Interview Only: Flavor Flav

Man, I couldn't wait for this one. I couldn't wait for this one. Ladies and gentlemen. He is my next guest. He is a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recipient of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a founding member, the founding member of the iconic group, the greatest group ever as far as I'm constererned public anime, all right, the one and only Flavor Flamen.

What somebody how you doing? Many man? Like a Colton the closet hanging in there, baby. I have ever had the pleasure of meeting you.

Men. It is an honor, brother, It's been a I met you on several occasions, but I've never ever interviewed you. I gotta know this. They they Flavor Flame. I mean, who the hell came up with that name? I mean, who would think of that name?

It had to be you?

Well, honestly, you know, back in the day, there was a guy that used to watch over me.

You know what I'm saying. His name was Kevin Starks. You know what I'm saying.

And way back in the day, you know, I used to you know, drink a lot of different flavored sodas, you know, the fruit punch, orange grape, you know, everything, right, cherry and all that. And then also, you know, I like life savers, you know, eat a bunch of life savers, you know, and the charms, lollipops and all of that.

And my nickname that I grew up with is Rico. Oh so he used to call me Reek the flavor freak. Wow, you know what I'm saying.

So when MC and first came around, Stephen, back in the days, you know what I'm saying, and everybody had these common names, I wanted the name that nobody had, nobody else wanted, but yet it had to mean something. So I tried MC flavor and you know what, I stuck with that, and it was Chuck D that started calling me flavor Flavor.

So Chuck D started calling you flavor, Flavor Flavor.

Cause back in the days, remember we used to be like Yo, Bobby Bob, Yo, Johnny John.

You know, it was Chuck that started calling me Flavor flav.

So you started the rap group Public Enemy. You founded this group. Tell me how that came about. I've never heard this story.

Well, it's all started about you know. All started when I was on my way up to the studio to go visit with my boy Chuck and Hank and Keith Shockley.

You know what I'm saying.

We had the studio and and and in Hempstead, Long Island, all right.

And I walked up.

I walked up to the studio one day, Steve stephen Man and I heard.

Wow. I'm like, what in the world is Chuck doing up in here? Man?

I walked in the I walked in the studio Stephen Chuck. Back in the days, Remember we had the cassette tapes. Yep, my boy Chuck d had had the cassette tape coming out of the cassette deck around the microphone stand back into the cassette deck. Wow, ladies and gentlemen. I don't care what nobody said. That was the first loop. It was back in the days. We used to make records with loops and stuff, you know what I mean.

So anyway, so.

I told Chuck the story about this guy that wanted to battle him.

You know what I'm saying. In the hall now, I was on my way up to the studio. Somebody wanted to battle, and.

Somebody wanted to battle Chuck, you know what I'm saying. So I was like, Yo, Chuck, don't battle. You know what I'm saying. If anything will set you up for battle. He was like, yeah, but your man swear he nice. I said, look, he don't swear. He nice, bro, he knows he nice. So anyway, Chuck was like, Yo, put that story on the beginning of this tape because we were making the making the tape WBAU ninety point three FM, you know our radio, our radio station right from Delphi University.

Man.

I was on my way up here to the studio and this brother stopped me and asked me, Yo, what's up with the brother Chucky?

Did he swear he nice? I said, the brother don't swear. He nice.

He knows he's nice. You know what I'm saying. So, Chuck, I got a feeling you turned into a public enemy.

Man.

Now remember that line he was kicking me on the way out to l A. Longton Queen's while we was in the carn away to the shop. Well, right now, kick the base for them brothers and let him know, Chuck, what goes on, Chuck says, what goes on? Well, I'm all in and put it on the board. Another shot down from the mouth that wrought like yo, yo, we gotta put this out, We gotta put this out.

So so we put it out.

You know what I'm saying on our radio station and everything and DMC, I mean run running jam Master Jay and them went.

Crazy over it. So was jam Master J.

You know, I grew up with him. I grew up with the College Queen. My late brother. My late brother, My brother died in a car accident in nineteen ninety two. He was really really good friends with jam Master J. I grew up on two third between one eleventh and twelfth, and jam Aster J was on the next block between one one eleventh and Hollis.

So that's where it was. So jam Master Jay.

And now when my brother passed away in the car accident, I was the one that let him know because he was away on tour run DMC ANDN was away on tour and they came back and he came looking for my brother, and I had to let him know what had happened.

He didn't even know that my brother had passed away.

That's how far back.

I went with jam Aster Jay and run DMC obviously was in the neighborhood and the whole, No doubt.

That's that's how that's how far back it goes, no doubt.

So go ahead.

What was jam Master J came up to the to the radio station. He was like, Yo, where's your boy, Chuck Man? Where's Chuck? We want to see Chuck. I said, Chuck is at the studio. So I got in this in the car with jam Master J and DM. See right, We went to took him to the studio and jim Master Jay is the one that was trying to talk Chuck into putting public Enemy number one out.

On Depth Jam.

At the time, you know, Depth Jam didn't really have a lot of money then and everything, so artists wasn't really getting their fair shape around that time. But when the Beasties went platinum, Run went platinum, LLLL went platinum, now they had enough money, you know what I'm saying. And Chuck said, you know what, Okay, come on, I'm down, you know what I'm saying. So we went to the We went to Death Jam and everything to sign and the whole nine. Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. They did

They didn't want you. They didn't want me.

Because back in the days, you know, the voice texture, you know what I'm saying. I mean, the style was that.

Wonder help I keep it.

Was that that basic that basic voice, you know what I'm saying. But my voice was real high, it was peaky, it was annoying and the whole nine.

So they didn't want me.

So Chuck was like, yo, listen, if he's not if I don't have him, then this ain't gonna work.

So it was Chuck D that forced me down death jam Stoke. You know what I'm saying.

How do you when you when you think about Chuck D and him taking that position and risking jump starting what obviously an undeniably was a flourishing career. His willingness to stick with you, why do you think that was? Why did he do that?

But his willingness to stick with me because we were a team. You know, teamwork make the dream work, right, you know what I'm saying. And it was just that kind of person.

We made a hell of a team, no question, he made the hell of a team.

You know what I'm saying. I mean, if it ain't broken, you don't fix it.

Chuck D.

I saw an interview with him one time years ago. He called you the greatest hype man in music history. He said, you want to turn a show out, you want to get an audious hyped up. He said, you don't need anything but flavor flame. There is no nobody has ever ever been better than him. First of all, do you agree with that? And secondly, how does it make you feel to hear that Chuck D said that about you?

I mean, well, I know that I am the originator, you know what I'm saying, the first hype man in rap music period, you know what I'm saying, And and and my job was just to go out there on the stage really just get the crowd hype.

That was my job to get the crowd hype.

And I was always good with hyping up the crowd, you know what I'm saying. So so so that's how I got that title. You know what I'm saying. I say, the second flavor flame of the business was my boy Push a Week Billy from the Ghetto Boys. Because everything Bill did was flavor flav everything. You know what I give you for man, so he did. Man, Man, that was my little brother man. That was my brother man. You know what I'm saying. The third flavor flavor of the business, I say, Buster Rhymes.

Okay, I was.

Gonna say DMX.

I was gonna say DNX. Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait, what's the hype man? But d MX?

But but but d MX was a solo He was a solo artist.

But we're talking about you know, group wise, you know what I'm saying.

And Buster Rhymes came from leaders of the New School, so he was like the hype man of the leaders of the New School.

You know what I'm saying.

Then the fourth flavor flavor of the business, I say, was my cousin O d B.

Damn?

How many how many? How many layers of the flavor flavors? Did Damn? You just gave me five?

Five?

You know what I'm saying.

That's listening, you know what I'm saying. Number four was O d B from Wu Tang List. Number five Spliff Star from Flip Mode. Okay, and he's still with Buster right now, Tan up stuff. You know what I'm saying.

Special, So when you think about a hype man, and you know, we know the job that comes with it. Whatever, people would have looked at you and say, that's all you are? What would you describe yourself as being?

Is it just that?

Or was it so much more than that?

And people never really really appreciated what you brought to the table.

Well, I consider me that, you know what I'm saying. And plus I was a whole lot more. I was a leader. I was a trendsetter. You know what I'm saying, because I set trends. You know what I'm saying around your not for I'm trying to tell you now. And not only that, but you know, I'm the one that put out to say back in the day the high top fade, that's flame year in the high top fade was flaved, you know what I'm saying. Then Kid and Play came with his you know, play from Kidding Play.

So that's why his was so high, you know what I'm saying.

But the first ones that had a fade the low top fade was Grace Jones and Larry Blackman.

You know what I mean, the whole nine. I just took it and I grew mind high and then I put that out in the street.

Then everybody start taking my hairstot cutting it into the gumbies.

Have you ever had the gumby?

No? I have, not, not me, not me.

You know, I gotta ask you this, man, because growing up listening to Public Enemy, man, I the lyrics was what moved me, you know what I'm saying. And they didn't they didn't care. Fight the Power is my all time favorite. I still listen to give it up every morning. That now, No, now I do that, you know. So now one one is a joke. I mean, come on, the list goes on and on. I'm just wondering, first of all, what's your favorite song of all time by Public Enemy?

Public Enemy number one?

Because because that's the first record that we ever made, and that's the one that I had most fun making, you know what I'm saying. And I had a lot of involvement, you know, with making that record, you know, but it was our first regular, our first single, you know what I'm saying. And yeah, that's my favorite one out of all of them, out of everything that we've ever made.

What do you believe was the most impactful? Which song?

I'd say, fight the Power?

Fight the power definitely, and Fight the Power is also the song that launched us into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame.

When you think about that, we know what that stand for. We know that was all about.

You were speaking against the man, speaking against the systems, speaking against oppression in the eyes of a lot of black people. That's how we absorbed and that's why we admired and loved y'all so much. And I love the title public enemy because it wassonified that mentality. That's why I love Chuck D so much, because Chuck D was like the data enemy whoever they are, and here we come because we know y'all don't think this of us.

Right?

We never feared anything, and that's the reason why we did what we did, you know what I'm saying, because we wanted to.

You know, we were to see an end of the streets, you know what I'm saying.

In the Hall nine and not only that, but public Enemy also you know, stands for the black man being the lowest on the totem pole, you know what I'm saying, And that's the last to get the to get the best of the best, you know what I'm saying.

The whole nine.

We wasn't scared to speak about that. And not only that, but we never feared any period. You know what I'm saying. I mean, whatever we did, it came from our heart, It came from our souls, you.

Know what I'm saying.

There was a time when we did a gig down in South Carolina and we were the only group ever to hang a koul Klux Klansmen on stage.

And that was the time.

There was a time when when when when we did that show down in South Carolina, we hung that kul Klux Klansmen on stage. Yeah, the f Oi had to come and walk us out, Yeah Fu. The Bisulam had to come and walk.

They had to come and walk out. You had to come walk all what was gonna happen to y'all.

Hey, hey, hey, KKK's man was they was they was piling up, They were waiting outside.

They was waiting and wasn't going to let us out.

That's right. They wasn't gonna let us out. But we got out. You got out because FOI.

Yeah, yeah, FOI helped us get out. Yeah. But we never feared it though. You didn't fear the kukluks playing waiting outside for you.

No, we never fared anyone period. We don't fear nobody. The only only thing we made fear in this world was God.

Was that a conversation that y'all had amongst one another in terms of not having that fear or was it innate and immediately understood? Yo, you're a part of this is the kind of this is the kind of metal that you got to.

It was already understood. You know what I'm saying.

Stamped, stamp, that's how that's how we was, you know what I'm saying. And when we and when we came, we let you know we was coming strong. Don't get in our way because so you announced it before he will run you over. So you announced it beforehand.

Everybody knew it. He was very transparent. They knew what it was coming. That's right.

You brought up South Carolina. Any place else in this country that stands out in terms of locale where you performed and you had to worry about just South Carolina?

Just that, just that one incident right there. Outside of that, every place else, cool thing else was cooler than four blocks of ice Q. And why do you think that was? That? It was cool everywhere else?

Because everybody was understanding what you know, we were talking about. Not only that, but a lot of people were standing up for what we were talking about, you know what I'm saying. And right now to this day, you know, when it comes down to understanding public enemy, you know what I'm saying. Right now, we have a more predominantly white audience than a black audience.

And why do you think that is? How do you explain that? Right?

Because there's a lot of people that love, love, learning about black history, and once they find out, you know, the truth about black history, then they get into it.

More and more and more and more.

But but is this just something that I said about white people wanting more to know more about black history than black people.

I think black people should really want to know their history just as much as the white people want to know our history.

I'm just asking that question in terms of to me, the fan base shouldn't be stronger amongst whites than black it's a public enemy. It shouldn't be more more white people than black people support y'all.

But it is, though, even to this day, even to this day, but we still have our black nation supporting us. Now, you know what I'm saying, It's just that white people decided to dig into us, bore, I guess.

Let me transition. Let me transition to what's going on today. How are you feeling about the hip hop industry today?

Yo? Man?

The hip hop industry is what it is. I call it changing of the guards, Steve. You know what I'm saying. You know, I mean music has changed a lot. You know what I'm saying since since we since since we since we started. You feel what I'm saying. I mean, it's a different generation now. You know what I'm saying.

You're okay with it?

Or you are you depressed by Hey? I'm not depressed by anything. Man. I'm adapting to it, just like everybody else adapted.

To my music and to what we do.

Hey, when the guards changed, you gotta you gotta adapt to that.

Do you care about the message or lack thereof or absence thereof? Like for example, y'all spoke with a purpose. Every lyric you dropped it was a purpose with Chuck D and the crew. Right, Well, look n to me be talking about here, that's entirely different than somebody that really ain't got a message.

That's just pew and some shit.

I just wish that a lot of rap rap records today have more messages, that's what we're talking about, and conscience messages to it.

You know what I'm saying.

You know the day, I mean, we're more about glorifying you know, guns, drugs, gangs. You know what I'm saying. Women, You know what I'm saying. In the whole night, Back in the day, it wasn't like that, you know what I'm saying. And not only that, but back in the days when you had a rap battle, rap battling was fun, right, you know what I'm saying.

It's not fun today, you know? And why is it?

I mean, I mean, i mean put it this way, Okay, everybody loves a rap battle, now, you know what I'm saying. Because look, battling it makes you step your penmanship, right, you know what I'm saying. In the Whole Night, and back in the days when we did it, it was fun. It wasn't never about I'm going to kill you. Well on my I got a bullet with your name.

It was always about embarrassed yea, it was always yeah, yeah, It's always about sticking up for your neighborhood and making your neighborhood shine.

Right. You know what I'm saying. I wish it was more of that. I wish it. I wish you can go back to that.

How you feel about the whole Kendrick Lamar Drake uh situation that unfolded.

Hey, I apployed both of them because I'm a big fan of both of them, and I love them both equally, you know what I'm saying. And they both are trend setters. They both are trend setters, you know what I'm saying in the whole nine.

And and I.

Feel that their rap battle really brought some awareness to to rap music today, you know, and the youngsters can understand what the rat battle is all about.

You know what these boys did, they think man Kendrick did his thing Kendrick did his thing.

I'm not gonna say the same about Drake. I think Drake lost this one.

Yeah you think, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay, And here's my whole point.

Let's I loved it and I loved Drake. Drake is a big time talent, the whole bit.

And now I will say this. I'm gonna say this right front of you. You correct me if I'm wrong. I got on Drake. I didn't get on Drake because he you know, Kendrick got on not like us. What I got on him about is I know you were it was the record companies you were sewing. But what I was saying was in hip hop, Nah, you go to the studio and you want up that cat with your own record, or you bow down and concede.

He got you right, that's what you do.

And proposed to going to lawyers and trying to sue record companies to make sure the record don't get played, that was my issue and now you have a problem with that.

And that's why I wish that you know music, rap music can return back to what it used to be fun, right, because going through going through lawyers, getting lawyers, it's all of this and doing it. It's not fun, you know what I'm saying, It's just another animal.

I want to get into a serious subject before I let you get on out of here. Man, I appreciate your time. Man, thank you so much, No doubt you and Chuck d recently visited black families displaced by the Altadina Alta Dina eating wildfires in California and started something called the Displaced Black Families Go funded Me directory. Tell me about it?

Well, well, let's go fundme that we created, you know what I'm saying. We partnered it up with the Black Music Action Coalition, you know what I'm saying. And this is, you know, to give back to a lot of black families that wasn't really being taken care.

Of after the fires.

You know a lot of black families lost their stuff and they wasn't really getting it just doe. So we created that go fund me to help them out.

What was it like for you to go out there and visit those folks and see not only what they were what they were going through emotionally, but to see the wreckage, to see the actual damage.

That it was real sad man, to see what I saw. You know what I'm saying, and it reminded me of when Katrina hit New Orleans. You know what I'm saying, because for miles and miles and miles you have, it's deserted land. You know what I'm saying, deserted land out there? You got deserted land. Everything is burnt down. The only thing that's standing out of the ground is chimneys, but everything else is going.

Man.

You know, I felt bad for these people. Man, you know what I'm saying. I wouldn't wish that on no one, you know what I'm saying. But that's why we're in this l A strong shirt. I'm standing strong for LA.

While you got the Lakers there and not the Lakers in the click.

Hey hey, hey, can I tell you why? Go ahead? Oh man, it's Magic Johnson's come but he got it. You know what I'm saying.

Come on magic anywhere anyway, anyway, anyway, you're gonna go to some basketball games and in their future gonna go out there to watch the Lakers playing out that it got Luca Dungeon.

I sure do.

I mean, Lebron is my favorite basketball player. Favorite, he's my favorite you mean president of all time?

Right now?

Ok?

No, no, no, just right now, okay, who's my favorite of all time? Michael Jordan? You know that Michael Jordan's he ain't even brought it. We ain't even so Who's who's the goat? Doctor Julia Survey? Stop that? What do?

Stop that?

Are you KidSing? Flavoro? Check that out? Check your stoping man, check your out.

Michael Jordan's and a whole bunch of other people in basketball right now, got that man style.

That man brought the style to basketball. You know what I'm saying. So you you you.

Any of the originators, have plenty of originators, but that don't mean they can't be one up. That doesn't mean they can't be taken to another life. Now you was doctor j play, He wasn't Michael Jordan.

He's pheno. No, No, he made house calls. No, there's only one Michael Jordan. That's right, there's only one Michael Jordan, period. You know what I'm saying. And I ain't gonna go ahid. Yeah, he's the goat. He's the goat. He's the goat.

But the reason why I called doctor j the gold is because Michael Jordan got his style from doctor j.

Fine, I'm just saying. So I'm just saying, I'm just saying, I'm just I'm just saying.

The greatest is only gonna get their style from the greatest.

Well, you know, you could be the originator, but that don't make you the go because there were things that Michael Jordan did that doctor j couldn't do as.

Great as doctor Jambar, right right, he Hey, let me tell you something. When Michael Jordan took that style, he developed it into his okay, all right, and he put off a bunch more to it and he added on on to it.

So just understand that, I mean, you almost lost me, right, you almost lost men lose you, man, Okay.

I mean I can't even put doctor Ja over Lebron. Huh. I can't put doctor Jay over Lebron. No, I can't either. This is different, This is a different day in a different time.

But you gotta remember the Kobe Bryant, Lebron James.

All of them, all of them. Man, got that doctor Julius Irving style.

Doctor j got it from Connie Hawky, okay, and it was a David Tocter before ever after Connie Hawk I mean, you understand, did we call Donnie CONNYE.

Hawk is the greatest. Connie Hawkins was the man. Vince Carter the greatest ind game duncle of all time.

Do we call him to go no, because we understand this levels to this.

It's Michael Jordan and there's everybody else. I ain't mad at you. You understand. I'm not mad at you. Want to I believe in you. I'm not mad. That's what I'm talking about.

I had to reach I couldn't let you walk out of here play like that.

Hey, Yo, I'm gonna tell you something.

Man. You just don't know how proud of you that I am. You know what I'm saying. How you just made your own lane.

Bro. You made your own lane. Man. You came into this announcement game man.

You know what I'm saying, This personality that you got, Bro, listen, man, it takes over. It takes over, you know what I'm saying. And you built your own lane. Ain't no other sports announcer out there like Stephen A.

Smith, none, none.

I love you, Bro, I'm proud of you.

You know what I'm saying.

Just like me, I created a lane for yeah, yes, and there's never been another.

See.

I ain't saying somebody came along and it clipped.

Play for play. You understand that's never been enough. Never. I don't care who it.

Is, even though they did tell me Jay Z and them DMX bro that brother was GM man.

Yes, Yo, he was very hypened. That was my boy man.

You imagine seeing you and DMX together, Good Lord of Mercy, that would have been spectaculous.

Yeah, no doubt.

Flavor flavor, Ladies and gentlemen, the honor was all mine, stephen Ah Smith.

Ladies and gentleman, and the honor is all mine.

Thank you.

H