“I like to put it simply,” says Randy “R Dub!” Williams, a late-night “slow jams” DJ from San Diego who’s also known as “the Sultan of Slowjamastan.” “I ran out of countries, so I created my own.”
A broadcaster by night, Williams has spent his life attempting to visit every country in the world. With just one UN-recognized nation left to visit, he decided to buy an 11.07-acre plot of empty arid land in the California desert to build a new “country” named after his radio show.
Wearing his best suit and sunglasses, the sultan of Slowjamastan officially declared independence from the United States of America at 12:26 p.m. on December 1, 2021 as he broadcast the secession live from his open-air government “office” in Dublândia, the capital of the Republic of Slowjamastan.
Two years on, and while the Sultan of Slowjamastan has instigated more than a few bizarre laws (he’s outlawed the wearing of Crocs, for example), the Republic also has all the trappings of a fledgling nation-state. It issues its own passports, flies its own flag, prints its own currency (“the duble”), and has a national anthem that’s played on state occasions.
The Republic of Slowjamastan even claims over 500 registered citizens, while 4,500 more are said to have been conditionally approved or are waiting in line for citizenship. Now that Williams is set to complete his lifetime goal of visiting every country in the world, he’s inviting tourists to visit the Republic of Slowjamastan as he plans to create the world’s foremost “micronation.”
