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I’ll admit, at first I was turned off by this one.

“Soldier” has been done so many times — and really well too — so when I saw Screwed Up Click member E.S.G. was doing a version with Chamillionaire wailing out the hook for the first single of his new self-titled Everyday Street Gangsta album from Koch, well, the word skeptical came to mind. But, like most things in life, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and downloaded anyways.

Surprisingly, on this occasion, my good grace actually panned out.

With a par 16 from Chamillitary manye stuck between his two stellar and distinct verses, Houston veteran E.S.G.* sounds hungry as hell, talking about the ills of the underground and perils of perseverance in a world so corrupt. Word to the raspy “…Now look how soldiers in Iraq die everyday / While we whip the coop with two hands, they dyin’ in the Sudan…” line in the third verse.

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Download — E.S.G. Feat. Chamillionaire – “Soldier”

* — Off Topic: Gotty™, I’m officially done with the periods in rap names. Thanks.