Flavor Flav is now officially an alumnus of the group Public Enemy, according to a statement from the group reports by Rolling Stone and Variety, among other publications.
His firing follows a dispute with Chuck D over an appearance by a PE spinoff at a Bernie Sanders rally, which resulted in Flav sending a cease-and-desist order eo the Sanders campaign. “Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav,” the group said in a statement released Sunday.
“We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.”
Fans were quick to take to social media urging others not to blame Sanders for coming between the two, pointing out that the two have had issues with one another in and out of court for years. On his Twitter account Sunday night, Chuck D tore into Flav, without explicitly confirming that he had ousted the more light-hearted member of the veteran hip-hop group.
He continued to assert that Flav is apolitical through and through — versus taking a principled stand on Sanders — and that his former cohort “would’ve been there front and center” at the candidate’s rally on Sunday in L.A., too, “if there was a $ bag.” Chuck D also claimed in a late-night tweet that he was sued by Flav on Friday, although it’s not clear if he was referring to the cease-and-desist or an actual lawsuit, which has not previously been reported.
Chuck D’s latest Twitter comments: “Spoke @BernieSanders rally with @EnemyRadio. If there was a $bag, Flav would’ve been there front and center. He will NOT do free benefit shows. Sued me in court the 1st time I let him back in. His ambulance lawyer sued me again on Friday and so now he stays home & better find REHAB.” He went into detail on why he formed Public Enemy Radio, as an offshoot group: “to get far away from that ridiculousness.”
Whether he will just use the Public Enemy banner without the “Radio” addendum now that Flav has been pushed out remains to be seen. Sunday’s statement said that the spinoff act Public Enemy Radio — which includes Chuck D, DJ Lord, Jahi and the S1Ws, “taking it back to hip hop’s original DJ-and-turntablist foundation” — will be releasing an album, “Loud is Not Enough,” in April.
