Back in the late `80s, a then unspoiled and unexploited rapper by the name of William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. broke into the limelight under the name
Flavor Flav as part of the seminal Public Enemy. The group reached iconic status following the release of their landmark second album,
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, in 1988.
Two decades later, arguably thanks in part to his quests for romance on his reality series,
Flavor of Love, Flavor Flav seems to be experiencing a resurgence in both credibility and marketability as a concert artist. He and Public Enemy partner, Chuck D, have found themselves fully booked to shock and awe a whole new generation of audiences.
Late last month, 21 years after their first performance venture there, Public Enemy returned to the U.K. for a string of shows as part of the
Don't Look Back series of concerts.
"Every time I come to London I'm always coming back home. This is my second home," Flavor Flav reportedly shouted to wild cheers during their show at Brixton Academy in London late last month.
And while Generation Y probably recognizes one half of Public Enemy's front men as the cartoonish, mascot-like bachelor searcher on three seasons of VH1's
Flavor of Love, his partner Chuck D has chosen to stand by his man and keep the faith. Chuck D spoke to Time Out Chicago earlier this month about his sentiments regarding Flavor Flav's antics on reality TV.
“I'm the voice of PE. Flavor's always been the face. He's always been the visual and I've been the audible. Flavor has never wavered from his role from day one. People who are surprised [by Flav's VH1 reality shows and sitcom] right now probably never really knew who we were in the first place. Even on
Yo! Bum Rush the Show, our first album, on the track “M.P.E.,” he's like, “When I get to the beach, the ground's so sandy / Girls on my jock like ants on candy.” Now, if I get caught in a bordello and sh*t, I can see people saying, “What the f**k you doin'?” That doesn't line up with my principles. But not Flavor.”
Thankfully for Public Enemy, Chuck D's faith in Flavor Flav doesn't seem misplaced. The crew has been globetrotting between the U.S. and U.K. legs of the
Don't Look Back shows and is scheduled to headline the Pitchfork Music Festival in Union Park, Chicago on July 18. Chuck D and
Flavor of Love's resident lothario also recently upstaged the likes of Kanye West at
Summer Jam June 1, delivering a wallop of a show with classics like "Don't Believe the Hype," "Shut Em Down" and "Fight the Power."
-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: New Statesman,
Time Out Chicago,
The Star-Ledger/NJ.com
(Image Courtesy of shot2bits.net/Drowned in Sound)