It was entertaining, hip, funny & at times even exciting. Even while the tempers were flaring it was still a fun show. When some of the girls were disingenuous Flav proved 1 monkey don't stop the show. It was reminiscent of simpler times when everything on TV wasn't so strictly formulated & shows like Love Connection were a hit (& the couples young or old dint always hit it off). Flavor is a Hip-Hop icon, & even if you didn't grow up on his music, hes still 1 of the coolest guys thats ever been on VH1. If you never heard Flav back in 1986 or 87, or you weren't around yet, or (worst case scenario) basically were still listening to Debbie Gibson or New kids On The Block... Listening to his songs now like "911 Is A Joke" "Fight the Power" or "Cold Lampin With Flavor" would barely begin to even give you a little insight into how fresh he was, but you'll never really know or understand how hot or dope lines like "Flavor Flav, the flav of all flavors, onion & garlic, french fried potatos" really were back in the day. (Hoping I can still quote that right without having to Google it or break out the cassette tapes.) At a time when White people or Caucasians,from Friday Night Videos(the big video show on Network TV) to MTV wouldn't even play Rap or Black music. At a time when Michael Jackson had to break all of the Beatles & Elvis old record sales records; to earn the right to be the first Black even allowed on MTV (& MTV/vh1 were cable channels that back then even a lot of the MIDDLE-CLASS Blacks, & Mexicans & Filipinos etc didn't have.) Lyrics actually mattered back then, Hip-Hop was still an art form young Black males exclusively used to communicate exclusively with other Black males around the country. Before Eminem, and 8 Mile, million dollar videos, Cristal, & hip-hop-hos, or whatever derogatory stigmatism they want to attach to Hip-Hop or "CALL" Hip-Hop. Flavor Flav was writing stuff that was blowing our minds, educating & empowering a whole generation. (I can remember the Africa medallions he had everybody rocking; & running to Walden Books or the library after school to actually learn about Black/Pan-African culture. Cause it was cool, & that was HIP-HOP.) From 50 Cents to Nelly to Will Smith to Queen Latifah to Spike Lee anybody that was there would agree Flav was our Bill O Riley, our Red Hot Chili Peppers, our Beatles, our Bono, all rolled into 1.
Just for the record. Back then being a female in Hip-Hop was respectable & the B-Girls/ladys got they're respect, (without shaking what they're Momma gave them or backing anything up, although they did have they're sexier dances they were usually just more feminine versions of the same dances the guys were doing.) From Mc Lyte, to Roxanne Shante, Monie Love, Lady Antoinette, Yo-Yo & IBWC to Conscious Daughters or Isis etc. The girls back then would be pretty or even sexy but they were completely covered up in clothes almost just like dudes, but flyer. & any guy that wanted to be with them was in for a tough time...they were real Hip-Hop & that meant they were smart/quick witted & that if you wanted a chance with them you had to "chase them" or "sweat them" (no matter how rich or how POOR they were) almost how Desi had to respect & romance Lucille Ball; or how the Emily Post book of etiquette wouldve written the rules of courtship. They weren't hoochies groupies or materialistic designer wearing air heads. Times have changed & the teens now & people that don't understand Hip-Hop or that jut got into it the last few 6 or 7 years think that Lil Kim & the like define what a woman in Hip-Hop should be. They don't get that no matter how cool she seems or how big her personality is shes just herself & she doesn't represent what a woman in Hip-HOP is, should be, or has been. (Although I do like Lil Kim, Trina, & the like) I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for my B-Girls, smarter than your average university coed, sharper in her world politics & history than your local anchor woman, yet cooler than your average rapper... I wish that Flav had a B-girl on the show like Erykah Badu or Missy Elliot. Thats who the worlds illest B-Boy really needs.
Now that being said I think some people are taking Reality TV too serious, its just a TV show. & as with anybody else on TV from the witness of a car accident to your local weatherman. Who isn't on TV ultimately to get something out of it? (Even if its just to get they're point across.) People keep naming all of these other places they've seen Flavs contestants on before, but basically who cares? If they tried to get on the WWE who cares,if they were on Next oh well,if they're not virgins lol so what... I wouldn't care if my local weatherman had been on Seinfield or even that the Governor of Minnesota had been on the WWF... Arnold Schwarzenegger the Governor of California was on the Dating Game trying to get famous before he was famous! I mean Flav was right in trying to get rid of the girls who were ONLY on the show to advance they're careers & really weren't interested in him. But just as a fan of the show what difference would any of this make to me? To me that's REAL REALITY TV right there.This whole debacle only made the show that much realer to me. I myself liked Red Oyster & was hoping she would win although I have to admit Pumpkin was probably the hottest.
Just for the record. Back then being a female in Hip-Hop was respectable & the B-Girls/ladys got they're respect, (without shaking what they're Momma gave them or backing anything up, although they did have they're sexier dances they were usually just more feminine versions of the same dances the guys were doing.) From Mc Lyte, to Roxanne Shante, Monie Love, Lady Antoinette, Yo-Yo & IBWC to Conscious Daughters or Isis etc. The girls back then would be pretty or even sexy but they were completely covered up in clothes almost just like dudes, but flyer. & any guy that wanted to be with them was in for a tough time...they were real Hip-Hop & that meant they were smart/quick witted & that if you wanted a chance with them you had to "chase them" or "sweat them" (no matter how rich or how POOR they were) almost how Desi had to respect & romance Lucille Ball; or how the Emily Post book of etiquette wouldve written the rules of courtship. They weren't hoochies groupies or materialistic designer wearing air heads. Times have changed & the teens now & people that don't understand Hip-Hop or that jut got into it the last few 6 or 7 years think that Lil Kim & the like define what a woman in Hip-Hop should be. They don't get that no matter how cool she seems or how big her personality is shes just herself & she doesn't represent what a woman in Hip-HOP is, should be, or has been. (Although I do like Lil Kim, Trina, & the like) I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for my B-Girls, smarter than your average university coed, sharper in her world politics & history than your local anchor woman, yet cooler than your average rapper... I wish that Flav had a B-girl on the show like Erykah Badu or Missy Elliot. Thats who the worlds illest B-Boy really needs.
Now that being said I think some people are taking Reality TV too serious, its just a TV show. & as with anybody else on TV from the witness of a car accident to your local weatherman. Who isn't on TV ultimately to get something out of it? (Even if its just to get they're point across.) People keep naming all of these other places they've seen Flavs contestants on before, but basically who cares? If they tried to get on the WWE who cares,if they were on Next oh well,if they're not virgins lol so what... I wouldn't care if my local weatherman had been on Seinfield or even that the Governor of Minnesota had been on the WWF... Arnold Schwarzenegger the Governor of California was on the Dating Game trying to get famous before he was famous! I mean Flav was right in trying to get rid of the girls who were ONLY on the show to advance they're careers & really weren't interested in him. But just as a fan of the show what difference would any of this make to me? To me that's REAL REALITY TV right there.This whole debacle only made the show that much realer to me. I myself liked Red Oyster & was hoping she would win although I have to admit Pumpkin was probably the hottest.