The War and Treaty Singer Recalls Discovering His Songwriting Ability With Saddam Hussein's Piano

Michael Trotter Jr. of The War and Treaty had his musical beginnings in an unlikely place.

The Grammy winner sat down with People for a new interview in which he discussed his musical journey, including the first time that he began songwriting and the inspiration behind it. He was deployed in Iraq in 2004 after enlisting in the Army in 2003 and discovered his songwriting abilities while in one of Saddam Hussein's private palaces.

The outlet shares that the singer found a piano there and he would play the broken keys as he bled. His commanding officer, Captain Robert Scheetz, encouraged him to keep going and Scheetz would become the inspiration behind Trotter's first song that he wrote after Scheetz was killed on a mission.

"People wonder how a soldier can come home trapped in the war. Well, let's take away the bombs, take away the shooting. If you get issued a U.S. blanket in the Army, it has the U.S. emblem. If you make your bed up with that emblem facing up, that means you're dead. So, psychologically, you're walking through your bay and you're seeing your battle buddies who just sat on that bunk and ate with you. And now that bunk is made with the U.S. side facing up," Trotter said of his time in the Army.

The war overseas had affected Trotter who had enlisted in the army after dropping out of high school with a baby on the way.

"I had no other choice. The war was a detour I needed to do because I had f---ed my life up so bad. I wasn't patriotic. I didn't give a s--- what was going on in this world. I just was like, 'I need a dollar fast and I need to get it legally.' And so I signed up in the time of war. I had no idea," he told People.

After discovering his talent for songwriting and rerunning home, Trotter shared that he dreamed of having a career in music and that the war helped him discover that.

"I'd sweep and sing and make these songs up in my head. I'd spin around. At 2 a.m, I'm yelling and singing at the top of my lungs and I'm hearing every instrument. I'm dreaming. The war provided that dream," he said.

He pressured a career in music and met his wife Tanya who would go on to become his musical partner and the other half of The War and Treaty. Now, he gives back to his fellow service men and women and has performed at various military bases in n Korea and one in Guam.

"My message for them is to hold on: You are not your circumstances. You are the toughest of the tough. You are our nation's finest. Your main fight to weather is the fight for your mental health," Trotter told People.

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