You’d think that all the members of legendary “Fight The Power” rap group Public Enemy would love Bernie Sanders’ anti-establishment ideas, but founding member Flavor Flav was kicked out of the 40-year-old hip hop outfit for disagreeing with the group’s recent affiliation with the socialist presidential candidate.
New York Daily News reported that the infamous clock-necklace-wearing member of Public Enemy (whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr.) was “booted” from the band after penning a “cease and desist letter” to the Sanders campaign, who had hired an official Public Enemy surrogate to perform at a rally in early March.
Mr. Flav disagreed with attaching the Public Enemy brand to Sanders and was cut out of the group by fellow group founder Chuck D. D and the Sanders campaign booked “Public Enemy Radio” to perform at Sanders’ rally on March 1 in Los Angeles and had marketed Flav’s “unauthorized likeness” and “image” as promotion, the rapper claimed in his letter.
A couple days prior to the rally, “Public Enemy Radio” had billed the performance as “Bernie Sanders + Public Enemy” with the tagline “Fight The Power.” This is a reference to their anti-law enforcement hit from 1989.
In his statement, Flav clarified, “While Chuck is certainly free to express his political views as he sees fit—his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy. The planned performance will only be Chuck D of Public Enemy, it will not be a performance by Public Enemy.”
He added that Public Enemy Radio’s use of the Public Enemy image provides a “grossly misleading narrative” and insisted that Public Enemy has not endorsed “any political candidate in this election cycle.” He blasted Sanders' campaign as a “fake revolution” that he refuses to have his music be a part of.
“There is no public enemy without Flava Flav,” the rapper concluded.
On Sunday Chuck D blasted his fellow star on Twitter, saying it’s not about politics but about Flav’s reluctance to perform an unpaid gig. He tweeted, “Spoke @BernieSanders rally with @EnemyRadio. If there was a $bag, Flav would’ve been there front & center. He will NOT do free benefit shows.”
If D’s charge is true, Flav really is a great lyricist. Turning down Sanders because of a lack of funds is downright poetic.
In an official statement Chuck D wrote, “Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav. We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.” According RollingStone Chuck D’s lawyer claimed that the rapper could “perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to; he is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark.”
Whatever, Flavor’s image is probably the main thing anyone remembers from that group anyways.
