U
nited States Army Specialist David Willis couldn’t stop staring at his watch. Anxiously, he was planning an escape from captivity, but the man holding him hostage wasn’t allowing it. By the time Willis came to the harsh conclusion that an early escape just wasn’t part of the equation, there was nothing the 22-year-old could do except wait and pray for freedom. Finally, the bell rang and class was dismissed, forcing the hostile math teacher to relinquish control of his captives until the following day. Specialist Willis was left with only a few minutes to run from his on-base college Calculus class to the outdoor stadium at Camp Beuhring, Kuwait, where Mississippi rapper David Banner was set to perform. “I had to rush out of class just to get to the concert, man. By the time I got there, it was so many people, I had to stand all the way in the back to watch the show,” remembers Willis. “A lot of my family is from Jackson, Mississippi, so it kinda felt like a piece of home seeing David Banner perform.” The United Services Organization (USO) has been bringing pieces of home to soldiers living overseas since 1941, when Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the organization to “provide morale and recreation services to U.S. uniformed military personnel.” Over the years the USO has brought hundreds of celebrities and entertainers to appear in front of the troops. Everyone from Redd Foxx to Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe to Jennifer Lopez, and even the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have performed for the military men and women. Earlier this year it was David Banner’s turn to answer the call. The performers are recruited based on requests from the soldiers, however, many of them decline due to personal or political impediments. Banner almost passed on the opportunity as well. “When the [USO] initially approached me about [performing for the troops] I was conflicted,” he admits. “I don’t agree with the war. There’s young people dying over there, and a large number of those people just thought they were going to [Iraq] for a couple weeks and then [coming] back to the crib. But I decided to go for the troops, not the government.” Two days before he boarded the 14-hour flight for Kuwait, Banner was sequestered by the Government. He was in Washington, D.C., at President Obama’s Inauguration, sitting close enough to actually see Barack without binoculars. Surrounded by a slew of the most influential people in America, Banner was certainly in his element. 48 hours later, while many of his fellow attendees were still celebrating, Banner was on his way to be with the men and women our new President is now responsible for. “I was ten rows away from Obama during the inauguration, and three days later I was in Kuwait and Iraq. In a week’s time I was a part of history twice,” marvels Banner. “Regardless of whether we recognize it or not, we are all a part of history; the question is, what role are we gonna play?” While there, Banner did much more than just perform a few songs and sign a few autographs. Throughout his stay he shed his celebrity status and interacted with the troops as if they were old college buddies.
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“I really enjoyed his performance,” said US Air Force Sergeant Levona Massey, who saw Banner perform at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. “He was extremely down to earth and he connected well with the crowd. It wasn’t some over the top concert; it was more like we were just chillin’ with David Banner. “ Banner even brought his own personal camera and took over 400 pictures with the troops. “That was the best part,” says 18-year-old Private First Class Amber Melendez, who attended the performance at Iraq’s Cob Speicher Base. “When he came out into the crowd and took pictures with the soldiers, that was great. You don’t see many artists doing that.” 22-year-old Army Specialist Rejeana Dodson, who also saw Banner at Cob Speicher, adds, “I’m sure he was tired, but it meant a lot that he was willing to hang out and sign autographs and take pictures with everyone. I was a fan before, but after seeing him perform I’m more likely to seek out some of his music instead of just being a passive listener.” Not only did Banner gain new fans and take multiple memory cards full of pictures, upon returning home, he uploaded all his photos with the troops onto his Myspace page so that the soldier’s families could see images of their loved ones enjoying themselves and having a good time while at war. The majority of the nearly 200,000 troops currently serving in Iraq and Kuwait are in their 20s, which allowed Banner to connect with the crowd much more effectively than many of the other recent USO performers. “A lot of artists that go perform for the troops aren’t in our demo; they’re not in our age range,” explains Banner. “They have a lot of country and rock acts that go over to perform, but most people that are fighting this war like rap. So for me to go over there and touch their hearts like I was able to was incredible, and I honestly got into [rap] for that reason—to really touch people.” Sgt Massey confirmed Banner’s statement. “I went to the USO show because I’m a fan of rap music and it was a break from the reality of being at war. It was exactly what I needed—a break from the reality that I’m in Iraq and if some shit really pops off I might not see my family again.” “I’ve been a fan of David Banner ever since he first came out with ‘Like A Pimp,’” proclaims Specialist Willis, who is an aspiring rapper himself. “After the concert I handed him a copy of my group’s CD. That was my most memorable moment since I’ve been here, handing my group’s CD to a major artist. It’s not every day someone gets the chance to hand a mainstream artist their music, and it’s crazy because I would have never thought I would get the chance to do that anywhere, let alone here in Kuwait. David Banner coming here was a blessing.” And while Banner was a blessing to the troops, he found himself equally impacted. After an Army Commander shared a story detailing the consequences that can arise from not choosing your words wisely, the outspoken rapper pledged to be more careful. “I have a tendency of saying fucked-up shit, and just saying whatever I feel,”