Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and the other members of Public Enemy Radio — Jahi, DJ Lord and the S1Ws — announced Flavor Flav was dismissed from the pioneering Hip Hop group last week.
The move followed Flav’s perceived outrage over the Public Enemy name being used to promote a Bernie Sanders rally in Los Angeles — despite the event being billed as a Public Enemy Radio performance.
After the news broke, many assumed Flav was dismissed because of opposing political views. In an official statement sent to HipHopDX on Monday (March 2), Public Enemy Radio asserted the decision absolutely had nothing to do with politics.
On Tuesday (March 3), The Guardian caught up with Flav who confirmed his removal from Public Enemy wasn’t about Sanders.
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“I don’t have anything against Bernie,” he said while waiting at the San Diego International Airport to catch his flight home to Las Vegas. “I think he’s a good person and I wish him luck. I think they’re all good people. Except Trump. Some people tried to say I did this because I’m a Trump supporter and that’s not true. Fuck Trump!”
Flav reportedly added the dispute wasn’t about Sanders — it was about Chuck for allegedly including him in plans for a performance he didn’t approve.
“Why try to say I’m a part of something I’m not a part of?” Flav said. “That was all Chuck D.”
Several outlets initially reported Public Enemy was performing, leading to the confusion. The flyer clearly stated Public Enemy Radio, which is the DJ-MC component of Public Enemy.
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Subsequently, Flav’s legal team fired off a cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign, a move that sealed Flav’s fate. As they noted in the official statement, Flav had already been on suspension since 2016 after he was a no-show at an event with Harry Belafonte.
