This Exists: Julian Assange, Rap Star

Like finding a twenty dollar bill in a coat pocket, the internets have served up a true gem: a cameo appearance by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange–rapping. What the what, you ask?

According to Agence France Presse, the creators of the internet-based “Rap News” asked Assange to play a bit part in a rap video entitled “News World Order–War on Journalism.” The six-minute video was shot in London in October, just ahead of WikiLeaks release of 400,000 classified logs from the Iraq War.

The creators of the video–a university researcher and an English teacher–were “pinching themselves” when Assange agreed to be in the video:

The Melbourne-based pair had made a previous episode about Wikileaks and told AFP via email: “He really felt that we’d nailed it, so the possibility of going to London and collaborating on a new episode in the lead-up to the Iraq War Diaries was mooted.

“We jumped at the chance and were on planes within a fortnight.”

The Rap News guys say Assange is a great performer and has a pretty decent sense of humor–even willing to joke at his own expense:

It took several takes (“not as many as you’d expect”) but Assange managed to get the rhythm down and chime in with the rap performed by Farrant.

“He was full of creative ideas for how to act and time the entrance, and he really enjoyed lampooning his own image,” Farrant said.

“It was fantastic — we’re still pinching ourselves,” added Nanni. “He’s a preternaturally calm person, but with a great sense of humour.”

Watch the video here, from Rap News on YouTube: