Have you ever heard of the country of Slowjamastan?
It’s the world’s newest “nation,” dedicated to slow jams. Top priorities are the preservation of string cheese and the outlawing of Crocs shoes across the land.
WTOP’s Matt Kaufax recently took the self-proclaimed Sultan of Slowjamastan on a sightseeing tour of D.C., while he was in town on the occasion of the 2024 NATO Summit.
In case you’re confused: No, Slowjamastan isn’t a real country, per se. As of this moment, it doesn’t have any legal recognition, save the Sultan’s mom.
But that hasn’t stopped this wanna-be micro-nation from recruiting tens of thousands of “citizens,” who have “registered” to be Slowjamastanians online.
The country also does technically have land. They are a self-described “enclave,” operating on about 11 acres in the desert of Imperial County, California.
Slowjamastan’s sultan is radio DJ Randy Williams by day, host of the syndicated program “Sunday Night Slow Jams,” which has been running on more than 240 stations across the U.S. since 1994. He said the origin story of Slowjamastan is a real hoot.
So how did this republic get started? How did it get invited to the 2024 NATO Summit in D.C.? And what do Washingtonians think of the world’s newest “country?”
Find out the answers to all these burning questions by watching Matt’s video, featuring the sultan, his head Border Patrol Officer Mark Corona and a couple other surprise guests who popped up along the tour!
Learn more about the Republic of Slowjamastan and how you can register to become a Slowjamastanian on its website.
Keep up with the latest adventures of the sultan and see behind-the-scenes videos of his time in D.C. on Instagram. You can also follow Matt (@mkaufax) for more Slowjamastan content, and to keep up with all his latest adventures.
“Matt About Town” airs every Tuesday and Thursday on WTOP at 7:45 a.m., and runs throughout the rest of the day on 103.5 FM. His video pieces are always posted on wtop.com.
You can also find Matt’s videos on Instagram (@wtopnews and @mkaufax) and TikTok (@wtopnews and @mattabouttown_).
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