Courtesy of Spin.com
It was announced recently that Public Enemy Radio, the new name of the rap group of which Flavor Flav was a founding member, would be performing at a Los Angeles rally for Bernie Sanders on Sunday, March 1. The group, led by Chuck D, is certainly not the first musical act to perform at a political event for Sanders. Bands like Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend and The Strokes have all performed at his rallies and campaign events in the past, and celebrities like Cardi B and Ariana Grande have publicly pledged support to the Sanders campaign in an effort to encourage young voters to get involved in the political process.
Chuck D took to Twitter on Sunday to explain why he is supporting Sanders even though he “[hates] the party Bulsht.” He tweeted, “My Dad passing in 2016 and Granddaughter being born automatically put healthcare and childcare at the top of my brain. There ain’t a candidate running that can answer to 3 Black struggling generations living in the same crib, same time. If y’all don’t know THIS-it’s a bad problem,” and stated he “[digs] aspects of Bern.”
Flavor Flav, however, wasted no time in expressing his distress. Flav was not slated to perform with Public Enemy Radio, and for that reason, he believed that advertising as Public Enemy was “grossly irresponsible.” He accused the Sanders campaign of using Flav’s “unauthorized likeness, image and trademark clock” to promote the rally, specifically in the rally’s poster where Sanders is drawn in black and white under the words “Fight the Power,” a reference to the 1989 hit single by Public Enemy. Citing Public Enemy’s past, in which he claimed they had never endorsed someone politically, Flav believed the change would go against everything Public Enemy was created to stand for.
He believed strongly in this sentiment and in fact sent Sanders a cease and desist letter the Friday before the rally. The letter, co-written by his lawyer Matthew Friedman, asserted Flav “has not endorsed any political candidate in this election cycle … The continued publicizing of this grossly misleading narrative is … irresponsible … if not intentionally misleading.” The letter stated, “It will not be a performance by Public Enemy,” and “there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.” At the bottom, hand-signed by Flav, was a personal message to Sanders: “Don’t do this.”
Responding quickly, Chuck D told Rolling Stone, “[Flavor Flav] has a year to get his act together and get himself straight or he’s out.” A lawyer representing Chuck D also said, “From a legal standpoint, Chuck could perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to; he is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark. He originally drew the logo himself in the mid-80’s, is also the creative visionary and the group’s primary songwriter, having written Flavor’s most memorable lines.” Despite the cease and desist letter, the performance went on as scheduled. Chuck D later tweeted that if there was money involved, “Flav would’ve been there front and center.”
On Sunday, Public Enemy announced they are “moving forward” permanently without Flavor Flav, officially firing him after more than 35 years. In a brief statement they “[thanked] him for his years of service and [wished] him well.” Flav responded on Twitter, saying he was “very disappointed in [Chuck] and [his] decisions.” However, Public Enemy Radio released a statement revealing the choice to fire Flav was a long time in the making. Chuck D himself tweeted, “My last straw was long ago.” The statement read, “Public Enemy did not part ways with Flavor Flav over his political views. Flavor Flav has been on suspension since 2016 when he was MIA from the Harry Belafonte benefit in Atlanta, Georgia. That was the last straw for the group … It’s time to move on.”
In the tweeted words of Chuck D, it is not necessarily important that Flavor Flav is no longer the memorable hype man of Public Enemy nor Public Enemy Radio, because what is more important is that you “Use your minds & be ready to fight whoever in office … Wake the fcuk up get off your asses make yourself important where YOU live.”
