Fact: Public Enemy is the greatest and most important rap group of all time. In a two-year period, they put out not one, but two classic albums in It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back and Fear Of A Black Planet.These days, more people may know Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav as a roastee (Comedy Central Roast Of Flavor Flav), published author (Flavor Flav: The Icon The Memoir), and reality TV star (The Surreal Life, Strange Love, Flavor Of Love). This evening, he's opening Flavor Flav's House Of Flavor, a soul food restaurant in Las Vegas. But first, he dropped by and spoke with us about the restaurant, his upcoming reality TV show, his and Public Enemy's legacy, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and his clocks.
How's it going today?
Yo, man! Everything's going great, man. So far, so good. Slow motion's better than no motion, baby.
Tell us about Flavor Flav's House Of Flavor restaurant.
Flavor Flav's House Of Flavor is gonna be a takeout restaurant on Maryland Parkway right here in Las Vegas. Yes, it has my signature and famous fried chicken on the menu and also we've got some good sides: collard greens, macaroni and cheese, rice and gravy, mashed potatoes and gravy. My partner that I teamed up with, his name is Farrah Gray and he's also my book publisher, added a red velvet waffle to the menu. That red velvet waffle, I've been told, is out of sight!
Will the restaurant have any of your memorabilia inside?
It sure will. Right now, we got a bunch of pictures of me hanging up and stuff. Also, we got some video footage of Public Enemy playing inside the restaurant. I'll probably go to my archives and pull out some clocks and probably put some clocks up on the wall, too.
Are any of the items named after moments in your career?
Nah. I haven't gotten to that point yet.
Let's talk reality TV. We last saw you on Celebrity Wife Swap, trading with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider. What was that whole scene like?
Let me tell you something. Maybe I am a reality TV star, you know what I'm saying? One thing that I had to do mainly for that show, I had to stage a few things. Some of the things that you guys seen on Wife Swap, I had to stage it in order to make my show interesting. Otherwise, it would've been so boring because everything was going real good, so me and Suzette Snider sat down and we came up with a few things. Me not being able to abide by her rules, I had to stage that part.
Really?
Yeah. Going bowling and all that stuff with my boys, all that part was real. But definitely, if I have to, yes I can stay at home. If I have to, yes I can abide by someone else's rules besides my own, you know what I'm saying? But I had fun doing the show though.
Cool. You really need to have your own show again. When are you coming back to television?
Hopefully, man, I'm going to return probably sometime this year. Also, I've been working on a golfing show from the Back9 Network. You guys are going to be hearing back from me soon, definitely on television but also Public Enemy. Me and my partner Chuck D, we've been putting together this next Public Enemy album. Hopefully, we'll have the album out to you guys in July or August.
Is it still called Most Of Our Heroes Don't Appear On A Stamp?
You know what? That's up to my partner, Chuck D. He's the one that comes up with these titles.
Are you guys going to be touring to support the album?
We sure are. Not only that, but we are also getting ready to go to Australia. We just now came back from Mexico. We're getting ready to go to Australia, then we're gonna go bang out the U.K., then we're gonna go bang out Manchester. Also, we're going back to Ireland and Scotland, too.
Do you think you guys will make it into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame one day?
I'm hoping that we do this year. I'm looking forward to it.
You should. What PE song still gives you the biggest thrill to perform live?
I gotta say "Fight The Power."
That's always been my favorite, too. It's been six years since you released Hollywood. When will we see another Flavor Flav solo album?
This year because I'm making a solo album as well. Y'all will be getting that from me this year after the Public Enemy album.
Cool. Anything you can tell us about it? Any special guests or anything?
Nah, I'm not thinking about doing a collaboration and the reason why is I want to show the whole world that I don't have to collaborate to stand on my own two feet.
I've gotta ask this: how many clocks do you have?
And I gotta answer it! A bunch of 'em! I've got probably 210 clocks, maybe.
When all is said and done, what do you think Public Enemy's legacy will be?
I'll tell you what, man. I know one thing: we've definitely got a good history of teaching people through our lyrics and enhancing people's lives through our lyrics. Our legacy also is known to be iconic.
What will Flavor Flav's legacy be?
Same thing, man. Iconic. An iconic legacy because that's what I am. I am an icon. The people made me this way.
That's right. I've got three quick questions for you, The CB3. First one is Thriller or Purple Rain?
Thriller.
You're the opening act of a music festival. You can get any five artists, living or dead, to perform with you. Which five do you choose?
James Brown, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Larry Graham, and Jimmy Castor.
What song do you all perform as the final jam?
"Fight The Power."
Cool. Well thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. It's been real fun for me.
You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time out and even talking with me, bro.
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