Iraq is the latest country to get its own provocative version of Childish Gambino's acclaimed song and video 'This Is America'.
'This is Iraq' has been released by I-NZ, real name is Majid, who was born in Scotland to Iraqi parents, raised in New Zealand and currently lives in Dubai.
He identifies as an Iraqi-Kiwi - perhaps explaining his hip-hop moniker, which may stand for Iraq-New Zealand.
"This is Iraq/ Look at us blowin' up/ Nobody showin' up/ Nobody ownin' up," raps I-NZ in the video.
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The footage references the American invasion of Iraq along with some of the troubles it left in its wake, including the devastating reign of the Islamic State (IS) and crippling drug abuse problems.
Some of the footage is violent and shocking - referencing rape and torture in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison and showing hooded parents and children surrounded by barbed wire and menacing gunmen.
Other lyrics suggest Iraq is "corrupting the area" and "voicing hysteria", as well as I-NZ acknowledging he may "get shot for this".
In an interview with Vice, however, he explains why the video ends on an optimistic note.
"I believe that after all this blood and war, hope still exists for Iraq, and someday, Iraq will return to its greatness," says I-NZ.
"I tried to show this hope in the last shot, which shows Iraq's old and beautiful and poetic away from the pool of blood left by the invasion."
On his Bandcamp page, I-NZ is said to have come from Auckland, where "raised in a household of lawyers with a deep interest in politics".
'This is Iraq' follows other international takes on the Childish Gambino hit from the likes of Nigeria and Malaysia.
Newshub.
