Apparently, Flavor Flav’s firing from Public Enemy over the group’s Bernie Sanders political rally dispute was actually an elaborate hoax designed to promote new music. Chuck D revealed the truth on April Fool’s Day (April 1) while promoting a new surprise album from Enemy Radio — comprised of Chuck, DJ Lord, Jahi and the S1Ws — called Loud Is Not Enough. The project includes a song called “Food As A Machine Gun,” which features Flavor Flav.
“So it’s April 1, 2020 and as we hoard food and empty store shelves, Chuck D and Flavor Flav hijack it as April ‘FlavChuck’ Day to end the HOAX with Enemy Radio’s new song, ‘FOOD AS A MACHINE GUN.’ ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’ 2020 style,” Chuck revealed in a press statement. “That’s right, this is Enemy Radio featuring Public Enemy, with more around the corner: Enemy Radio’s debut album, LOUD IS NOT ENOUGH, is here. ‘FOOD AS A MACHINE GUN’ is the first taste, an attack on the food industrial machine that opens minds to the direct need, dependency and necessity – yet killer – of our current lives, taking inspiration from Kristin Lawless and her book, ‘Formerly Known As Food.”
According to the release, Chuck’s hoax was inspired by Orson Welles’ 1938 “The War of the Worlds ” radio broadcast.
“I had watched Orson Welles’ ‘War Of The Worlds’ from 1938 when he pulled the wool over the public’s eyes as they put 100% belief in the technology of radio,” Chuck wrote. “Most people followed like a Pavlovic dog just like they do now… Hearing the confused mush of political talk while under the bowels of Trumpotus made me use a presidential stage as my platform. Out of this storm came a plan between Flav and me to remind people that what’s important should have as much, if not more, value than just what’s popular. Thus came the HOAX, our ‘War Of The Worlds.’ Believe half of what you hear and NONE of what you see.”
The “hoax” that Chuck is referring to is his public falling-out with Flavor Flav earlier this month. Chuck performed at Bernie Sanders’ presidential rally on March 1 and Flav had supposedly taken issue with Public Enemy’s likeness being used in promotional material. Flav accused Sanders and Chuck of using misleading marketing tactics, since the entire Public Enemy group was not perfmcoring at the rally. Furthermore, Flav said he’d issued a cease-and-desist order over the promotional images and maintained that he did not share Chuck’s political endorsement for Sanders.
This led to a Twitter war between the two Public Enemy co-founders and Flav’s official “firing” from the group. Now, it turns out, the cease-and-desist order was never real and the social media sparring was all an act.
Chuck explained more of the behind-the-scenes process of the hoax during an interview with Talib Kweli on the “People’s Party” podcast. See the interview and find Loud Is Not Enough below.