Flavor Flav: Rapper To Pop Culture Icon

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dumb Blonde Episode: Flavor Flav: Rapper To Pop Culture Icon
Release Date: May 12, 2025
Host: Bunny XO, Dumb Blonde Productions
Guest: Flavor Flav

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Introduction

In this electrifying episode of the Dumb Blonde podcast, host Bunny XO sits down with the legendary Flavor Flav, a member of the iconic hip-hop group Public Enemy. The conversation delves deep into Flavor Flav’s tumultuous upbringing, his journey through gangs and substance abuse, his pivotal role in music, and his transformation into a pop culture icon through reality television.

Early Life and Family Dynamics

Growing Up in Freeport, New York
Flavor Flav, born Rico Drayton, shares insights into his large family, consisting of five sisters and one brother. He reflects on the challenges and peer pressures of his childhood, highlighting a complex family structure marked by his parents having more children out of wedlock.

“Growing up, it was very, very peer pressureful, you know what I'm saying?” ([11:07]).

A Traumatic Childhood Event
At the tender age of five, Flav recounts a harrowing incident where he accidentally set his sister’s bedroom on fire while playing with a lighter under his mother’s bed.

“I was about five years old, right? I was under my mom's bed playing with the lighter... the room started burning up.” ([12:38]).

Involvement in Gangs

Joining Gangs at a Young Age
Flavor Flav discusses his early involvement in gangs during his pre-teen years, detailing the violent initiation rituals he endured to gain acceptance.

“I first got into gangs when I was around, I don't know, 12 and 13. That's young, you know what I'm saying?” ([20:20]).

Experiences and Regrets
He opens up about the crimes he committed, including robberies and burglaries, expressing deep regret over his past actions and their impact on others.

“I've witnessed a lot of shady people... I did a lot of up, though.” ([24:03]).

Substance Abuse and Recovery

Struggles with Addiction
Flavor Flav candidly discusses his battle with substance abuse, starting with smoking weed in his teenage years and progressing to cocaine and crack in his mid-twenties.

“I went down that dark road for 18 years, you know what I'm saying? I've been clean off of it now for close to... 22 years.” ([44:20]).

Path to Sobriety
He describes his arduous journey through multiple rehab programs, ultimately finding strength and support to maintain sobriety for over two decades.

“I thank God that I was strong enough to one day come out of it.” ([44:43]).

Musical Journey and Public Enemy

Musical Talents and Early Involvement
Flavor Flav reveals his extensive musical abilities, playing 14 instruments by ear. His passion for music led him to the band room in school, where he honed his skills and eventually met Chuck D.

“I was on my way up here to the studio, and this brother stopped me and asked me, yo, what's up with that brother, Chucky D?” ([58:15]).

Formation of Public Enemy
The conversation explores the formation of Public Enemy, highlighting the collaborative efforts between Flavor Flav and Chuck D. They discuss the origins of their unique names and the dynamic within the group.

“So Chuck D forced me down Def Jam's throat.” ([66:21]).

Reality TV and Becoming a Pop Culture Icon

Surreal Life and Relationships
Flavor Flav recounts his foray into reality television with shows like Surreal Life and Strange Love, where he formed significant relationships, notably with Bridget Nelson, leading to the creation of Flavor of Love.

“Surreal Life 3 ended up being number one on VH1.” ([85:15]).

Impact on Popular Culture
He discusses how reality TV elevated his status beyond music, making him a household name and leading to further opportunities in television.

“Public Enemy, we became large, we became big.” ([66:54]).

Interactions with Other Celebrities

Connections with Music Legends
Flavor Flav shares memorable encounters with artists like Jay Z, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift, emphasizing mutual respect and admiration.

“I love Beyonce... She’s the queen of all R&B.” ([111:28]).

Influence and Respect in Hip-Hop
He reflects on his legacy in hip-hop, acknowledging the respect he has garnered from both older and newer generations of artists.

“A lot of the younger hip hop artists, they only know me from television. They don't really know me from Public Enemy.” ([107:24]).

Future Projects and Legacy

Upcoming Television Ventures
Flavor Flav expresses his ambition to launch his own variety/talk show, inspired by classic hosts like Arsenio Hall, aiming to blend performances and interviews seamlessly.

“The Flavor Flav show is going to be a spoof up the Arsenio Hall.” ([116:19]).

Mentorship and Giving Back
He emphasizes his role as a mentor, using his platform to educate and inspire others about the dangers of substance abuse and the importance of perseverance.

“Being a mouthpiece to the world... teaching people about the mistakes that I made.” ([45:23]).

Notable Quotes

• On Overcoming Adversity:

  “But I never give up, and that's why I succeeded.” ([22:35]).

• On Substance Abuse:

  “Drugs are very easy to get on and they're hard as hell to get off of.” ([47:12]).

• On Legacy and Influence:

  “Public Enemy, we became large, we became big.” ([66:54]).

Conclusion

Flavor Flav’s candid and heartfelt discussion on the Dumb Blonde podcast offers listeners an unfiltered look into his life’s journey from a troubled youth to a revered figure in music and pop culture. His stories of resilience, redemption, and unwavering positivity serve as an inspiring testament to the power of self-belief and transformation.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Early Morale:

  “But when I wake up and I open my eyes, man, and I take that first breath and I thank him for that, that's a day for being happy.” ([03:36]).

• On Music as Salvation:

  “Music was always my thing, so I could listen to music that would make you puke up.” ([31:17]).

• On Determination:

  “Determination. And I didn't give up, and that's why I succeeded.” ([22:35]).

• On Reality TV Influence:

  “Surreal Life 3 ended up being number one on VH1.” ([85:15]).

• On Legacy in Hip-Hop:

  “Public Enemy, we became large, we became big. And also you guys are the most sampled voice in history of music.” ([66:56]).

These highlights encapsulate the essence of Flavor Flav’s story, offering both entertainment and valuable life lessons to listeners.

Transcript

[Bunny]

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[Flavor Flav]

So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you.

[Bunny]

To Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees, extra fee, full terms@mint mobile.com hey guys, I need to ask you a question. I want to know why in the hell are you not on Patreon? I don't think you guys even realize how much content we have on Patreon. Let me break it down for you. We have the Bunny XO show. We have Meet the D forts. We have Propaganda. We have more shows that we're adding. And not to mention we have the visuals of the podcast. Head over to www.patpatreon.com backslash Dumblonpodcast and sign up. Funny. Xo. Is this thing on? What's up, you sexy? Welcome to another episode of Dumb Blonde. Today we have a legend in the house, Mr. Flavor Flav.

[Flavor Flav]

What's up, Bunny?

[Bunny]

How are you, baby? I'm so happy you're here.

[Flavor Flav]

Hey, like a coat in the closet. Just hanging in there, baby, you know what I'm saying? World up. Taking it one day at a time, love. One day at a time. How you doing?

[Bunny]

I love it. I'm doing good. You want to know something that I absolutely adore about you, is you. Every time I see you, Flav, you are in such a good mood. Like, what is the secret sauce to always being in a good mood? Because they can't be like there. You got to have some down days, right? Or are you just always happy?

[Flavor Flav]

I do. I. I do have down days at times, you know what I'm saying? But when I wake up and open my eyes and I thank God for letting me wake up, you know, cuz there's a lot of people that went to sleep last night and didn't wake up like we did.

[Bunny]

Amen.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? But when I wake up and I open my eyes, man, and I take that first breath and I thank him for that, that's a day for being happy. That's a reason for being happy, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine and one thing about me, Bunny, you know, if you realize I love people, I love people, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And my thing is this. If you love people, people love you back. And the reason why I feel that I get so much love from people, Bunny, is because I gave it first.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

And whatever you give off, that's what you're going to give back, you know what I'm saying? I mean, I'm only human, you know what I'm saying? And there are times, Bunny, when I do have dark days, you know what I'm saying? I think I thank God for the power of me being able to make people happy even when I'm not.

[Bunny]

Oh, that's powerful, you know, And.

[Flavor Flav]

And he gave me the power to make people smile even when I'm not smiling, you know what I'm saying? Because like I said, everybody has their days, you know what I'm saying? Every day ain't gonna always be the best Day in the world, you know what I'm saying? But there's times, Bunny, when I come out and it's like, you know, I'm having a real dark day inside. I don't want to be bothered by nobody. I don't want to take no pictures, nothing, and everything, you know what I'm saying? And the people that come up to me to meet me, they don't know how I'm feeling inside, you know what I'm saying? They're excited to see me, you know what I'm saying? Excited to get next to me, excited to be able to touch me.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

In the whole nine, you know what I'm saying? And there. And. And there are some people that's been having real dark, you know, dark days inside. They come up to me and say, flav, I was having a real up day today, and seeing you right now just changed it and snapped me out of it, you know what I'm saying? And I'm like, wow, that's big hearing that, you know, even though I'm feeling the same way.

[Bunny]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Flavor Flav]

But they don't know that. And see, the main thing you got to do as a celebrity, Bunny, no matter how you're feeling, when those people come up to you to get that handshake or that picture or that autograph or whatever, you got to take your feelings, set it to the side for one second, give that fan what they want.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

And then after you give them what they want, go back to feeling fucked up.

[Bunny]

I always say that. I think that you and my husband get along so well because you guys are both kind of like the same human you. He always emits love and happiness everywhere he goes. Even when he's having a bad day, he literally will chalk it up and put on a smiley face and just make sure that everybody around him feels loved. And I feel like you're the same type of human.

[Flavor Flav]

Well, I just want to say, you know, when it comes down to me and your husband, we have ways alike that don't mean we're like each other.

[Bunny]

Right?

[Flavor Flav]

But we have ways alike.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Kindred souls.

[Flavor Flav]

And. And. Yeah, and one thing. One thing about us, you know what I'm saying? Like I said, like me, I love people, Jelly Roll. He loves people, man. You know what I'm saying? He's a gracious, kind soul, man, and that's what I am, too, you know what I'm saying? Birds of a feather will flock together, you know what I'm saying? In the whole Nine. So, I mean, I thank God for even letting me be able to meet him, you know, to re. Meet him. Did you know that I met your husband way back in the day when he was about maybe 15 or 16?

[Bunny]

No. Tell me about this. What? I didn't know. He never told me.

[Flavor Flav]

Are you serious?

[Bunny]

I swear. Tell me the story.

[Flavor Flav]

Can we take a small little breakfast? I need to show you something.

[Bunny]

Sure.

[Flavor Flav]

Right now? Immediately. Yes, yes, yes. While we're on this conversation right here.

[Bunny]

Okay.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? Now check this out. This picture that I'm about to show you. Bunny.

[Bunny]

Can we put it up on the screen? Is it you and J?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

Is it a picture of you and J?

[Flavor Flav]

Watch. Watch what I show you. Watch this. Watch this.

[Bunny]

We're gonna put it up on the screen right here.

[Flavor Flav]

I kind of like remember taking this picture, you know what I'm saying? I'm gonna come over and show it to you. Can I.

[Bunny]

We're gonna put it up on the screen right here.

[Flavor Flav]

Okay? But I want you to pull up, put up that part right there.

[Bunny]

Got you.

[Flavor Flav]

You see that and that right there?

[Bunny]

I can't wait to see this. I can't believe he never told me this. What the hell, Daddy? That is rude.

[Flavor Flav]

And you know what? I forgot how I found it. But the main thing, I don't care how I found it. The main thing is I found it and I got it. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Oh my God. Okay, so it's. It's daddy, Little White.

[Flavor Flav]

That's him right next to me. You see it says jelly roll. 615 official. Come on now.

[Bunny]

Look at.

[Flavor Flav]

Come on now.

[Bunny]

Look at your.

[Flavor Flav]

Look at your husband. Look at your fly ass husband right there.

[Bunny]

Come on now, Bunny, baby face, you.

[Flavor Flav]

Can'T front on the man.

[Bunny]

Shout out, Little White. We love you. That's. I love little White. Thank you, Patrick.

[Flavor Flav]

I'm tell you something, man. I am so proud of this man.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Because he came a very, very long way.

[Bunny]

No, it's very long ride, you know what I'm saying?

[Flavor Flav]

And when I met him, he was just trying to get out there. Yeah, he was just trying to get out there at the time, you know.

[Bunny]

That'S like 10 minute freestyle jelly. That's like 10 minute freestyle jelly. Like from back in the day day when he first started.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah.

[Bunny]

It's crazy that you ran into my husband when he was younger because I ra to you in Vegas all the time. And I don't think you even remember. I used to see you at the bootlegger all the time.

[Flavor Flav]

And, you know, that's my spot all the time.

[Bunny]

I would always go up to you, be like, hey, Flav. And you were always so nice. You're just like, hey, how are you? And just, you know, living in your own little world.

[Flavor Flav]

No doubt. And I've been. I've been going to the bootlegging now for about, I don't know, maybe 16 years. Yeah, that's why. That's where I hold a lot of my meetings. I do all. A lot of my interviews, you know what I'm saying? And not only that, but I became damn near part of the bootlegger family.

[Bunny]

Yeah, well, it's.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? They got a recording studio there, too, as well. You know, my boy Ron, he has the studio there, you know what I'm saying, in the whole nine. And I go and record some records there, too, as well.

[Bunny]

Yeah, I love it. You're always everywhere, and every time I see you have a smile on your face.

[Flavor Flav]

I am everywhere, man. I am everywhere.

[Bunny]

I love it. So I did a ton of research on you last night, and there is so much story behind Flavor Flav. Like, there is so much. So I want to take my listeners on this wild journey that you call life, and I want to start it where you grew up, in New York in a town called Freeport, Correct?

[Flavor Flav]

Right.

[Bunny]

Take me on your childhood, because I've heard some crazy stuff from your childhood. So, like, how was your relationship with your family? How many brothers and sisters did you have?

[Flavor Flav]

Well, I have. I have five sisters and one brother.

[Bunny]

Oh, okay.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? You know. You know, my mom, you know, and my dad, when they were married, you know, they only had three, you feel me? You know, my oldest sister, Gail, my. Then my sister Pam, and then in between, between me, my other sister, Renee, she came through, you know what I'm saying, out of wedlock, you feel me? Then I came. Then after I came, then my brother Stephen came, you know what I'm saying? Out of wedlock, you know what I'm saying? And then the other sisters that I have, Phylicia, Tanisha, everybody else was born out of wedlock, but my mom only had three kids and everything, you know what I'm saying? You know, and growing up. Growing up Bunny, it was. It was very, very peer pressureful, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine.

[Bunny]

I heard that you burned your sister's bedroom, set it on fire at 5 years old.

[Flavor Flav]

Wow. Are you serious? That. Oh, my God.

[Bunny]

Can we talk about that?

[Flavor Flav]

Listen. Oh, my God. I was. I don't know. I must have been about five years old.

[Bunny]

What are you playing with fire five years old for?

[Flavor Flav]

I was about five years old, right?

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

I was under my mom's bed playing with the lighter and, and, and. And the material that was under the bed caught fire.

[Bunny]

Oh, no.

[Flavor Flav]

I got scared and I ran out the room and I closed the door. I'll never forget this bunny. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. It was crazy.

[Bunny]

I couldn't imagine being five years old and setting something up.

[Flavor Flav]

The house started burning up. Started and everything.

[Bunny]

Did you tell anybody what was going on?

[Flavor Flav]

I didn't tell nobody. I was scared. I was scared. I was five.

[Bunny]

Was anybody home?

[Flavor Flav]

And my. I think my mom was home around the time and everything, you know. But next thing you know, the room started burning up and everything, man. The fire company came. They put the fire out and everything. My sister came home. She seen all the burnt paint chips on the wall.

[Bunny]

Oh, so it burned her entire room and everything?

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, man.

[Bunny]

You know, but did it only burn her room or was it.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, just her room.

[Bunny]

Oh, wow.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, just. Just her room.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

Just her room. You know what I'm saying? You know, because both of my sisters were staying in that room at the time, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. I. I stayed in the room with my mom and my dad sleeping in the crib.

[Bunny]

Oh, so you were still so Young, like at 5, you were still sleeping with. In your parents room, huh? At 5?

[Flavor Flav]

No, I was still sleeping in my parents room around 4 and 5. You know, couldn't. It was hard to separate.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

From my mom's, you know what I'm saying? But eventually she ended up separating me, though.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. When I started. When I started going to school, you know, elementary school and everything. Yeah, that's when she separated me, man. And I was on my own.

[Bunny]

Oh.

[Flavor Flav]

My own bed, the whole nine and everything.

[Bunny]

Were you very attached to your mom?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

Were you very attached?

[Flavor Flav]

Yes, I sure was. I was. I sure was very attached to my mom, man. You know, my mom, I mean, you know, I. I was. I was the baby of the family.

[Bunny]

Okay?

[Flavor Flav]

So I was. I kind of, you know, got. Got everything.

[Bunny]

Yeah, I was a little spoiled. Ah, what about dad? Were you close with dad?

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, I was close with dad too. You know what I'm saying? My pops, man, he. He was a street guy. He was a street guy. He was a hustler. He was a gangster. Oh, you know what I'M saying. And he was the man of. Of the town, you know, Everybody knew my dad. Not only that, but back in the days, too. They used to, you know, write the numbers. He was a bookie, you know what I'm saying? And he used to be the king of the books. He used to be the king of gambling. He used to be the king of the corner. He used to be the. He was the man. My dad was the man, you know what I'm saying? He's. He spent a lot of, you know, a lot of my days of my life locked up, too, you know what I'm saying? In and out of jail. In and out of jail. But way back in the 60s, Bunny, that was the thing, right? You know what I'm saying? Because around that, you know, that time was so different, you know, And I'm talking about way back, I can remember. I could remember sitting, watching President Kennedy's funeral on TV after he got shot.

[Bunny]

What a wild memory, I'm saying.

[Flavor Flav]

I remember in 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King got shot.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

And when Dr. Martin Luther King got shot, everything started going haywire. Everything went. Was crazy. That everything was crazy. Racial. Oh. Oh, my God. It was.

[Bunny]

Oh, I could imagine that.

[Flavor Flav]

And that's back in the days when. When we used to call the police pigs.

[Bunny]

Right? I mean, we still do, I think.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, they were the pigs. They were the pigs.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Back in the day, in the whole nine.

[Bunny]

How wild is that, that you have a memory of JFK and Martin Luther King's assassinations and then you're all the way here in 2025. Like, is it insane? Like, is it like a time warp for you?

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, a big. A very big time warp, you know what I'm saying? I really thank God for blessing me to be able to come this far, because there's a lot of my friends, Bunny, that I grew up with and went to school with. They're not here to talk about it today.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? But I wanted to. I'm one of the blessed ones. To be able to sit here in front of your microphone.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

And kick it with the great Bunny, man.

[Bunny]

I'm just happy you're here, baby.

[Flavor Flav]

But the relationship between my brothers and my sisters, we. We've always had a good relationship, you know what I'm saying? You know, coming up, you know what I'm saying? I used to, back in the days, the soda bottles, like 7Up, the Coca Cola and all of that stuff, we used to take the bottles to the store we get 2 cents for the yes and stuff. You know what I'm saying? It used to see me walking through the town with a whole big ass shopping cart full of bottles. It's taking it to the store and everything and couldn't, couldn't wait to cash it in so I can get these big cookies with the pink icing on it, the yellow cookies with the icing on it. Now and laters. Lifesavers.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Different color sodas, the fruit punch, the pineapples and the grapes and, and all of that.

[Bunny]

Isn't it crazy how. Because I'm an 80s baby, so. Isn't it crazy how when you look back at us kids like in that, that 20 year span, we were hustlers since birth. Like I was cr. We had a can crusher. I did the can crushing with the aluminum cans, the soda pop cans. And I would go and sell them too.

[Flavor Flav]

Cans used to cost, used to get money for cans too.

[Bunny]

That's what I used to do. That was like one of my first hustles as a kid at home. So to hear you say that you were selling the bottles is like. It's just crazy how kids nowadays could never. They don't even like, if it's not a video game, they don't know what's going on right now.

[Flavor Flav]

Kids nowadays, they don't know what it's, you know what it's like to hustle or. Or to even really go out and look for a job and work.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? Because today's generation is a lot different from the generation Bunny that I grew up in. Or a lot of. Or a lot different from the generation that you grew up in. And I know my generation is between your generation or there's a gap there.

[Bunny]

Yeah, but. But it's still the same principles though. I feel like I still, like, we still grew up as hustlers and we still had those old school, like old fashioned morals, I guess you could say, and like things that were instilled in us. Lipo used to be such a bad word. But we're all supposed to act like we love every part of our bodies. It's bullshit. You've put in the hours, the sweat, the discipline, and yet your body's acting like it's on vacation. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Getting your body back is so hard. I get it. That's why I want you guys to check out Sono Bello. Our friends at Sono Bello are offering you their best deal. You're now Included in their spring savings event. But appointments are limited. So please get on this Sono Bella doctors are masters in micro laser fat removal, A brilliant technique that removes stubborn fat permanently wherever your areas. Tummy, love handles, thighs, arms. It's gone. And in one comfortable visit, eating healthy and workouts are great. Keep doing that. But if you want to lose that stubborn fat in one visit, check out Sono Bello Save Big during their spring saving event. Schedule your free consultation [e-mail] blonde that's sono bello.com blonde so you talk about how your dad was a gangster. Do you think that that influenced you into joining a gang?

[Flavor Flav]

How old were you that that influenced me into gangs was my friends.

[Bunny]

Okay. How old were you when you first joined?

[Flavor Flav]

I first got into gangs when I was around, I don't know, 12 and 13. That's young, you know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Did you get jumped in?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

Did you get jumped in?

[Flavor Flav]

Did I get jumped?

[Bunny]

Yeah, like jumped in. Because you know how you used to.

[Flavor Flav]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I had to go through the mill.

[Bunny]

Ah.

[Flavor Flav]

I had to go through the middle to get in my gang. And on each side. On each side, you had 10 people.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

They had bats, chains, everything, you know what I'm saying? And. And in order to get into the gang, you had to make it all the way down to the end, and you were getting bats. They had pipes, they had bats, broomsticks, everything. All kinds of stuff, you know what I'm saying, that could break your bones.

[Bunny]

Oh, my God.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? And it took me maybe three tries. The first try, I didn't even make it halfway through the second try, I made it kind of halfway through. But then the third try, I said, you know what? I'm gonna do this. And you know what? I made it on my third. On my third try, and then I ended up getting in.

[Bunny]

How do you mentally prepare to get hit in the head or body with a steel pipe? I could never.

[Flavor Flav]

Hey, listen, check this out. When you're a kid and you want to be the man like all the rest of the kids, you're not thinking about that. The only thing you're thinking about is becoming. Becoming the talk of the town, you know what I'm saying? You want to become the man. You want to be the man just like everybody else is being talked about, you know what I'm saying? That's the only thing that be on your mind. You don't think about getting hit in the head with the pipe. I mean, well, you do get. Think about it, you know, I'm saying when I went through. Yeah, that's right. I ran through and I covered up everything, you know what I'm saying? But I made it through, though. But yeah, I got my limbs busted a lot of times though, before I got into the gang.

[Bunny]

Yeah, that's determination to go through that.

[Flavor Flav]

Determination.

[Bunny]

That's insane to me.

[Flavor Flav]

And I didn't give up, and that's why. That's why I succeeded, because I didn't give up. When you give up, you're guaranteed to fail. But if you keep trying and keep trying and keep trying, then you're guaranteed to succeed out of anything you in this world that you want to do. You know, anything that you want to do, you can do it if you keep trying at it.

[Bunny]

That's so real. Yes. That's actually a gym that everybody should take through life because it's like once you get knocked down, just get right the back up.

[Flavor Flav]

And that's why I wrote a record called K I Am. Keep it moving. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, Kim? Keep it moving. You got to keep it moving and you just don't stop. If you stop moving, then shit don't pop. The only way to get it is to go out and get it. And if you don't get it, then you just wasn't with it.

[Bunny]

No, I love that though. It's so real to take me on this journey of you getting jumped into this gang. Like, did you start slanging drugs and like, what was the gang life like? Because.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, well, you know, we did all of that stuff. We sold drugs. We, we, we, we, we drank a lot, you know what I'm saying? Smoked a lot of weed.

[Bunny]

Because you started getting in trouble for robberies, correct? You started getting into some trouble with robberies and stuff like that.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, that too. Robberies, burglaries.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

No, I did it all. Yeah, I did. I did a lot of that. Not trying to sit here to glorify it.

[Bunny]

No, not at all.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? I'm just letting you know the things that I did, you know, and, and, and, and, and a lot of the stuff that I did, Bunny, back in the day, I really do regret, you know what I'm saying? Because, because whatever you do to someone in life later on in life, it comes back to you and it don't have to come back to you through them.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And you know, just by me, you know, being with My peers and my gangs, you know, gang brothers and all of that. Yes, we did kind of hurt a lot of people, you know what I'm saying? In the whole night, there were times when we were. When we would get into gang fights, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And. And, you know, we would be busting our guns, you know what I'm saying, at the other side, you know what I'm saying? I don't know if my bullets killed anybody or whatever. All I know is I was just shooting. I was just shooting at the other side, you know what I'm saying? Whatever my bullets hit, that's what it hit.

[Bunny]

But I think it's amazing for kids who are in gangs right now to hear this message from you, because knowing that, like, hey, if Flave could have gotten, you know, jumped into a gang, done did what he did and became who he is, I can too. So I think it's really important for them to hear, you know, like, hey, I. I did a lot of up. Shit, and I regret it.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah.

[Bunny]

But I'm here to tell my testimony honestly.

[Flavor Flav]

To tell you the truth, Bunny. Yeah, I mean, you know, I. I've done a lot of up. I've witnessed. I didn't really do a lot of up. I did some up, though, but not, you know, to. Not to the fullest extent, but I've witnessed a lot of up, though.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Cool. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

And what's something in your childhood that you've never. That's affected you, that you've never spoken about publicly? Is there anything that you could tell us?

[Flavor Flav]

There was one time. There was one time when we got this reservoir right out in Freeport, Long Island. And also right next to Freeport is Merrick, Long Island. So we got. The Barrack has a reservoir. Freeport has a reservoir. So we will be in. My cousin, me and my couple of my cousins and some friends, we were swimming over at the Merrick Reservoir. I was around, I don't know, maybe seven or eight years old. I didn't really know how. I didn't know how to swim, you know what I'm saying? And. And the water was like, I don't know, maybe about 24ft deep, right?

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

So my cousin, My cousin Charles, I'm gonna tell the whole world. Yeah, it was you, cuz.

[Bunny]

Charles is gonna be like, why are you throwing me under the bus?

[Flavor Flav]

He said, hey, cuz, yo, help me out the water. So he reached his hand up and I pulled. I went for his hand. To help him, but he pulled me in, and when he pulled me in, we both went down to the bottom, man. He almost drowned me, man. When I went down. When I. When I went down below that water, like a lot of, you know, friends that I had that passed away, that drowned and in the. In the docks and everything, I started seeing their faces and I started hearing all of these voices. And then I came back up to some air, you know what I'm saying? Went back down again because I couldn't swim. So I was really. Yeah, so I was damn near drowning my cousin. So everybody else had to come in and help save us, you know what I'm saying? So I thank God that he let me live through that. If he didn't let me live through that, I would not be on this couch talking to you today, buddy.

[Bunny]

Are you still scared of water now because of that, man?

[Flavor Flav]

Come on, man. Come on, man. I'm. I'm the brand new Jacques Cousteau around here. What you talking about? You know what I'm saying? Word up, man. I love water. I love water. I love all. You know, I love deep sea fishing.

[Bunny]

You didn't let that. You didn't let that hinder you through life because some people have a really real fear of drowning, and to go through something like that is traumatic.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, that one kind of took me for. Yeah, that kind of took me for a loop bunny, you know what I'm saying? And not only that, but we never told my moms and my pops and nobody.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Yeah, nobody wanted that ass whooping.

[Flavor Flav]

So now. So now, for the first time ever, the world gets to hear it because I'm telling this story on your podcast.

[Bunny]

I love that.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? But I'm. I mean, I'm. I'm proud to be sitting here, you know, on your podcast. I came a very, very long way, and I'm blessed.

[Bunny]

Yes, you are.

[Flavor Flav]

I just want everybody to know how blessed I am. That's why I'm telling you these stories. I'm not trying to tell you anything to glorify, you know what I'm saying, all of the negativity. I'm just proud that I've been blessed to get through all the negativity and now to be able to bring all of this positivity.

[Bunny]

Absolutely. Let's talk about something else that's positive in your life that I learned about you. You play 14 instruments that you have learned by ear.

[Flavor Flav]

Yes. I used to cut my classes in school. And I used to hang out in the band room. And I'm gonna tell you like this, Bunny, you know, I. I could never really read music. You know what I'm saying? So when I was, like, in seventh grade playing a trombone, you know, which was my main instrument in seventh grade, I started in. In sixth grade, I started on drums. I started playing the drums in sixth grade, seventh grade, I started playing the trombone. And I used to. To cut my classes, and I used to hang out in the band room and. And I used to. And. And I used to be at all of the band practices. Everything that the trombone players were playing off of the music sheet, I was playing by heart. And I was hitting every single note correct.

[Bunny]

That's a talent. People don't realize how much of a talent. Because I used to play piano, I can't play by ear. I have to read music. So to. I'm so jealous of people who can hear something and play it like that's a real time.

[Flavor Flav]

Let me tell you something, Bunny. I got. So. While I was in there cutting my classes, I was experimenting with all of the other instruments. The cellos, the violins.

[Bunny]

I would pay to see flavor.

[Flavor Flav]

Flavor the clarinets. I was experimenting with all of that stuff. But I got so good with my instruments, Bunny, without playing music, you know what. And they found out. Yeah, I was cutting classes. The music teacher was like, man, let him cut.

[Bunny]

Because, I mean, you're doing something constructive.

[Flavor Flav]

You know, so good. The music teacher was like, man, let the boy cut. Let him cut.

[Bunny]

I love that, though. When did you realize that music was going to be kind of your savior? Because it seems like that was the one thing in your life that you kind of leaned into because it was therapeutic for you.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, well, you know, when I. Coming up from. From a child, you know what I'm saying? I grew up, you know, off of, you know, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops, Temptations, you know what I'm saying? You know, the old R B, you know, R B stuff, you know. But then I grew up listening to jazz. Miles Davis, Stanley Tarantino, Shirley Scott, Queen of the Organ, Miles Davis, you know, and, you know, and then coming up, too, also, you know, Jimi Hendrix was the man back in. Back in my day, you know what I'm saying? Rare Earth, back in the days, you know what I'm saying, was. Was my good band. I used to listen to the Mamas and the Papas, which was country.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. Then I got into listening to Fusion. And I got into chick career, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And also my boy Buddy Miles, who had a. Had a group called Band of the Gypsies, you know? And before Buddy passed away, we. We became good friends, you know what I'm saying? And we did some projects together too, as well. And along with Bootsy Collins.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? And Funkadelic Parliament, you know, this is the era that I came up in and grew up in.

[Bunny]

So music was always in your soul.

[Flavor Flav]

Music was always my thing, so. So I could listen to music that would make you puke up. I sit back and listen to some opera music.

[Bunny]

I love opera.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, I do. I love it.

[Bunny]

It, like, gives you chills all over your body.

[Flavor Flav]

And some classical music and the music that I used to listen to, man, you swear to God, riding in my car, you thought you was inside the dentist's office.

[Bunny]

Or like you're on. On hold with a bill.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, for real.

[Bunny]

So another fun fact that I found out about you was you did drop out of school in 11th grade, correct?

[Flavor Flav]

10Th grade.

[Bunny]

10Th grade. Okay. But you went to culinary school before you decided to go to college. You're like a refined gentleman.

[Flavor Flav]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Bunny]

I love that. So tell me about your love for culinary and cooking and stuff.

[Flavor Flav]

Well, I. While I was in high school, they had a program called. Called. Called boces, you know what I'm saying? And through this program, I was able to go to culinary school. And when I went to culinary school, Bunny, I took up a thing called institutional cooking. What institutional cooking is, it's like, you know, you make pans of rice pilaf, fettuccine Alfredo, crepe suzettes or whatever for 400 people at one time.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? So I got my. I got my certificate in that. And then after I got out of school, then I started running restaurants. I started cooking at high schools. I used to cook at a place called Turtle. Turtle Hook High School in Uniondale, Long Island. I was like the head chef in that school for a while, you know what I'm saying? And then I just went on, you know, my mom and my dad ended up up buying a diner, and we used to call it Soul Diner in Freeport, Long island. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, I used to, you know, watch my. My moms and my sisters and them cook and everything. So that's how I was able to this day to come up with my own special seasonings of FFC with FFC is. Is Flaves fried chicken, Bunny. I fried the best fried chicken in the world.

[Bunny]

Oh, I'm gonna need some of this.

[Flavor Flav]

Was to take a bite of my chicken. Your taste buds are going to explode. They're going to go crazy. You going be like, yo, Flav, Yeah.

[Bunny]

Have you got to have some of his fried chicken? Is it amazing? Oh my God, I'm jealous. I need some. Well, we're going to have to have a cook off or something. It'll be fun.

[Flavor Flav]

We, we, we'll get back. We, we'll get back into that. You know what I'm saying? But, but yeah, I did drop out though, you know, in, in the 10th grade. So just to let you know, bringing you up to date right now I'm getting ready to do a new reality TV show and it's called Old Schooled with Flavor Flav.

[Bunny]

Yay.

[Flavor Flav]

Flavor Flav is going back to high school to get his diploma.

[Bunny]

Let's go.

[Flavor Flav]

I'm going back to get my diploma, Bunny, and I'm putting it on tv. And the reason why I'm doing this is because I want to show a lot of people my age that it's never too late to go back to get your diploma ever. But also it's a message to the kids that are in school right now. Get that piece of paper right now while you got the chance because you're going to have a hard time going through life without it just like I did.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? You might not make it back. Like me to get it.

[Bunny]

Yeah. That's so real. And I can't wait to see this. When do you think it'll be dropping? Probably next year sometimes.

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

When do you think it will be dropping? Probably next year sometime.

[Flavor Flav]

We're going to start shooting probably in May.

[Bunny]

Okay. I'm excited for that. I can't wait.

[Flavor Flav]

It's going down for real. That's what my boy, you know, flow riders say. I love going down for real.

[Bunny]

So let's talk about your cousins. You have cousins that are also famous too, which would be Old Dirty Bastard, Giza and RZA from Wu Tang Clan.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bunny]

When I. That was a new fact that I just learned because I loved odb. I was like a huge ODB fan growing up. Loved him.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah.

[Bunny]

How, how was your relationship with Old Dirty Bastard?

[Flavor Flav]

Well, Old Dirty Bastard, man, we was, you know, we was, we, we was cool. You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. Yes, that's right. And Wu Tang Clan. Yes. I Have three blood family members, odb, RZA and Jizza. And, you know, matter of fact, I was with odb. I was with odb. I think it was, I don't know, maybe two nights before he passed away, because we both had a gig up in Anchorage, you know what I'm saying? In the whole night, it's the last time I seen him, man, you know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

How did his death affect you?

[Flavor Flav]

Man? It. It took. Took me for a ride. It really took me for a ride, you know what I'm saying? When I was locked up in Rikers island, you know what I'm saying? When I was locked up in Rikers, you know, me being a celeb around that time, you know, I was Public Enemy and everything, ODB was still locked up at Rikers, too. And there was a time when this. When the CEOs, the correctional officers took me over to the four building. I was in the sixth building. They took me over to the four building where he was at, and they let me visit him, you know what I'm saying? So they let us get a jail visiting, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine, you know, I call ODB the fourth Flavor Flav of the music business, you know what I'm saying? The first Flavor Flav. I. I mean, well, I'm the first Flavor Flavors Flav.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

All right. Yes, I originated the Hype man, you know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

The second flavor flavor of the business was a guy named Bushwick Bill from a group called the Ghetto Boys.

[Bunny]

I love Bush. Him and I used to be friends, Bunny.

[Flavor Flav]

Everything Bill did was flayed. Yeah, all the way. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

What you gonna do when the world's on fire? Imma let us flip and keep Halloween.

[Flavor Flav]

Fell on the weekend Me and Ghetto Boys Are Choice got treated.

[Bunny]

Yeah, Come on now.

[Flavor Flav]

I'm saying Bill. So he's the second Flav, the third Flav of the music business, Bust the Rhymes from a group called Leaders of the New School. Love Buster, you know what I'm saying? Because that. Because. Because Buster. Buster really got large after he left Leaders of the New School. But. But my partner, Hank Shockley, Chuck D, Keith Shockley, myself, we put together the Leaders of the New School. Not only that, but also Busta Rhymes got his name really from Chuck, you know what I'm saying? Because they'll. Back in the days, there was a football player named Busta Rhymes, and we were trying to figure out names for everybody in the group. And back in the days, we used to say, yo, yo, bust the move. Yo, bust this, G. Hey, yo, bust that. You know what I'm saying? So Chuck started calling Buster Bust the Rhymes.

[Bunny]

Oh, I know.

[Flavor Flav]

That's where. That's where Buster got his name from. You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. I was taking you on the journey. I got lost just now.

[Bunny]

You're fine. You were telling me all the. The other flavor flavors.

[Flavor Flav]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. So. So meanwhile, back on your ranch. Okay. Cause that's where we at. We on the ranch right now I see where I. I seen all the land as soon as we drove up to the house.

[Bunny]

I love it.

[Flavor Flav]

Okay. I might end up being one of the cows on your ranch.

[Bunny]

Crunch. We need to get a video with Crunchy and Flavor Flav.

[Flavor Flav]

No doubt. So anyway, so Busta Rhymes is the third Flavor Flav the music business. The fourth flavor flavor of the music business was my cousin, ODB because he was more like the hype man for Wu Tang.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? And then the fifth Flavor Flav of the music business is my boy, Spliff Star from Flip Mode from Busta Rhymes group Flip Mode Squad. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

So I have a question. Okay. So if you consider ODB a hype man and yourself a hype man, wouldn't you guys consider yourselves rappers also, though?

[Flavor Flav]

Yes, we are, because. Oh, baby, we are rappers, too. We are. We. We are rappers that hype up the crowd.

[Bunny]

Okay, gotcha. So that's what I'm saying.

[Flavor Flav]

So we got two jobs in one. Our job is rapping and hyping up the crowd.

[Bunny]

Okay, gotcha. All right. I just wanted that clarification because I feel like you guys are so much more than hype men, you know? Yeah, I feel like you guys are, like, real, like, lyricists. So to hear you just kind of say, oh, you know, we're hype men. No, I think you guys are, like, legends. So thank you, Bunny. Yeah, absolutely. So definitely was affected by the ODB whenever he passed away. And then, you know, I know the ODB passed away from his drug use. You've been very vocal about your drug use. Can we dive into that era of your life? When did you start using drugs?

[Flavor Flav]

I don't know. I must have been about. Maybe I've been smoking. I've been smoking weed. I started smoking weed around, I don't know, 9, 10.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

But I didn't. I didn't start experimenting with drugs and probably told About, I don't know, maybe 16 or 17, you know what I'm saying? And I just want to say. I just want to say that I feel that's one of the worst mistakes that I ever could have made in my life, experimenting with them, you know what I'm saying? You know, I never. I never was really a person that was into all of the drugs, you know what I'm saying? You know, my main thing was cocaine and crack, weed, you know what I'm saying? But I never did the, you know, the dope, you know, heron right. I never was. Wanted to do the lean thing, you know what I'm saying? That. That codeine and barbiturates and. Way back in the day, in seventh grade, we used to take Quaaludes.

[Bunny]

Yeah, that's like a 70s thing.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bunny]

They don't even make those anymore.

[Flavor Flav]

I had to bring up the old quail, man. Come on.

[Bunny]

I don't think anybody even knows what a quote is in this generation.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, man. You know what I'm saying? The qu.

[Bunny]

It's like the Matrix pill.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. Come on, man. That was. That was a high school drug back in the day. But I didn't start messing with the coke and the crack and stuff. I was about 16.

[Bunny]

When was the first time you did smoke crack?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

When was the first time you did smoke crack?

[Flavor Flav]

When I did the first time. Oh, man. I think I. First time I smoked it, I must have been about, honestly, maybe 25.

[Bunny]

Okay, so it was when you were older.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah. The first time I smoked, I was about 25 or 26, right before I started getting into Public Enemy.

[Bunny]

Who influenced that on you? Was it just people around?

[Flavor Flav]

One of my homies from. From that I grew up with, that I was real close with. And also, you know, he. Like I said, peer pressure was the thing around my town.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And I feel bunny, that that's one of the worst mistakes that I could have ever made, because I went down that. I. I went down that dark road for 18 years, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. I've been. I've been clean off of it now for close to. I don't know, maybe 22 years.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

From. From cocaine and crack and all of that stuff. It's been like 22 years now since I've touched it, you know what I'm saying? But I walked down that. I walked down that. I've been down that road for 18 long years, you know what? I'm saying, and I just want to say that I thank God that I was strong enough to one day come out of it. So now today I can teach about it. I can teach people about the mistakes that I made then, and hopefully they won't make them.

[Bunny]

You know, I truly feel that God puts us through things ourselves so that we can actually really reach people. Because if you've never experienced these situations, had you never smoked crack, had I never popped Xanax, had I never been addicted to drugs myself, people wouldn't listen to us. They'd be like, who? You've never done drugs? Why are you telling me not to do drugs? But because they hear you say, yeah, I had an 18 year problem with drugs and I'm here to live to tell you guys not to do them. I feel like that's going to reach so many more people.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, see, I can tell you, I, I, I, I, I'm, I, I'm blessed to go through the experience and make it through the experience, you know what I'm saying? And, and I feel that God saved me because he made Flavor Flav a mouthpiece to the world, you know what I'm saying? I'm like the new E.F. hutton. When E.F. hutton speaks, people listen, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, you know, through, through the power of my fan base and everything, you know what I'm saying? You know, I have, I, I have the power to lead people.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You feel me. And, and God gave me this power to be this mouthpiece. So now there's times when I went to schools, detention centers, group homes, jails, and I've taught about my experiences and I've taught about my mistakes. And I'll, you know, for people that haven't made those mistakes ever in life, I could tell you what you're going to feel like if you make this mistake.

[Bunny]

Right?

[Flavor Flav]

So please do not make this mistake, because I ain't gonna lie. Drugs are very easy to get on and they're hard as hell to get off of.

[Bunny]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? And that's my message to a lot of the people, man, you know what I'm saying? That's never done drugs, you know, and I'm glad that I was able to live to teach about my experience.

[Bunny]

Absolutely.

[Flavor Flav]

So I'm not glorifying my experiences. I'm just letting you know that, yes, I did go through these, these experiences. God brought me a long way to come out of it. And now today I can teach about it. And I can smile about it and be happy that I'm alive today. And I came a long way.

[Bunny]

Absolutely. You've also gone on record saying that for six years of your drug use, that you spent like 2400-2600 a day on drugs. So, like, it was a real problem for you.

[Flavor Flav]

Yes, it was a real problem. And it was a real thing. Yeah, it was a very real thing, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. But that's, you know, I was living recklessly at that, at the time, you know what I'm saying? And that's coming up and, you know, coming up and learning. Every day is a learning experience. Yes, you're going to learn something every single day, Bunny, that you wake up and open your eyes. Yes, you're going to learn something.

[Bunny]

I always say, you're not living if you're not learning.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So. So a lot of those days, A lot of those days that I did that, honestly, I really think a lot of the friends that I had around me that I thought that was my friends that was stealing my shit.

[Bunny]

There's always those. Those homies around.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. And the reason why I thank them for stealing my shit is because if they didn't steal my shit, maybe those could have been the hits that put me out.

[Bunny]

Was there a certain person or situation that made you want to turn your life around?

[Flavor Flav]

Yes, definitely. You know, I got to the. I got to a point to where I wasn't. I was looking bad. I was looking like what I was doing, I was feeling bad. I was bringing embarrassment to my family, to my kids, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And. And not only that, but also the main thing that I was bringing, the main person that I was really, really bringing in embarrassment, too, mainly was my mom's, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, and. And also, you know, I was making and bringing embarrassment to my group, Public Enemy and everything, you know what I'm saying? I got to the point to where I really, really wanted to turn this thing around and I wanted to get off of these drugs, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. I went to the Betty Ford, right. Spent 30 days there for my first time, you know what I'm saying? It was a thousand dollars a night, spent 30,000 to Betty Ford.

[Bunny]

What was that like for you?

[Flavor Flav]

Came home, stayed clean for about two weeks, went and picked up again. Then I went to another rehab, did the same thing, went to another rehab. Did the same thing. Then I ended up up going to a place called licr, Long island center of Recovery, to where my boy, Jack Hamilton, who owned, who owned the rehab, you know, we became good friends, and he helped me out a lot, and, and he kind of opened my eyes to a lot of things, you know what I'm saying? So I really, really thank, you know, Jack Hamilton today because he put a lot in me that was, that, that, that to where I was able to help myself out and get myself off.

[Bunny]

Right.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? Because you could go through all of the rehabs in the world, Bunny, but at the end of the day, if you're not ready, you're not going to do it. It's up to you to be ready.

[Bunny]

You have to be sick of yourself.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, you got to be sick of yourself, and you got to be sick and tired of what you were doing.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And honestly, I was really sick and tired of it, man. You know, And I just had to change my life, man.

[Bunny]

So I'm proud of you.

[Flavor Flav]

I forced myself to do it, you know what I'm saying? And I'm glad that I did that because I'm sitting here on your couch talking to you today. Clean and sober, baby.

[Bunny]

Yes. And I'm proud of you because sobriety, I'm, I've been sober since 2017, 2018. Sobriety is not an easy journey. Thank you, you know?

[Flavor Flav]

Thank you. And then I, I, I did, I, I, I smoke, smoked, cigarette. I started smoking cigarettes when I was six years old.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

I didn't stop smoking until I was, I don't know, 50. How old was that when I started smoking cigarettes? 55. Yeah, I was 55 when I stopped smoking cigarettes, you know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

You started smoking at 6 years old?

[Flavor Flav]

Yes, I started smoking at 6 years old.

[Bunny]

How did you know what a cigarette. What they were just.

[Flavor Flav]

Well, my sisters got me into that because my sisters were mischief kids too, you know?

[Bunny]

Oh, gosh.

[Flavor Flav]

Back in the day, you know what I'm saying? That's why, you know, they had me doing all kinds of stuff when I was little, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine, you know, my sisters were big influences to a lot of the things that I grew up doing, you know, because they were older than me and I didn't really know any better, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. But I don't fault them today for the past that I had. Right you know, I don't fault them at all. You know what I'm saying? I.

[Bunny]

Well, I think that's very.

[Flavor Flav]

I just thank God that. That I grew up a way better person than the mischief that I was getting in.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

I was getting into it all, Bunny.

[Bunny]

Oh, I could imagine. I could. I mean, you're setting places on fire at 5, so.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, that too. Tattoo. But then also, I'm on A. At 5 and 6 years old, I'm on the corner with my pops and them shooting dice.

[Bunny]

Really?

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bunny]

What did that feel like for you at 5 and 6? Did you think that it was, like, the coolest?

[Flavor Flav]

No, no, Better. All I knew was my dad said, here, son, throw the dice. I was winning him money. Oh, I was winning the money because I, you know.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah. As a kid. Come on, man. When. When I used to get a quarter that was big, 25 cents was big. Way back in the day when I was, like, five and six years old, you know what I'm saying? A quarter would get you a bunch of things. Today, a quarter.

[Bunny]

You can't even call anybody for a quarter anymore. Remember you used to be able to use payphones with a quarter?

[Flavor Flav]

A quarter is damn near like a penny.

[Bunny]

Yeah. It's just crazy how stuff is seeing.

[Flavor Flav]

Quarters and everything laying on the ground now. Nobody pays, picks them up, nobody picks them up.

[Bunny]

So let's switch gears and let's get into public enemy. When did you meet Chuck D. I actually have done, like. Like I said, a lot of research on you guys's relationship, and it seems like Chuck is, like, a protector of you, but you guys also butt heads like brothers. Is that pretty accurate or. How's your guys's relationship?

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, he's been. He's been my. My. He's been my protector. But, yeah, we been bumping our heads, too.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

And like you said, you know what I'm saying, in the whole. I love Chuck, man. You know, that's. You know, that's one thing that I always could say, no matter whatever we go through in life, you know what I'm saying? Because, you know, me and Chuck, we used to work together for his father, Mr. Ridenauer, and we used to. We used to deliver furniture for interior designers and decorators and stuff. You know what I'm saying? And me and Chuck used to drive. Be on that U Haul truck every single day. And every single day that we would be doing deliveries, we would be writing, you know what I'm saying? I first really met Chuck and Hank And Keith, back in the day, when my boy, son of Berserk, his name is Tony Allen, they call him Ta, the dj. But. But he was also part of a group called Townhouse 3, which was one of the groups that Chuck and Hank and them had up under their belt and everything, you know? And I'm saying Chuck, Hank and. And. And Keith, they were a mobile disc jockey group called Spectrum City.

[Bunny]

Yeah, right.

[Flavor Flav]

So Spectrum City had these around the town rap groups up under their belt. And also they also had a radio show on. On, on coming out of Adelphi University called 90.3 WBAU. You know what I'm saying? So there were times when we used to take our tapes and all of that stuff. I mean, they used to take the tapes and everything, play all of this stuff over the radio, you know what I'm saying, in the hall nine. So Ta wanted me to play keyboards on his tape because he knew I play instruments. He took me up to the studio, I played the keyboard on his tape. And back in the days, Bunny playing the dozens was the thing, you know what I'm saying? Talking about your mom, talk about your pops, talk about your sisters, your brothers, the big old hole in your roof, the big rip in your couch.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know, with the roaches coming out of it and all of that stuff. I mean, playing the. Dustin's was back, you know, back in the day was the thing, you know?

[Bunny]

Right.

[Flavor Flav]

And there was a time when he took me up to the studio. Chuck, Hank and Keith started ragging on me. Your boy Flavor Flav took them all down by myself. I took them all down by myself. And you know what? You know, that's. That's. That's. That. That's where love happened right there. I started going up to the studio every day, hanging out with Chuck and Keith and. And Hank. Then one day I go up to the studio and I'm. And I'm like, what the hell is Chuck doing in here? I opened up the studio door, Bunny. And back in the days, we had cassette tapes. Chuck D had the cassette tape coming out of the. Out of the deck, around the microphone stand, back into the cassette deck as a loop. I just want you to know that was the first loop. Chuck D created the loop, man. I don't care what nobody say. So he was. He was making the tape for the radio show, right? So I told him the story about this guy named Ron D. Whaley from the Play Hard crew wanted to battle him. He's like, yo, where's your boy Chuck Chuck at, man? Come on, he swear he nice, man. Tell him I want to battle him. I said, well, yo, Chuck don't battle nobody, first of all. Second of all, we'll set you up for battles, you know what I'm saying? But. But when. And I started defending Chuck, and I started saying, and, Chuck, Chuck, let me tell you something. He don't swear he nice. He knows he's nice. Chuck said, yo, put that story on the beginning of this tape. Put that story on the beginning of this tape. Said, okay. So I said, hey, yo, Chuck, bust the move, man. I was on my way up here to the studio, and this brother stopped me and asked me, yo, what's up with that brother, Chucky D? He swear he nice. I said, yo, the brother don't swear he nice. He knows he's nice. You know what I'm saying? So, Chuck, Chuck, I got a feeling you turning into a public enemy man. Now, remember that line you was kicking to me on the way out to la Laurelton, Queens, when we was in the car on our way to the shop? Well, right now, kick the bass for them brothers and let them know what goes on. Chuck said, what goes on? Well, I'm all in. Put it up on the board. Another rapid shot down from the mouth that roared 1, 2, 3, down for the count. The result of my lyrics. Oh, yes. Slow down. I'm like, yo, yo, we gotta put this out. We gotta put this out. We gotta put this out.

[Bunny]

Had you guys already named yourselves Public Enemy by this time? You guys were still doing.

[Flavor Flav]

No, we were. They were still Spectrum City, and I was just Flavor.

[Bunny]

Where did Flava Flav come from? Where did that name come from?

[Flavor Flav]

Well, back in the day. Back in the day, you know, my personality was crazy, you know what I'm saying? Like I told you, Chuck, Hank and Keith, they tried to rag me, and I took them all down. So I was a real funny guy around the neighborhood, you know what I'm saying? Could nobody take me down, you know what I'm saying? My personality was so crazy, they ended up giving me my own radio show on wbau, which was called the MC DJ Flavor show, you know, because I was an emcee and a DJ at the same time. And when my show would come on for an hour and a half, my show was beating out the mainstream radio station shows like WBLS and 98.7 Kids Hot 97. My show was beating all of them out. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? In the hall nine. And we used to have people coming up by our Radio station, you know what I'm saying? Beastie Boys, Run dmc. We gave the Fat Boys their first radio interview.

[Bunny]

Oh, wow.

[Flavor Flav]

Way back in the day, you know what I'm saying? LL Cool J, everybody used to come up to our station, you know what I'm saying, to hang out. So one day, Jam Master J&DMC comes up to the radio station and says, yo, where's your boy Chuck at, man? We want to see Chuck. So I took them over to the studio, and they were talking to Chuck, and they. They were trying to talk Chuck into taking that Public Enemy number one tape that we made for the radio station. They were. They want to talk Chuck into putting it out on Def Jam Records, you know what I'm saying? So at the time, Chuck was like, nah, man, I'm not doing that, man. I'm having fun doing radio. And that's at the time when Def Jam had first got started. Bunny. When the Def Jam first got started. So the money wasn't really all that great, you know, with Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons at the time. Then when the Beastie Boys went platinum, LL Cool J went platinum, Run DMC went platinum. Now they had enough money to do the other artists, right? That comes in to the, you know, up under the label. So Chuck finally said, okay, let's go. Let's do it. So we went out to Def Jam sign the contracts Chuck signed. When I went to sign, they did not want me. Bunny.

[Bunny]

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[Flavor Flav]

They did not want me. They was like, yo, we just want you. We don't. We don't want him. And the reason why Bunny was because way back in those days, the voice texture was that basic. It's like a jungle sometimes to make your wonder how I keep from going nun. And Chuck's voice was very bassy. My voice is real peaky. It was high. It was annoying in the whole nine. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

So Chuck was like, hey listen, check this out. If he's not part of this, this ain't gonna work. So Chuck forced me down Def Jam's throat.

[Bunny]

That was nice of Chuck to do.

[Flavor Flav]

And ever since Chuck D forced me down Def Jam's throat. Yup. Public Enemy, we became large, we became big. And also your boy, Flavor Flav ended up becoming the most sampled voice in history of music.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

Nobody's voice has been sampled more than mine.

[Bunny]

I believe that. So where did the name Flava Flav come from, though? Was it from that radio show that you had?

[Flavor Flav]

Well, it came from. It came from a guy named Kevin Starks. Right. That used to watch over me back in the day.

[Bunny]

When you say watch.

[Flavor Flav]

My first name. The name that I grew up with, Bunny, is Rico. R I, C O. Because I was known as Rico Drayton. That was my name around. Around town. Rico and everything. Kevin used to watch over me. So remember the story I was telling you about when I used to cash in those bottles? I used to always go for the Lifesavers and the now and Laters, the different colored sodas, the fruit punches and the pineapples and the grapes and orange and all of that. Kevin used to call me a freak for flavors. So he started calling me Flavor Freak. Reek the Flavor Freak. So when emceeing started getting popular, Bunny, I wanted a name that nobody had and nobody else would want, but yet it would have to mean something. So I said, let me try, let me try. MC Flavor, DJ Flavor. So back in the days, people started, like, taking your name like, and. And like, like, like, like, for instance, if I call you Bunny, your name is Bunny. You be Bunny Bun.

[Bunny]

Yeah, yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? Robert was Robbie Rob. You know what I'm saying? You know, everybody had.

[Bunny]

It was like an ad lib.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, everybody had these common names. So it was Chuck D that started calling me Flavor Flav. That was Chuck that started calling me Flavor Flav or just Stuck.

[Bunny]

So let's talk about the clock, because I've heard mixed stories about this. I've heard you tell one story, but then I also saw an interview with Chuck D's dad who said that he likes to take responsibility for you wearing the clock around your neck.

[Flavor Flav]

I don't believe Chuck said that.

[Bunny]

Chuck's dad.

[Flavor Flav]

His dad, yeah, yeah, yeah. But who said his dad was responsible, though? Whoever said his dad was responsible? I don't think that. I don't think they said that.

[Bunny]

So can we pull up the interview? It's. I'm gonna find it for you. But it's Chuck D's dad. He's doing an interview, and he says in the interview that you guys used to work for him.

[Flavor Flav]

Chuck D's dad did an interview. I never knew Mr. Ridenhauer for doing an interview.

[Bunny]

So he said that the way. The way that the clock came about, he said, you'll never give him credit for it. But he said you used to work for him and that you were always late and he would always have to show up on your door and be like, flav, come on, we gotta get to work. And finally he said to you one day, flav, why don't you just put a clock around your neck so that you're on time? I want you to see this, because I can't believe you've never seen this.

[Flavor Flav]

I would pick him up every morning. I'm responsible for that clock that he wears on his chest. Because every morning he was supposed to be at our house at 7. And I would be in my kitchen waiting, and he wouldn't show up. So I would jump in the car and go down to his house. And his mother, Mrs. Draynton, would come to the door and I would say, is Rico up? And she would say, no, Mr. Rhino, he's just getting up or something like that. And he would come to the door and say, oh, Mr. Rico, I'm so sorry I'm late. And so that would happen every day. And finally one day he come to the door and I said, why don't you get a clock and put it on your chest with an alarm? And this way you're not know what time it is. So that's basically where that clock came from. So you. You owe some royalties, basically. He never gave me a dime. Never gave me a dime. Mr. Ride, now. I miss him, man.

[Bunny]

I'm so glad I could show you something that you've never seen before.

[Flavor Flav]

I miss that man so much, man. Bunny, you don't even know, man, that. Just seeing that right, right there just really, really touched me, you know what I'm saying? He's. He's really taught me a lot, man, about. About New York City, you know, getting, getting, getting to and from, in New York City. From. From uptown, downtown, east, west, man. Mr. Ridenau taught me all of the ropes. Oh, man, that. That man right there, he was one of the best, man. It's so gracious, so kind, man. You know what I'm saying? And he was more like a leader, you know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

I love that. So did he originate the Clock?

[Flavor Flav]

So. So this is how the Clock originally happened.

[Bunny]

Okay.

[Flavor Flav]

Okay. There was this lady that came through my projects and me and my friends were in the. In the hallway playing the dozens And. And I mentioned to you, my boy, Son of Berserk ta the dj. So this lady came through our projects with this box of shower clocks that she stole from a place called Fortunoff, right? So around that time, Bunny Stop Watches was the fad. Oh, yeah, Everybody was wearing stopwatches.

[Bunny]

Yes, Right.

[Flavor Flav]

So as a joke, T A Berserk took one of the clocks out of the box, took the stopwatch off my neck, put the clock around my neck. When he put that clock around my neck, everybody started laughing. Yeah, it was funny. And the whole nine, right? Now, back in those days, if you dared Flavor Flav to do something, Bunny Flav would do it, right? I don't care. Whatever it was outside to jump off the roof, Flavor Flav would do it. So they dared me to wear that clock on stage for a show, during the show. So when we went to open up for the Beastie Boys, bunny in Passaic, New Jersey, 1986, I wore that clock. I wore the shower clock around my neck. When we got the newspaper clippings back the next day, we were on the front page of the New York Times, New York Post, Daily News. And the look of the clock was dope. So I decided to keep that. And if you look back at a lot of our early Public Enemy photos, you will see Chuck Dior o' clock too. No, you know what I'm saying? So, so, so, so after. After every show, Chuck would take his clock off, right? But before the show, he'll put it on and we would go out clocks. After the show, he would take his off till finally after a few years. Then Hank Shockley said, yo, man, you should take that clock off, man. It's played out, man. And you know what I'm saying? It's worn out. It's old. I said, I'm not taking my clock off. I'm not stopping wearing my clock for nobody. I just kept on wearing it and kept on wearing it till finally it ended up becoming my signature, became a part of me, you know? So that's how the clock really, really started. There were a lot of times, man, when I was late getting to Mr. Riding Hour, though. I used to be late because I was messing up back in those days, too cool, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And. And I thank God for Mr. Riding out giving me a job, you know what I'm saying? Because, you know, it also taught me Mr. Riding Hour working with Mr. Ridenhour taught me how to be a better man today, too. You know what I'M saying in the whole night, because, like I said, he. Mr. Reid and how I had good leadership. You know what I'm saying? And one thing that I could say about him and Chuck. Oh, my God. Baseball fanatics, man. They used to sit around watching baseball after baseball, after baseball, after baseball, after baseball. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, man.

[Bunny]

Oh, there's some pictures of chuck.

[Flavor Flav]

One day, Mr. Ridenhauer says to his son, Eric, Eric, get flavor on the phone. He said, why, dad? He says he might be our cousin. Serious business.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

The reason why is because my mother's last maiden name, her last name is the Leston. And I have the Lesson family members in Freeport, Long Island. Chuck D has the Lesson family members in his family in the Bronx. And his. The Lesson family members were keeping in contact and in touch with Mike. The Lesson family members in Freeport.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? So were you some type of relationship there with me and Chuck? Man, we still never got to the bottom.

[Bunny]

Ancestry.com with each other, huh? Why don't you guys try to do an Ancestry.com?

[Flavor Flav]

Hey, you never know.

[Bunny]

It'll tell you guys if you're related. That would be amazing. I'm calling it now, you guys.

[Flavor Flav]

That would be crazy. If me and Chuck D, his cousins.

[Bunny]

Oh, you guys gotta do it. You guys have to do it. So after all the success with Public Enemy and you guys dropping your, you know, record that went on to do just so amazing. Have you ever felt. And, you know, people are knowing who you are. They're knowing your name. Have you ever felt trapped inside the image. Image of Flavor Flav, like, it's not you? Or do you feel like Flavor Flav is true to who you are? As.

[Flavor Flav]

I never got. I never felt like I got trapped in the image of him at all because it's. It's an image that I created. And Flavor Flav is a street character based off of my real street life.

[Bunny]

Right.

[Flavor Flav]

So I never. And. And it's. And this. And this is a character that I brought to life. Life. But I never really got trapped inside of him because I always knew who I was deep down inside. And I'm the one that created that character.

[Bunny]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Flavor Flav]

You know?

[Bunny]

Yep. Get. So being in the music industry, you're around a lot of people who are shady. Have you ever encountered, like, some really big snakes in the music industry? And if so, can you name who they are?

[Flavor Flav]

I've crossed some, and I've seen some. But one thing about flavor flavors, life. If you guys Would know about me. I never have nothing real negative to say about anyone. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

I mind my business. I always mind my business, and everyone else minds mine. Yeah, like that. You know what I'm saying? So you'll never really hear me talking negative about anybody or you know what I'm saying. All of the negative people that I've crossed, All of the negativity that I've ever seen, I never spoke about, Always kept to myself, you know what I'm saying? In the whole night.

[Bunny]

It's very G of you.

[Flavor Flav]

And if anybody ever talked bad about me, that was their choice. But I never talked bad about anybody. I'm not absolutely. So. So. Yeah. But I've witnessed some stuff. I witnessed a lot of shady people.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

And I've witnessed a lot of shady things. No, I have never, never, ever Wife been to a diddy party. Okay? Never, never, never, never, never, ever.

[Bunny]

Take Flav off the list, ladies and gentlemen. He's never been there.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, if I was ever on that list, y' all better take me off of that. Puffy was my boy, man. I loved him, man.

[Bunny]

What was your relationship like with Puffy?

[Flavor Flav]

Yo, he was cool. He was cool and everything. He remade Public enemy number one, and he let me be his protege in the car, in the video, you know what I'm saying? Then there was a time when they had the Puerto Rican day parade out in New York, and Puffy was performing the Public Enemy number one song in the Puerto Rican day parade, and he let me be on top of the float with him. That's about it.

[Bunny]

Yeah, I love that. That was your experience with them, and.

[Flavor Flav]

That'S never did nothing else with my man. I mean, that. We. We were cool. Yeah, that's about it. It.

[Bunny]

Absolutely. So after nations of nation of millions went crazy, berserk, you guys shot a video where people were. Were really getting high in the video. How did you guys manage to pull this off?

[Flavor Flav]

Wait, which one was that?

[Bunny]

There's a video. It's in my notes that after nations and it's on. It's a song from nations of millions album that you guys shot the video, and there was people that were really getting high in the video.

[Flavor Flav]

Oh, Night of the living bases.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

Yes. Because back in the days when people smoke crack, they would call that basin. Everybody was basin.

[Bunny]

Right?

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? So everybody. Everybody that used crack and drugs was. Was called the bass head. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

So how did you guys manage to pull that off?

[Flavor Flav]

So. So. So there were people that was really actually getting high in the video. And the reason why was because we were trying to create the look of reality, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And back in those days, we could do that and get away with it.

[Bunny]

Today, never. You could never.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah.

[Bunny]

Public Enemy is known to be, like, you know, so political and so like, anti drugs, anti. A lot of things. But you were using drugs during the height of their career. How did that affect your relationship with the members of the group? But also, how did they keep it under wraps? Or, like, how did they not manage to get in, you know, get in some sort of scandal with that?

[Flavor Flav]

Well, see, let me say this, Bunny. That's what made up Public Enemy, you know what I'm saying? The opposites attracting. You heard Opposites attract.

[Bunny]

Yeah, yeah. You know, me and my husband.

[Flavor Flav]

So Chuck D, the S1W's, Professor Griffin, all of them, they were in that political stage, you know what I'm saying? Not. No. No drugs, no alcohol, no fornication and all of that stuff. Supposedly, you know what I'm saying? The whole nine. But yet I was the only one in the group that was using drugs, you know what I'm saying? That was out there in the streets doing street things and everything, you know, so. So that combination is what made public what made up Public Enemy, you know what I'm saying? How did it affect the. The relationship with me and the members of my group? It was not a good relationship at all, you know what I'm saying? Because all of them were. Mostly. They were against me.

[Bunny]

Did they try to help you, though? Did they try to help you get help?

[Flavor Flav]

Not at all. Not at all. They didn't try to help me at all, you know what I'm saying? We just lived going up, going ahead, going head to head against each other, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. Even though. I just want to say, even. Even though they. They did portray that type of life, you know what I'm saying? But not everyone lived it, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine like that. I'm gonna just leave it right there, you know? But I was. Yeah, I was. I was the street guy. I was the street guy in the group. Group and that. And that's why all the attention was focused on Flav. When you come to a show, Public Enemy show, yeah, you got Chuck D, the hard rhymer, but everybody was coming to see Flav because everybody had a relationship with the streets. And I was the first street guy on records, the first guy from the streets to ever really put it out there. I mean, the first record that I know of with a message was called the Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5. And it was, you know, it was a message about what was going on in the neighborhoods and everything. You know what I'm saying? But the message that I came with was that real, actual hard street core message. I put slang words out out in the streets. I put dress styles out in the streets. I put dance dances out in the streets. And every dance that I put out lasted at least a year and a half and better, you know what I'm saying? So when everybody would come to these gigs, a lot of people would come and watch Flav, because that's what made Flavors that guy.

[Bunny]

Right?

[Flavor Flav]

Because everybody at one time had had a street life when they could relate to me.

[Bunny]

Yeah. So let's move on from the Public Enemy part of your life, and let's get into the reality tv, because this is where I feel like the world really got to fall in love with you. Like, they loved Flavor Flav from Public Enemy, but I feel like watching you on a TV screen was where people got to really, like, like fall in love and get to know your personality and, like, just get to see you in everyday life. So you started with On Surreal Life, right? You started with Surreal Life.

[Flavor Flav]

Honestly, I said I started with Steve Harvey's Big Time. That was my first TV appearance ever. Okay. When I first went to LA in 2003 to pursue a movie and television career, you know, I'm saying it was my boy Norris that used to be an editor for Fox 5, and he used to edit for the Steve Harvey Big Time Show. And Steve Harvey's Big Time show, that's when he had all kinds of different acts coming on his show and everything. And Norris was like, flav, you gotta come with me, man. You gotta come with me to the Steve Harvey show, man. You know what I'm saying? I want to sit in the audience, let the cameras come on you this and that. I took him up on it one day, Bunny and I went down to the Big Time show with Norris. Next thing you know, they sat me in the aisle seat, they gave me an oc. I'll never forget this. They gave me an llc. Then the cameras came up on Flav, and the cameras, you know, was on me. Next thing you know, my phone in my pocket is blowing up, and people back at home is like, your Flav. We see you. We see you this and that, that. And this Steve Harvey came out and he said, everybody, I see that young man right there. If it wasn't for Flavor Flav and his group, Public Enemy, I would not have a show today. You know, he. They're the ones that taught us to put our fists up in the air, you know, I mean, Steve Harvey gave it to him, to the crowd. He stopped the show to do that. That was, that feel. That was my first TV appearance. So that's where it started.

[Bunny]

How did that feel to hear Steve.

[Flavor Flav]

And I felt. I was shocked, shocked to hear that coming from Steve Harvey, but that was my first TV appearance, so that's where it started. Then the second TV appearance that I was on was. God bless him. I missed this guy, man. My boy, Bernie Mac.

[Bunny]

Oh, I love Bernie.

[Flavor Flav]

One of the funniest men in America, man. I was on the Bernie Mac show.

[Bunny]

Yep, I remember that.

[Flavor Flav]

Which was a golfing. Which was a. Which was a golfing episode. And I was on there with the great Monique. Monique, yes. Yeah. So that was my second TV appearance. My third TV appearance was a guy, Aries Spears. His name was Aries Spears. He was on Mad tv. So I did Mad TV with Aries Aries Spears.

[Bunny]

They didn't bring that back. And Living Color. Mad tv, that whole area of TV was so classic.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, that was my third TV appearance. Then my fourth TV appearance was my boy, Damon Wayans. My wife and kids. Yeah, me and Cat Williams appeared on that show together.

[Bunny]

What's your relationship with Kat now? Are you guys still friends?

[Flavor Flav]

I tell you. Okay, I got you. I got you. Let me, let me, Let me finish. Taking you through this journey.

[Bunny]

Gotcha, right?

[Flavor Flav]

So one day I went up into the VH1 offices and everything with my friend Sherry, and I went to everybody's cubicle messing with everybody, putting this personality on everybody. The word got back to Chris Abrego and Mark Cronin and. And a lady and a. And a young lady named Lori Muzzlow walked me into the office to have a meeting with Mark Cronin and. And Kristen Braco. And they talked me into getting on. On the Surreal Life. Now, I wasn't going to do the Surreal Life because to me, Bunny, you know, at the time, Surreal Life was like for has beens, you know what I'm saying? For people that was. That was out there doing it big. Now they're cold for a little second, you know what I'm saying? Vanilla Ice, he did. He did the first Surreal Life. The second Surreal Life. MC Hammer did it. I wasn't going to do it. They said, flav, you should actually ask Hammer how it was for him. I called them. C. Hammer. I said, yo, Hammer, do you think I should do this show, man? Flav, I think you should really do the show. It'll be good for you. And good things happen for me. After I did the show, this and that. That. I said, okay, cool. Bam. So it was MC Hammer that talked me into doing Surreal Life 3. So when I got on Surreal Life 3, you know, they said they're going to put me in the house with other celebs, and they. They want to see how we can live together. So when I got to the house, there was one person there. I was like, the second person in the house. The first person in the house. I looked at her, I'm like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. I know you. I know you. I know you. I know you. Oh, I love you, too. But I. I could remember her name. It was Charo. One of the sweetest ladies in this world. One of the most. Man, I love Love Child.

[Bunny]

She was hot, too, Back in the day.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. Yeah. Come on. What do you think? Y' all got the name for your vaginas from Coochie?

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You know I'm saying that cake that came from Charo. The coochie.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

All the way to the bank. You know what I'm saying? So anyway, so Chiro was in the house. Next thing you know, this guy comes in the house. He has some weight on him and everything. And I'm like, you look familiar, man. He's like, yeah, I know you. You're Flavor Flav. I said, yeah. I said, well, who are you? He said, my name is Jordan Knight. I like, yo, right? I'm like, wow, this is getting interesting. Then the next person that came in was a guy named Dave Coulier, and we became good friends, you know what I'm saying? He's from a TV show called Full House. Then after Dave Coulier comes in, then this other girl comes in. Her name happened to be Ryan Starr, and she had got booted off American Idol.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

And everything. But they put her on the show with us, you know what I'm saying? And then, last but not least, this big, big, tall chick comes in the house thinking she's all that with these high heels, everything, you know what I'm saying? And I was like, I know this lady from somewhere. I know her from somewhere. I couldn't pick. Figure it out. That was Bridget Nelson. So they put us all in the house, you know, Together. And that year, surreal life three ended up being number one on VH1. And that's where. That's where me and Bridget, we fell in love on Surreal Life 3.

[Bunny]

So before we get into you and Bridget, let's talk about you and Katt Williams friendship. And then we'll get into you and Bridget. So are you and Katt Williams still friends?

[Flavor Flav]

Sure, me and Katt Williams are still friends, man. Not only that, but he was the host of my roast A and my roast was one of the most watched roasts in the history of all of the roasts. Even though Justin B. Bieber, he beat me out a little bit.

[Bunny]

I mean, we're talking about the.

[Flavor Flav]

Beat me out, man. I love Justin Bieber.

[Bunny]

We're talking about the Biebs.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, Yeah. I love. Love Justin Bieber, man. And not only that, but Justin Bieber got mad love for your boy flavor. But yeah, come on, man. Cat Williams. That's my dude. That's my guy, man. We gonna always be friends. But way before I. Before I started doing reality tv, me and Cat were friends.

[Bunny]

Oh, when did. Where did you originally meet Cat?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

Where did you guys originally meet?

[Flavor Flav]

Ah, I forgot. I forgot how that happened, Bunny. You know what I'm saying? But. But we were real good friends, man. We. We ended up becoming real good friends while I was on my way into doing reality.

[Bunny]

I love that. He seems like a sweet soul.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, he is, man. He's one of the coolest cats in the world. He's one of the realest. He's real. Katt Williams is real. Yo, Kill. What? Nobody say Katt Williams is real. And he's real funny.

[Bunny]

Yeah, I. I'm trying to get him on the podcast. I love Kat. I've always been a huge fan of Kat, so.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, well, you know what? I'll try to put the word in for you.

[Bunny]

Thank you. So let's move forward to you and Bridget. I have so many questions about this relationship. Was this a real relationship or was it for the cameras?

[Flavor Flav]

At first it was. Yeah, it was real. Yeah. Yeah, it was real. Dead spot on. We fell in love for real on surreal life 3.

[Bunny]

What was it about Bridget that attracted you to her, besides her beauty?

[Flavor Flav]

Let me me put it like this. And this is where it all started. Okay, let me tell you where it started. On Surreal Life 3, Bridget Nielsen was the only one that would walk around the house naked. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

And. And her hygiene wasn't all that great.

[Bunny]

Oh, no.

[Flavor Flav]

She wasn't washing her hands and all of that stuff and everything. So one day, Bridget went to touch in my face and I knocked the hands down and she said, oh, you don't want nobody touching your. I said, I don't want nobody touching my face. She said, oh, you don't want nobody touching your face? I said, no. She said, oh, okay. I want smack the out of me.

[Bunny]

That's a big man.

[Flavor Flav]

Listen. Now, where I'm from in Freeport, Long island, my parents always taugh. See if you get hit, you better hit right back because if you don't hit right back, then you'll get a beating and right. So as soon as she smacked me, the first instinct, I reached way back to Australia and I came back bow and I smacked her in the face. She grabbed her cheek, she looked down at me and she said, oh, I like that. I'm looking up at this lady like, oh, Flav, can we pull up pictures? I said, I'm looking up at her and I'm like, oh, flavor, if you want a TV career or whatever, you better make friends with this lady because you don't know who the she is. You know, you don't know if she beat you up, man. On. On reality TV right now, all of that. Fight the power. Yeah, boy. Down the Drake.

[Bunny]

You know you're getting slapped around by a six foot Amazonian woman.

[Flavor Flav]

Yes. You know what I'm saying? So, so we got the, we got the makeup and everything. And the next thing you know, we. We got real, real close. We got real close and we fell in love. You know what I'm saying? On Surreal Life 3.

[Bunny]

So do you have a. Do you have OCD about people washing their hands?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

Do you have OCD?

[Flavor Flav]

Hey, listen, check this out. Honestly, you know when people go to the bathroom and they don't wash their hands? Yeah. I go. I freak out over that. Don't come touching me. Don't try to get a handshake. I don't even want a fist bump. Let's do the elbow. Let's do that. Let's do the elbow thing.

[Bunny]

I understand. I don't shake people's hands. Yeah, I'll hug you before I'll touch your hands.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah, it bothers me. It really bothers me bad because you don't know what people are doing with their hands, man. You know what I'm saying? Scratching their nuts and digging up their nose. Licking their fingers and, and eating boogers. Don't touch me, man. No, I don't want to shake your hand. No, that we ain't Doing that. We ain't doing that.

[Bunny]

Listen, you are my soul, okay? Because I literally do not shake people's hands. I will not shake a hand. I don't. The wetness of somebody's palm makes me want to jump out of my skin. I can't do it.

[Flavor Flav]

It.

[Bunny]

I cannot do it.

[Flavor Flav]

I can't do it, man.

[Bunny]

So take me on this whirlwind journey of love with you and Bridget. You guys ended up making amazing tv. Which turned into three of your own spin offs with each other.

[Flavor Flav]

Right. Which was. Which was called Strange Love.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

Because right after Surreal Life 3. Right after Surreal Life 3, Bunny was over. You know, we were staying over at the Mondrian. The Mondrian in. In la on Sunset. And me and Bridget were the only ones that were able to go in the pool and swim around late at night, past 12. And we would be swimming in the pool by ourselves and there would be crowds of people just around watching us. The producers got a whiff of us being at the hotel, swimming around and all of this stuff.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

They decided to give us our own show. And that's when Strange Love came into existence. And we did strange love one that year. It was number one on VH1. Then we did strange love two that year. It was number one On VH1. Then we ended up doing strange love three that year was number one on VH1. Then when at all of this time that I was doing these TV shows with Bridget, I still never knew exactly who she was and what she did. You feel me? So the love was real, you know what I'm saying? I didn't learn about Bridget until the day that she was leaving to go back to Italy to be with her family and with her kids and stuff. We was, we would sit in, in our room. That's when it was the Hard Rock Hotel in, in Las Vegas. We had the big suite and we sat in front of the tv. A lot of seeing all of her stuff. Red, Sonja. And then next thing you know, I'm looking at Beverly Hills Cop. Yo. She was a killer in these movies.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

I'm like, oh, I'm with somebody like this. I'm like, damn. No wonder why I made friends with her on surreal life 3. Cuz she was a killer in all of these movies and everything. You know what I'm saying? So. So when she went back to Italy to be with her family and her kids and stuff, the Bruce. The producers asked me, well, Flav, what you gonna do for love now? Said, I don't Know, they said, well, do. Do you watch? Do. Have you heard of the Bachelor? I said, I heard of the Bachelor, but I don't never watch it. They said, good, you don't watch it. Listen, this is what we want to do, Flav. We want to take you and we want to put you in a house that. With 25 girls, Flav. All you have to do is narrow it down to one. So I'm like, how the am I going to do this? I mean, how is this going to work? You know what I'm saying? I said, well, I think this might be kind of interesting. Come on, let's give it a try. That's when Flavor of Love one was born. And that year. Oh, my God. And that was the number one show, too.

[Bunny]

I watched it.

[Flavor Flav]

And that's one that a lot of people remembers most because of New York and Pumpkin.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You know, and that's the year when I picked tubes. Yes, right. But that, that was. I mean, it was like. That was the season with New York and Pumpkin and everybody can remember that Pumpkin spit this loogie at New York and it. The loogie almost landed in her mouth.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? New York came over. Yeah, you've seen that, too.

[Bunny]

She's gonna. She's gonna pull it up.

[Flavor Flav]

Oh, my God.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Yo, so check this out. So next thing you know, New York lunches at Pumpkin, pushes her to the camera. Hey, I was standing there on the podium. I was like, girls, y' all gotta stop this. But I was dying laughing.

[Bunny]

I know I was dying.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole night, everybody remembers that.

[Bunny]

Here it comes. Slap me.

[Flavor Flav]

You whore. You put your hands on me. Did you see that?

[Bunny]

Oh, boy. That.

[Flavor Flav]

I was dying.

[Bunny]

Listen, first of all, how do you have that much? How do you have.

[Flavor Flav]

Yo, I ain't going to lie. But that's why my show was number one, cuz. It made great television.

[Bunny]

Okay.

[Flavor Flav]

That's just made the greatest TV ever. I'm like, oh, and this is on my show. This is on my show.

[Bunny]

So flave, tell me you have 25 women in the house when the cameras aren't off, or were you allowed to talk to any of them or see any of them? Or was it. Everything was on camera.

[Flavor Flav]

You're under 247 surveillance.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

So you know what I'm saying? The girls under 24. Seven. I'm under 24. Seven. I'm even being. I'm even being filmed while I'm sleeping. Sleep.

[Bunny]

Wow.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'M saying the only place that. That I wouldn't allow them to have a camera and it was. Was the bathroom.

[Bunny]

Yeah. I mean, you got to have some.

[Flavor Flav]

Sort of privacy, you know what I'm saying? But other than that. Nah. Everything was 24 7. 247 surveillance.

[Bunny]

Can we talk about your relationship with New York? Because she was. Seemed to have been really in love with you. Like, it was crazy how in love with you she probably.

[Flavor Flav]

She probably was. But my thing was to make great television.

[Bunny]

Right.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

So you weren't invested in that relationship?

[Flavor Flav]

You know, I wasn't in love with no one. You know, I was just there trying to make television. Just trying to make great tv. That's why you. That's why I ended up doing three seasons.

[Bunny]

So you never dated any of these girls after the show was done?

[Flavor Flav]

No.

[Bunny]

Never?

[Flavor Flav]

None.

[Bunny]

Wow. I didn't know that. I always thought that you and New York had a relationship. I don't know why I thought that.

[Flavor Flav]

Never. But the only relationship that we had was a television relationship.

[Bunny]

Gotcha.

[Flavor Flav]

And that was it. You know what I'm saying? And I ain't gonna lie. But I really, you know, I'm real grateful to New York. I'm grateful of hoops. I'm grateful to. Delicious Grateful. The thing one. I mean, the thing too. And to Pumpkin. To.

[Bunny]

Yeah, to all the girls.

[Flavor Flav]

All of them. You know what I'm saying? Because all of them helped me make great television.

[Bunny]

They helped you make history.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They helped me make history, man. You know, and I couldn't have did it without girls.

[Bunny]

They don't make TV like they did back then. Like, this is like iconic that you guys even had this era of that great. Of television. I feel like they've been looking for that ever since that happened, and it's just never happened. It was so organic and so natural and just everybody was drawn to it. What was it like making a switch from being a true a. A rapper to a pop culture icon? Was it different for you or did you like. Did it still feel the same?

[Flavor Flav]

I never thought about it, Bunny. All I did was just live day to day.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. And even though while I was doing reality television, I was still doing Public Enemy shows too, as well, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine.

[Bunny]

So, yeah, absolutely. Looking at today's music industry, what frustrates you the most about hip hop Hop now? Because it's. The music has changed so much.

[Flavor Flav]

What frustrates me the most about it. Honestly. Honestly, nothing. And the reason why I'm not frustrated about anything with hip hop is because I don't let everybody else's problems be mine.

[Bunny]

Right.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? In the whole nine, you know, I got my own.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? Like I said, I mind my own business and everybody else. My minds.

[Bunny]

Absolutely.

[Flavor Flav]

And there's a lot of frustration going on in hip hop, believe me, but I'm just not part of the frustration. Leave me the out of that.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Hey, check this out.

[Bunny]

I could do without the mumble rappers.

[Flavor Flav]

Check this out. I'm hot, you cold. I'm with my boy Jelly Roll, you.

[Bunny]

I love it. Do you think that hip hop has truly given you the respect you deserve?

[Flavor Flav]

What's that again?

[Bunny]

Do you feel like hip hop has truly given you the respect that you deserve?

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. I've been getting my flowers from a lot, you know, I'm saying I've been getting my flowers from a lot, but mainly a lot of the, you know, older hip hop artists. I'm saying a lot of the younger hip hop artists, they only know me from television. They don't really know me from Public enemy.

[Bunny]

Right.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? A lot of people don't know my Public Enemy journey, you know what I'm saying? But a lot of people today know me from my reality television journey and.

[Bunny]

Everything, you know, because you're a pop culture icon.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. And now, you know, you know, the, the brand new. Put it this way, when it comes down to hip hop, one thing that I have advantage over most rappers in the music industry is I have kids as a fan base. Being this age.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

I have children as a fan base, you know what I'm saying? Kids as a fan base. So.

[Bunny]

Well, you don't.

[Flavor Flav]

So I think about that when I make my music. I think about that when I do things, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. Because I'll be. I mean, the kids are the emulators, you know what I'm saying? And if you want them to lead the world, right, you got to do the right things in front of them. Yes, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine. Plus the kids are the ones that's going to keep you in business. They're gonna, you know, grow up with you, you know what I'm saying? To keep you in business, you know what I'm saying? I'm proud of the brand new fan base that I have right now. You know what I'm saying? And mainly me getting down for Taylor Swift the way that I do. And the reason why I do is because the girl is real.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? I. I went and listened to her lyrics and everything, and Taylor writes about a lot of the experiences that she goes through in life, you know what I'm saying? In the whole nine.

[Bunny]

Have you ever got to meet her?

[Flavor Flav]

Huh?

[Bunny]

Have you ever got to meet her?

[Flavor Flav]

I sure have got to meet her, you know what I'm saying? Like I always say, my favorite record of hers is Bad Blood. And the reason why, because you know, you got some. You know, somebody that crossed. Crossed you one day, you know what I'm saying? Like, me and you, we were the best of friends, man. You crossed me. Now look what you did. Now we got bad blood and we got problems, y' all, and it's hard to solve them. That's in a lot of people's lives, man. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, yo, man, this girl is dope.

[Bunny]

Yo, that game, huh? Taylor be spitting that game.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, so, so. So. So that's why I started supporting her. And anybody that goes up against her, I defend her good, you know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

In the whole night we do in.

[Flavor Flav]

This house, fan base, her fan base got a whiff of how flavor flavor wife gets down for Taylor.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

And they gave me a new name.

[Bunny]

What is it?

[Flavor Flav]

King Swifty. Ah, so I'm King Swifty. I'm king of all the Swifties.

[Bunny]

You'll wear that title, which is big.

[Flavor Flav]

And I didn't get that name from Taylor. I got it from the Swifties.

[Bunny]

Yeah. And listen, if the Swifties love you, then you're in.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah.

[Bunny]

Like, for. You're in, like flame.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah. And I love all the Swifties, too, but. Yeah, man, come on, man. Swift, he's got my back. Just like I got Taylors. You know, there was a time when somebody was saying something negative about me, and all of the Swifties, they got together and was like, come on, we gotta support Flav. You know how he goes in for Taylor? So we gotta support Flav. So if these come on and they get together and they support me.

[Bunny]

Yeah, I love that.

[Flavor Flav]

Well, listen, I love my Swifties.

[Bunny]

If the Swifties and the Beehive have your back, you gotta make.

[Flavor Flav]

That's right. And the Beehives. You know what I'm saying? Word of Beyonce. No, I love Beyonce.

[Bunny]

Yeah, She's a beautiful soul. It's beautiful.

[Flavor Flav]

Beautiful. Yeah, man. Yeah, yeah, she. Yo, she's the queen of all R B.

[Bunny]

Yes, she is. I love Beyonce.

[Flavor Flav]

Beyonce is the.

[Bunny]

And she's a Houston girl.

[Flavor Flav]

She's the queen of all rnb, period.

[Bunny]

Have you got to meet Beyonce yet?

[Flavor Flav]

I sure have.

[Bunny]

Good.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, I sure got to be Beyonce and also Jay Z. The last time we got to see.

[Bunny]

Them at the Grammys.

[Flavor Flav]

The last. No, no, wait. No, not the last time, but there was a time when I was at the Bel Air Hotel, right? I was at the Bel Air Hotel on, on, on, on. On. On Stone Canyon Drive, and I ran across Jay Z. Long story short. And what shirt does he have on On a Public Enemy shirt with me and Chuck. I'm like, yo, you got me. I'm like, yo, you got me on your chest, bro. Yo, this is an honor, man. It's the honor, man. You know? Yeah, yeah. Hov. I love hov, man. I love, love Jay Z. Always loved them anyway, you know, I mean, out. In spite of all of the. That they've been talking about him and all of that. Come on, man. That's. That's Jay Z, man. You know? I'm saying. Word up, man. I love him, man. He came a long way, too, too.

[Bunny]

We got to meet Jay Z. Well, Beyonce and Jay Z were at the Grammys the same time that we were there. And Jay, you know, my husband is a huge Jay Z fan. And he's like, I want to meet him so bad. I'm like, babe, you have to go meet him. And he's like, no, I'm not going to walk over there. Jay Z came over to him and was like. And said hi to him. And Jay's like, Jay Z's walking over here. He's coming over to me right now. I'm like, babe, pull it together. Just shake his hand, say hi. Yeah. So it was the cutest thing when he got to meet Jay Z, because that's one of his idols, too, you know? So it was the sweetest thing. My husband fangirled over Taylor Swift. He got to meet her and then fangirled over Jay Z. So it was. It was really cute. Yeah, that's big.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, that's big, man.

[Bunny]

So, Flav, what is next for you that you haven't got to.

[Flavor Flav]

I just wanted to say, too, right. Just elaborating on the question, have I ever met Taylor? Yeah.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

When we did, I think it was I Heart Music Awards. And. And I had. And I gave Jordan Childs a clock, bronze clock, because, you know, they took a. They tried to Take a gold medal for her from her. You know what I'm saying? But she rightfully went out, and she deserved to win that, you know what I'm saying? And plus, we also made sure she got her prize money, too, as well, about. You know what I'm saying? But me and Jordan Charles presented an award to Taylor Swift.

[Bunny]

Oh, yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? And she invited Post Malone to come up on the stage with her because I guess that they got a record together.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

We love posting.

[Flavor Flav]

So then when I. When I seen her in the audience, I walked over to her and I said, taylor, do you know you just got an award from King Swifty? She said, I know.

[Bunny]

So. See, she gave you the honor, too.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, man. Yeah, man. Taylor Swift is the gift, man. I love the most most important artists of our time.

[Bunny]

Yeah. She's so influential.

[Flavor Flav]

Let me tell you something. I don't care what nobody say. I never seen anybody do what Taylor Swift did.

[Bunny]

Nope.

[Flavor Flav]

She had a concert and this hit the rector scale. Come on, now. I bet ain't nobody else doing no like that.

[Bunny]

No, I. It's insane. The power. That woman.

[Flavor Flav]

One of the most most important artists of a time. I'm so proud of her, too.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

No, we're all saying her moms and her dad got mad love for Flav, too, as well, so. And I love them, too.

[Bunny]

Yay. I love that so much.

[Flavor Flav]

Okay, now we can move on. Had to get my tailor Swift out. Man, I get down for Taylor. Everybody be asking me, yo, Flav, how you doing? I'm like, yo, man, I'm just trying to be swift like Taylor, baby. Trying to be swift like Taylor, baby.

[Bunny]

I love that. I'm gonna use that now. So, Clay, in closing, is there anything that you want to accomplish that you haven't gotten to accomplish in this lifetime? What's left for Flava Flav to accomplish?

[Flavor Flav]

Well. Well, there's an accomplishment that I'm trying to accomplish right now that I haven't accomplished yet that. You know what I'm saying? And it has to do with television, you know what I'm saying? I'm seeking to do the Flavor Flav show.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

And when I get this show up off the ground, Bunny. Yep. You definitely got to come. Come on and be a guest on my show, too. You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

Welcome.

[Flavor Flav]

And this show that I'm trying to create, it's a. It's. It's a variety slash talk show.

[Bunny]

Oh, love that.

[Flavor Flav]

You feel me?

[Bunny]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

Because, like, you know, on my show, you're gonna have performances and interviews. Performances and interviews.

[Bunny]

Bring it back. Like, old school, nighttime talk show host, stuff like. Like how the old school. Like. Like Arsenio hall and, like, stuff like that.

[Flavor Flav]

Check this out. This show that I'm trying to do is a spoof up the Arsenio Hall. So, okay, I'm taking it and put my own spin to it.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying?

[Bunny]

I love that.

[Flavor Flav]

And see, let me tell you something. You know, all of your fans would love to hear what you have to say, so my show would give you that platform to be able to speak to all your fans and also to give back to your fans as well.

[Bunny]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Flavor Flav]

You know what I'm saying? So. So that's what the Flavor Flav show is going to be about.

[Bunny]

We're putting it in the air. We're manifesting flavor. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today, Bunny.

[Flavor Flav]

Thank you for even having me on your podcast, man. You know what your husband means to your boy, Flavor Flav, you know what I'm saying? And word up, I goes all in for Jelly Roll. Nah, Jelly Roll is my boy. I don't care. Wherever he's at, whatever he's doing, I'm gonna come and I'm going to support my boy. I had a good time, too, coming out to the. To support him in California. Giving back for. To. To the firemen, to the first responders and all of that, you know what I'm saying? And had my partner Chuck come down and we did a performance at his thing. Man, I enjoyed doing that, you know what I'm saying? But also, I'm just proud of Jelly Roll, man, because of. Of who he is and the way he carries himself. And not only that, but, man, he's. He's. Yo, he lost so much weight, and he looks so good. I'm so proud of him. Like I said, his name is Jelly Roll. In a minute, it's going to be just Jelly without the roll, literally. Trust me. I think we're just on his way there.

[Bunny]

I think we're just gonna have to refer to him as Jason.

[Flavor Flav]

Jason.

[Bunny]

He's gonna have to go by his first name. He doesn't get the jelly or the roll anymore.

[Flavor Flav]

Oh, okay. Hey, well, you know what? I ain't going live, but that's a personal husband and wife situation.

[Bunny]

Yeah.

[Flavor Flav]

You gonna leave it again?

[Bunny]

Yeah. I love you so much.

[Flavor Flav]

To Bunny. Thank you for. For. For bringing me here and everything you Know what I'm saying? And I ain't going to lie, but these microphones look kind of good.

[Bunny]

You know, your. Your girl did my. My mics over here. Can we shout out her business so that we.

[Flavor Flav]

Sure you can. Sure you can. She does my clocks. She does all of my clocks. She did your mics.

[Bunny]

My microphones. I mean, she is the reason why we bl. Why we bling. Go ahead and speak in that microphone and tell people where to find. Find you. She won't do it. She's like, no. Here, Mimi, you do it for her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys just.

[Flavor Flav]

Yo, check this out, man. Mad Shout out goes out to Rocking Stones by Kels.

[Bunny]

Yes, girl.

[Flavor Flav]

That's who be. She's the bling queen.

[Bunny]

She really is.

[Flavor Flav]

Yeah, yeah. She's the queen of all the bling.

[Bunny]

Yes.

[Flavor Flav]

And everything.

[Bunny]

Everything, baby.

[Flavor Flav]

You heard me.

[Bunny]

You heard. And you can follow her at. At. Is it rock and Stones on Instagram? Rock in stones, like in a rock. A rock in letter N. Like stones with a Z on Instagram. We'll put it up on the screen. We'll put it in the caption, too, whenever this post. But you guys go follow her. If you need anything blinged out, please reach out to her because she does all my microphones for the podcast. And I'm telling you, her work is quality, baby.

[Flavor Flav]

Hey.

[Bunny]

Bye, Flav. I'll see you later. I love you so much.

[Flavor Flav]

I'll see you later, Bunny. Thank you for having me. God bless you with your life, your future, your goals, your wonderful family and everything. It just. Thanks for having me here.

[Bunny]

Love you so much.

[Flavor Flav]

I love you, too.

[Bunny]

Thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Dumb Blonde. I'll see you guys next week.

[Flavor Flav]

Bye.