From "6 Dumb Celebrities Who Are Way Smarter Than You Think
#5. Flavor Flav: Musical Prodigy
Joseph Okpako / Getty
Today, Flavor Flav is mostly famous for being a reality TV punchline -- the guy that other reality TV stars can talk to when they want to know what it feels like to tell someone else they need to get their shit together. He was once part of one of the most innovative hip-hop groups of all time, but his only role appeared to be shouting "Yeah boyee" and dancing like he was in a competition with his wardrobe to see which one could make him look more high on cocaine. By all appearances, he had about as much to do with the group's music as a sports mascot has to do with whether a team wins or loses. At his best, he was there to dance around and pretend not to know where Brooklyn at while the rappers and DJs focused on making real music.
Larry Marano / Getty
"Just stand in the corner and play with your clocks, Flav. We'll call you when it's time to shout nonsense."
The Truth:
Even Public Enemy fans are probably surprised when they show up to their concerts and see Flavor Flav playing drums. And not the way mascots "play the drums" on a bald guy's head. Flavor Flav can actually make a full nine-piece drum kit sing.
41Joke and grandgood via Youtube
In fact, he can play the hell out of a bunch of instruments. As a kid, he was regarded as a child prodigy for teaching himself how to play everything from the piano and guitar to the saxophone, trombone and even the French horn. He was just as prodigious as a shit-starting trouble maker, constantly getting arrested for skipping school and starting fires. Once, an interviewer who was looking for a heartwarming anecdote asked him what it was like growing up in his house, to which Flav responded, "Boy, did I burn the place down!" because he is bad at taking social cues, and awesome at being Flavor Flav.
You also may be surprised to learn that Flav co-wrote the first Public Enemy album with Chuck D. If you're having a tough time reconciling the twitchy rap clown with the militant, revolutionary music of Public Enemy, you're not alone. When the album got them signed by Def Jam, Rick Rubin suggested that Chuck drop the guy who was wearing a wall clock around his neck, forcing Chuck to explain that Flav was the only member of their group who knew how to, you know, make music. Or as Chuck D reportedly put it, "He can play 15 instruments, I can't play Lotto."
Tim Mosenfelder / Getty
"He uses his guitar pick to scratch the cards for me."
Unfortunately, we just don't pay as much attention to him when he's not acting like an asshole. For instance, here's a video that had less than 300 views at the time that this article went live in which he sits down at a piano and shocks a room full of people, improvising a mixture of classical, jazz and the Peanuts theme, piano noodling that sounds suspiciously like real music. And here's one that has 1.3 million views in which he dresses up like a pimp, wears a Viking helmet and gropes a woman while making the baffling claim that "you can have a picnic on her ass, G."
Read more:
http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-dumb-cele ... z2TxWaGfuL
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