Whether it’s your appreciation for the men and women who agree to quite literally put their lives on the line to protect us and our country every single day or you just like a man in uniform (and, hey, it can be both!), there’s something about videos of soldiers having a lighthearted moment that can’t help but bring some smiles.
These U.S. soldiers were stationed in Nigeria at the time and took up a lesser-known Internet dance challenge, but one that we think looks a lot cooler than most (we’re lookin’ at you, Git Up Challenge).
The dance is performed to singer Mr. Eazi’s hit “Akwaaba.” Mr. Eazi is a Nigerian singer and songwriter who has pioneered a style of music called Banku – a blend of Ghanian and Nigerian sounds. You’ll hear some hints of reggae, R&B, and hip-hop in the music and – while it can be mellow – it’s typically great dance music.
This song had us bopping along to the beat and with over 5 million views in less than 2 years, it seems plenty of people share an appreciation for it.
And while fans across Africa were disappointed that no official video was ever released for the song, apparently there was no need – by the time it blew up, people had made their own!
We’re not sure what we love more here, the soldiers’ willingness to participate in something like this in their off-hours or the soldiers behind them going about their business as if two men in their unit aren’t dancing their butts off right in front of them.
We can’t quite grasp the instructions ourselves, but you can easily learn by mimicking the moves you see here.
The soldiers each have a different approach to doing the same dance, which we love.
One is more chill and the other more energetic and precise – but they both do it flawlessly and certainly with a fun-loving spirit. Their smiles the whole way through are infectious.
And we applaud that hip-shaking as well! This is not your typical “grab your dad and film a video” dance challenge (although we’d be willing to watch some hilarious attempts.)
There’s even a little solo time for each soldier as they take center “stage” to show off some fancy footwork – heck, even our more laid-back dancer goes all-in.
The second soldier does the same and now they’re both having a blast.
But it can’t be all fun and games – the video only lasts 55 seconds – so we only get the highlights and not the whole song.
Still, we get a great idea of what the song sounds like and what the popular African dance challenge looks like.
Want to see some more dancing soldiers from around the world? It’s not just the U.S. military that takes time for a little get down. Check out this video of clips of soldiers from multiple countries – the flag in the lower-left corner will tell you where they’re from (and we think we’re going to have to give the medal to the Indian soldiers in that compilation!).
In the meantime, be sure to scroll down below to see two soldiers get their groove on to “Akwaaba.”
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