From "Fight the Power" to "Flavor of Love"?

[Originally posted in October]
Since the month of October celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, I put a photo of my shero, Kathleen Cleaver (Eldridge Cleaver's former wife and the Communication Secretary of the Pather Party) on my page and I played Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." I think later that night, an episode of Flavor of Love came on T.V. and it got me thinkin'. . .

How the hell did Flava Flav go from being a member of the most revolutionary hip hop groups in history to starring in one of the most sensationalistic, offensive, exploitative, misogynistic, television shows on contemporary television? I mean, true enough, even when he was in Public Enemy he was still kind of the minstrel of that group with the outlandish outfits, the clock around his neck and the whole thing, but how can you go from one end of the spectrum to the other? How can you preach about black power and fighting for black rights and then star on that God-awful show with Brigit Nielsen where he decided that he loved her after she slapped the shit out of him? And on Flavor of Love, it's really about how much ass he can get from these women. He plays himself-- showing himself to be a completely illiterate, inarticulate jackass, using words like "romantical" and "habitatural" [these quotes are borrowed from a recent Essence article by another young black woman who is also offended by the former self-proclaimed "hip-hop intellectual" who treats women like trash and who can barely form a complete sentence]. Chuck D still raps, does radio talk shows, and lectures around the country yet this is what has become of the hypeman of Public Enemy?

Needless to say, I felt compelled to change the music on my page. I still love Public Enemy and "Fight the Power" is still a classic, but it just didn't sit well with me considering I was using the song to honor true Revolutionaries.

"Yo baby, can't you see that's nonsense you watchin'? Look, don't
nobody look like that, nobody even live that, you know what I'm sayin'? You watchin' garbage, nothin' but garbage. Straight up garbage. Yo, why don't you just back up from the TV, read a book or something. Read about yourself, learn your culture, you know what I'm sayin'?"

-Flavor Flav on Public Enemy's "She Watch Channel Zero" (1988)