Full Metal Rapper

“I was a war correspondent with 1st Marine Division. While deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, we listened to a lot of metal and hip-hop to prepare ourselves mentally before we went on combat patrols. Then, every night, I would listen to some hip-hop to mute the combat zone so I could forget and sleep. For some weird reason, we would all break into singing ‘Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash when we saw each other between missions. That was one of my favorite memories. Now I'm a hip-hop artist and I go by the name of ‘The Marine Rapper.'” —Raymond Lott, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran