Chinese army releases gangsta rap recruitment video

Apparently not content with its annexure of the South China Sea or being the muscle behind the world's number-one power-in-waiting, the Chinese army has made a foray into gangsta rap.

Possibly taking its cue from the slick, teen-targeted propaganda of ISIL, the People's Liberation Army's new joint, "Battle Declaration", dropped late last week.

The PLA's track features an aggressive beat and lyrics dripping with machismo and the glory of violent death.

An accompanying stylish video portrays plenty of manly hustle, explosions and gun fighting.

Pretty standard fare, really, for a genre pioneered by the street soldiers of South Central LA, though in place of shiny grills and pimped-out whips are tactical gear and Shenyang fighter jets, all whizzing by at breakneck speed.

Also true to the music's roots are the song's lyrics, which most assuredly "keep it real" when it comes to the topic of righteously dying for the motherland.

"Even if a bullet passes through my chest," goes the refrain, "My mission remains carved in my heart.

"Brothers, let's follow this path.

"Roar, roar, roar, roar."

And so forth.

As Quartz notes, however, prospective recruits would want to be there for the love and not the money, given that salaries in the PLA reportedly rank among the lowest in the world.

An officer, for example, stands to make as little as $1850 a month, as opposed to a US Army colonel, who makes about seven times that amount.