Sgt Dunson is a Hip-Hop Artist that has incorporated his experiences in the military into his music. His first album “Soldier Music,” set him aside in a different category besides just being called an average rapper. Songs like "If I Don't Make It Home." A song letter written from Iraq to his family and friends talking to them about his last wishes if he wasn't to make it back home from war. Other songs like "Over There" and " My 1st Kill" where he tells in detail about the first time he had to kill someone at war. Sgt Dunsons' music shows a lot of emotions, its shows us the good, the bad and the ugly side of what it is like to be a Soldier. He even takes us on some of the missions he had to complete while in Iraq. With songs like "A RAID TONIGHT" off his second music album entitled "TO HELL AND BACK." Sgt Dunson is currently out of the military and pursuing his dream as a recording artist. He said “He wants to tell the story for those who’ve never had their stories told. His transition back to civilian world wasn’t so smooth. On his new album entitled "American Soldier" he talks about that transition. He talks about what life is like for him now as a “Civilian” and how he feels he's not a “Civilian” and never will be. He made a song called "Soldier 4 Life" in rebellion against his new life where he says "They can erase the uniform, but can't erase what I learned, they can't erase what I earned and they can't erase what I did, I'm discharged from the Army, but THE SOLDIER IS STILL HERE."A lot of his supporters are military active duty, prior service, veterans, military wives, and some dependents. Yet lately he has seen and increasingly amount of civilians no relation to the military at all embracing his style of music. Sgt Dunson hopes to gain more supporters on all sides as he continues to progress in his music career.
BACKGROUND
Sgt Dunson was born Leo Louis Dunson Jr. on July 2, 1985 in Oakland, California. He has been writing poetry since the age of 12. He received recognition winning 1st place two years in a row and 2nd place the third year in the "Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Poetry Contest." The poetry transformed into songs in his High School years where he started to record music. When he first started out making music he said that he wanted to tell the truth. He said he wanted to listen to his own songs and hear truth in them, so Sgt Dunson's first Recording Artist name was "Onest" pronounced "Honest" vowing to always be Honest. He said on one of his songs back then "I might not be Honest to this world, but I'm honest to this mic." While still attending High School he put out a couple demo's and mix tapes, but nothing to knock the roof off his career. So during his senior year Sergeant Dunson was looking for a change, he said he wanted a challenge, he wanted something to teach him how to be a man (since he wasn’t really close to his father), he wanted something to excel him pass his peers. So Leo Dunson decided to join the U.S. Army, MOS as an 11 Bravo (infantry).
MILITARY CAREER
The first step after joining the Army and processing in is to go to basic training. So off Leo Dunson went to basic training at Fort Benning, GA. Basic Combat Training (BCT) consist of several weeks of intense training designed to hone your skills, teach you new skills, optimize your physical and mental performance. It will prepare you mentally, physically, and emotionally to be the best that you can be (That was copied Right out of the Manual). After basic training (BCT) for combat MOS's Leo explained there Basic Training and AIT is all put together so you complete one when you complete the other(OUST). He continued saying that (AIT) Advanced Individual training briefly taught him what it would be like to be and infantry man. They briefly covered room clearing techniques (MOUT), a few Battle drills, individual Movements, a couple formations and a few more briefly covered Infantry tactics, but that was mainly it. So Sgt Dunson was sent off to his Duty Station in Fort Wainwright, Alaska (Let me say this again FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA). Where he was placed in the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion 17th Infantry Regiment, Bravo Company, 1st Platoon, 3rd Squad, Bravo Team (I Have No IDEA WHAT THE FUCK THAT MEANS, but he Said The Military people would). So that was the unit he was placed in along with the squad, platoon, the company and the battalion. So after all that training in BCT and AIT, Sgt Dunson explained to me that for the Infantry there job is to fight wars to go to battle, the defenders of freedom, as he says on his album Soldier Music. So when you guys are not at battle I asked what are you doing? Sgt Dunson responded by saying "WE TRAIN, train for battle, rain sleet or snow every single day is a training day whether it is in a classroom learning how to do something as simple as zeroing your weapon, combat ground techniques, or in the field doing simulation battle exercises the infantry is training for battle every single day." (And it’s no wonder some of his music is not suitable for children under the age of 18. I would need help too if ALL I DID WAS TRAIN ON HOW TO KILL someone EVERY SINGLE DAY.) So after he spent about and estimated year and a half training at his unit for battle Sgt Dunson was deployed overseas to War.
Official Website: http://www.sgtdunson.com/