Muhammad on Set
Farooq Muhammad on the set of his second EMS rap video, 'EMS Anthem.' (Photo courtesy Robert Domingo)
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On the heels of the smashing success "Call 911," Fire Department New York (FDNY) paramedic Farooq Muhammad, EMT-P, has done it again just in time for EMS Week.
In "Call 911," Muhammad deftly rapped about an average day in the life of FDNY EMS providers, who spend their days on the gritty streets of New York providing care in the most dangerous of situations. It debuted during the department's 9th annual EMT/Paramedic Competition to an enthusiastic audience that included Emergency! star Randy Mantooth.
The clip garnered a lot of attention. "I got feedback from Germany, Poland, France, England," says Muhammad. "But I think this one will have an even stronger impact."
Mantooth will help debut "EMS Anthem" May 21 at this year's competition. This follow-up again portrays an average day in New York, which, as any FDNY paramedic knows, is anything but average.
"It starts off with me coming to work and changing into uniform, then goes into a normal day," says Muhammad. "It shows me treating an asthmatic patient, then a pedestrian struck, and it goes into the next scene, which is a cardiac arrest, then a shooting victim, then a chest pain patient."
As with "Call 911," Muhammad wrote the script, but the video was produced by a hired team. "Having previewed the new video, I think again Farooq and his team have done a fantastic job in developing new lyrics, new music and a great, realistic video," says John Peruggia, chief of EMS for FDNY.
Muhammad says "Anthem" is a personal project, but he's received a lot of support from the department. It's been his personal mission to show the public what EMS does and to reinforce to providers the value of their jobs and their bravery in performing them.
"People were really happy to see how they were portrayed in the video," he says. "They said it made them feel very good. EMS are rarely portrayed as heroes, and they are heroes. They're out there saving lives, in dangerous situations with people getting shot and on the freeway."
"[Muhammad's videos] highlight the professionalism and compassion that our members display everyday while performing their jobs," says Peruggia.
Despite his success at rapping, Muhammad has no plans to make it his full-time career. "I want to keep doing stuff like this, but I'm more about being a paramedic. That's who I am."
