Well yesterday we left Djibouti, Africa and made our way to the Persian. On our way out of Djibouti, we stopped at a local market to do some gift shopping from the local merchants. These guys are true hustlers. As we stepped off the bus, a seven-year-old child who wanted change greeted us. We walked around their market and everyone bought a few things. With the temperature soaring around 115 degrees, we could only bear the heat for a short while. We packed back into the bus and made our way to the airport where we boarded a flight to the Persian.
After a full day of flights, we landed safely and were brought straight to the hotel for a good nights rest. While Treach and Sway decided to go out with a few sailors until 6am and see the local nightlife, the rest of us decided to take it down and get some sleep so we would have enough energy to make it through tomorrow.
Almost everyone made the 8am lobby call and we headed over to the base for an interview on the military radio station. Kay Gee says that he might enlist, now that he found the radio station. As he said, “Who ever thought HipHop would bring us to The Persian Gulf?” As a DJ, this was a great experience for me. If I had decided to join the military when I was younger, this would have been the career for me. These guys get to host their own radio show and play music to help raise the troops morale but more importantly, they get to spend their days in an air-conditioned radio station. While the heat in the Persian Gulf is not quit as bad as the heat in Djibouti, the wind and sand storms out here will choke you out. There’s nothing quite like sand up your nose and in your eyes all day.
After the radio station, we visited the dining facility, for a quick meal and sound check. The venue for this evenings show was a courtyard right outside the dining facility. Because this base is a permanent military base, the entire place has brick and sandstone everywhere and looks more like a university campus than a traditional military base. The courtyard for our performance was nice a sexy and the sound system was even better. We were lucky enough to have state of the art sound and intelligent lighting, which always makes for a better show. After sound check we went back to the hotel for a couple hours to regroup, get some rest and prepare for the show. A few hours later we returned to the venue and I headed straight to the stage to start my set. After an hour of rocking the turntables, Sway joined me on stage and we ran through a few push-up contests and other ways to give away some free Naughty gear and USO t-shirts. I gotta say, Sway is a natural comedian and a great host. Each night, he controlled the crowd and had everyone laughing. Even if it was at my expense half the time. Once Sway and I stirred the crowd up to a good temperature, it was time for Kay Gee to step on stage and start the show.
With the echo of their infamous intro… “Give it up for NAUGHTY BY NATURE!!!!”… Kay gee drops “O.P.P.” and we’re off. This ride don’t stop until the whole thing is over and the crowd is left with sweat dripping down their necks. Once the show came to and end, we were escorted inside to dry off and sit down to sign autographs and take individual pictures with all of the troops. Another successful evening in the Persian Gulf. Time to head back to the hotel and take it down for the night. Tomorrow we wake up and go visit some more troops and then wrap up our trip on a Naval Submarine. I can’t wait for that trip; I’ve never been on a submarine before.
As always… Give it up for NAUGHTY BY NATURE!!!!
HoLLeRRRrrr….
Tags: 2010, @NaughtyByNature, Christopher Melz, Michael Melz, Naughty By Nature, Sway, Sway Calloway, The Wonder TwinZ, Ujima Productions, USO, WonderTwinZ, YOUR MOTHER
