In what is surely the greatest combination of flavors since you got YOUR chocolate in MY peanut butter, two of your favorite Celebreality superstars just made some sweet music together. Literally.
TMZ reports that Flavor of Love star Flavor Flav joined Rock of Love star Bret Michaels on-stage in Dubuque, Iowa (of all the places!), for a killer version of Public Enemy’s 1990 Top 40 smash, “911 Is A Joke.” As you’ll see from the (admittedly crappy*) video above, Flav started the jawn off a capella style, but then Bret and his band joined in with some ferocious instrumental backing, at which point everyone in the audience got up and then got, got down.
What do you guys think? Should Flav and Bret go out on tour together? Or should they stick to romancin’ the ladies?
“Honestly with Flavor Flav, if you know anything about Flavor Flav’s history, you never know what he’s going to do next. You’ll be surprised what he’s going to do next,” Flavor Flav tells the Clinton Herald regarding the opening of his new fast-food joint, Flav’s Fried Chicken (opening today in Clinton, Iowa). While some might agree that the move from rapper to reality star to restaurateur is unlikely, others might argue that the move is wholly predictable and rooted in stereotypes. For someone who’s been accused of minstrelsy, aligning himself with a brand of fried chicken (or any other stereotypically African American cuisine) is, to put it lightly, not the best look.
But what this really comes down to is a struggle between principle and practice: Flav’s love affair with fried chicken has been well documented (check out the screen shot above from Flavor of Love 2, and think back to when he took Krazy on a date to KFC during that same season). And fried chicken tastes good! People of all colors of the rainbow adore it! But perhaps no amount of tastiness is worth the bitter sensation of racial-stereotype perpetuation. Sometimes you have to think outside the box society puts you in.
It’s a tough call, really. My knee-jerk reaction was second-hand embarrassment, but you know, Flav’s gotta do what he’s gotta do to earn a living. And at least he plans on being a hands-on partner: “I don’t want to be just known to have a spot. You’re going to find me in here working. You’re going to be catching me seasoning my chicken, flouring my chicken, frying up my chicken, and not only that, but serving my chicken to my people,” he says. A celebrity who takes an active role in his business instead of merely assigning his name and forgetting about it? That is anything but stereotypical. [Clinton Herald]
Mercedes “Prancer” Clausen of VH1′s Flavor of Love 3 and I Love Money 2 is taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk To Cure Diabetes. In the video above, Prancer gravely describes her cause, touching on the devastating effects of juvenile diabetes. She also tells you how you can help sponsor her (click here to donate). Bret Michaels, who raised money for juvenile diabetes on The Celebrity Apprentice, would be so proud!
Complex recently compiled its list of the 50 Hottest Reality TV Girls, and impressively, women affiliated with VH1 take up a dozen of the slots. Of that dozen, half of the girls are from For the Love of Ray J (the most represented show on the countdown, alongside The Real World — keep in mind though, that show has had 24 seasons, while Ray J has had two). Among the hotties are Danger (No. 42), Mz Berry (No. 32), Caviar (No. 30), Luscious (No. 22), Chardonnay (No. 18) and Cashmere (No. 14). The other VH1 girls are Viva Hollywood‘s Jenn Pinto (No. 44), The White Rapper Show‘s Misfit (No. 40), Myammee (No. 39), Deelishis (No. 29), Hoopz (No. 10) and Adrianne Curry (No. 8).
So, what do you think: is For the Love of Ray J a babe magnet of a reality show? According to the list, it’s turned out twice as many of reality TV’s hottest as America’s Next Top Model. In fact, my favorite thing about this list is that ANTM is represented as much as Flavor of Love (both come up three times). That is two giant orbiting balls of “Wooooooooow!” and LOOOOOOOOOOOOL! And I know that Complex skews “urban,” but damn son, where’s the love for Rock of Love? No honorable mention even, for that show’s willingness to constantly put itself out there (via silicone and…other stuff)? [Complex via ONTD]
VH1′s premier ladies man (or…whatever) Flavor Flav is aiming to go back to school and reality TV in one fell swoop. He’s teamed up with producer Eric Ortner and, according to Access Hollywood, Ish Entertainment (the production company responsible for My Antonio and Paris Hilton’s My New BFF, but not Flavor of Love — that was 51 Minds) to shop a new unscripted series that will find him pursuing his high school diploma. (Flav says he dropped out of school in 10th grade.) “I just want to show the world it’s never too late to get your diploma, and show kids they should stay in school and not wait until you’re old to get it,” he says. “Everybody sees me as this big love mogul. Now I got a baby girl, I’ve been there and done that and now it’s time for the next episode.”
Does everyone see him as a big love mogul? I see him more as a philosopher/hype man. And he seems to see himself as a pioneer. He went on to talk about his impact on reality TV: “I’ve been known to be a leader and I’ve had a lot of followers and there’s a certain franchise I’ve set up on VH1. This show can be big enough to change the direction of reality shows.”
Also of note, he commented on the Ryan Jenkins tragedy. (Admit it: you’ve been waiting for Flavor Flav’s take on this whole thing.) He says it broke his heart and added, “It’s really messed up, love can make you and love can break you. This guy definitely couldn’t handle it.” So he’s a social commentator with a heart of gold, too, I guess.
No word on when the series (whose working title is, cleverly, Flavor Flav Goes Back to High School) will begin airing or on what network. [The Hollywood Reporter via Videogum]
Last week, Movieline posted a list of “the six most egregious reality-stars-turned-singers,” and while it included two VH1-rooted personalities (Brooke Hogan and Celebrity Rehab‘s Jeff Conway), not one member of the …Of Love universe popped up. For shame! The aspiring singers and rappers have provided some of the best musical entertainment VH1 has offered since…well, since VH1 regularly played music. (Just kidding! We still do! Sometimes!) Six of our favorites are below starting with…
Within minutes of the first episode of Rock of Love, Lacey jumped behind a drum kit and commenced annoying her fellow Bret-lovers with her infernal racket. But not even that could have prepared us for this synth-pop ditty and its curiously…curious video (directed by Lacey’s dad, Otis). Lacey’s played with industrial mega-band Pigface, which is kinda a big deal. The fact that this video has almost 10 times as many YouTube views as Pigface’s most popular video makes Lacey kinda a bigger deal…I guess?
Who’s kidding who? Our celebreality series has had a had some wild parental moments. Moms do things one way (hello Sister Patterson!) and dads do things another. Since Father’s Day is this Sunday, we figured that a playlist of some pop/kid interactions would be appropriate. We got Luke, Hulk, Danny, Scott, Flav, and others waiting for you in this Celebration of VH1′s Most Awesome Dads.
This week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly concerns all things reality, and includes a section of interviews with past reality-TV contestants. The only VH1personality to pop up is Flavor of Love 3‘s Ice, who reflects on the opportunism that she was never less than upfront about (to the point that it led to her elimination):
“Who the hell could fall in love with Flavor Flav? He went to kiss me, and I was very hesitant. I did not want that to happen at all. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I wouldn’t have had sex with him, but I would have probably made out with him. We lived the good life out there. That’s why I cried at the end. Everyone’s like, ‘You didn’t even like him!’ I’m like, ‘I’m leaving a pretty mansion in California! I’m not going to be pampered anymore!’ That’s why I was crying, man.”
Hey, Facebook fiends and MySpace mavens! We know you’re always trying to have some cyber fun, so to help you play with pals, we’re announcing the arrival of the SuperPoke!Fest. To celebrate our newest show, I Love Money, featuring some your favorite cast members from Rock of Love, Flavor of Love, and I Love New York, we’ve concocted 30 VH1 specific SuperPokes! to get someone’s attention. Yes, you will soon be telling pals that you want to “get romantical” with them, or “give them a thorny rose.”
As you poke someone you also have a chance to have your personalized message shown on VH1 during the four-day marathon of Rock of Love, Flavor of Love, and I Love New York. (Thursday, July 3 – Sunday, July 6).
Head over to our I Love Money page for more info on the show, it’s crazy cast, and the links to SuperPoke! your pals. Don’t forget to watch the show’s premiere this Sunday night.
