
to writing clean lyrics to keep his messages pure.
“It's definitely for people's entertainment, but at the same
time, [audiences] are getting messages that can have an
influence on their life.” | |
By Army Staff Sgt. Michel Sauret
Special to American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2008
Note... Army Staff Sgt. Michel Sauret
serves in the Multinational Division Center Public Affairs
Office.
Reprinted
from American
Forces Press Service / DoD
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