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    How Did Flavor Flav Become a Hype Man for the U.S. Women’s Water Polo Team?

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    The rapper has become a self-appointed hype man and benefactor to the U.S. women’s team in Paris. He plans to keep the poolside party going into 2028.As the robed members of the U.S. women’s water polo team stood single file at the pool’s edge before their match against Italy at the Paris Olympics, the rapper Flavor Flav stood directly across from them, clapping while the announcer at the Aquatics Centre in St.-Denis, France, listed the American players’ names one by one. He made a heart gesture with his hands.For the rest of the match, he rarely sat. Wearing a personalized water polo cap and jersey and a dessert-plate-size clock on a chain around his neck — all of them red, white and blue — America’s newest (and perhaps most unlikely) water polo fan leaned nervously against a glass barrier and shouted encouragement.Whenever the United States scored, he raised his wrists — both were adorned with big-faced watches — and shouted gleefully. He does not care if the players cannot hear him, he said; he prefers that they focus on their assignments anyway.“They know deep down in their hearts and they know way in the back of their mind that Flav is right there for us,” he said in an interview at a hospitality venue in Paris after the game.In an Olympics in which Snoop Dogg has seemed ubiquitous, a women’s rugby player has recruited an N.F.L. superfan and Parisian fans have lost their minds, the relationship between a team of women’s water polo players and a 65-year-old rapper from Long Island might rank as just another curious pairing. Except it’s not: When it comes to water polo, Flavor Flav is quick to remind anyone, he is all in.The United States beat Italy, 10-3, in a group match on Wednesday. The team then beat France, 17-5, to close pool play with a 3-1 record.Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Taylor Swift ‘Eras Tour’ Movie: 4 Takeaways

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      There’s something in the singer’s highly anticipated new concert documentary for newcomers and superfans alike.As she greeted the audience at the premiere of her new movie, Taylor Swift sounded a bit sheepish.“You’re stuck with me, because I’m going to sit with you and watch this thing,” she told the crowd at the packed premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” held at the sprawling Grove shopping complex on Wednesday night. Well, one of the crowds, anyway: Thirteen of the theaters at the Grove’s AMC multiplex were filled with eager fans, and Swift stopped by all of them to give a special introduction, eventually settling into an auditorium’s audience that included stars like Adam Sandler and Julia Garner.Regular moviegoers can only hope that an apologetic Swift shows up for more house calls as her concert documentary makes its way into theaters this week. Though it was originally set for release on Friday, Swift just announced that the film will begin screening one day early because of fan demand.Still, even if they can’t watch “The Eras Tour” alongside the singer herself — who came to the premiere in a pale blue Oscar de la Renta gown and danced in her seat for most of its running time — the movie is poised to deliver in a major way.For theatrical exhibitors, whose business has been in jeopardy since the actors strike scuttled plans to release tentpole movies like “Dune” this fall, “The Eras Tour” is being likened to the second coming of Barbenheimer: It’s got the grab-your-besties-and-go appeal of “Barbie,” the shock-and-awe soundscape of “Oppenheimer” and the box-office tracking to rival them both. Bullish film analysts expect an opening weekend between $150 to $200 million, meaning “The Eras Tour” has a shot at taking this year’s box-office tiara from “Barbie,” which notched a $162 million debut.In the meantime, here are four of the takeaways from the premiere.Expect no extras, though you’ll get a front-row seatIf fans are looking for insight into how Swift put her show together, or what was going on in her life behind the scenes, they won’t find it in “The Eras Tour”: There is no additional embroidering in this concert documentary, which was culled from Swift’s six-night August stint at the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles. For those who caught one of the 53 shows Swift played in North American this past year, or for the fans hoping to see Swift in her remaining American dates (an international tour begins in February), this film is more or less the same thing as buying a concert ticket.Swift stopped by all 13 screens in the multiplex of them to give each audience a special introduction.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThere’s one crucial difference, of course: No stadium seat could offer as close a look at Swift’s performance as this documentary, which is vigorously shot and directed by Sam Wrench. And since the 33-year-old singer designed “The Eras Tour” as a journey through the shifting musical genres of her past 10 albums — from the country-pop “Fearless” all the way up to the recent, stripped-down records “Folklore,” “Evermore” and “Midnights” — this film is the closest thing that exists to a definitive document of one of the world’s biggest performers.In that way, it’s perfect viewing for newcomers and superfans alike: Curious people who were unwilling to shell out for tour prices can now check out Swift at a reduced rate, while Swifties who’ve already attended the concert can relive it in a compelling close-up. My teenage niece, who went to one of the SoFi shows, accompanied me to the premiere and was thrilled by the better look at Swift’s facial expressions and choreography. I noticed that hardly a song goes by without some big smiles from Swift and her backup singers: There’s enough joy on these faces to power entire blocks of Barbie Land.Only a few songs get snipped“The Eras Tour” runs a robust two hours and forty-eight minutes, and though that’s nearly as long as “Oppenheimer,” Swift’s real-life concerts during this tour were even more mammoth, typically clocking in just shy of three and a half hours. Do fans have reason to fear there have been major cuts to the set list?By my count, only a handful of her regular songs go missing on the way to the big screen, including “The Archer,” “Cardigan,” “Wildest Dreams,” and “no body no crime,” which Swift performed at SoFi with the band Haim.Taylor Swift fans Karen Boncan, left, and Petrushka Seville at the premiere on Wednesday.Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated PressStill, fans will get plenty of bang for their buck, since Swift performs nearly 40 songs during the movie, including a 10-minute version of “All Too Well” and two other bonus tunes, “Our Song” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” that Swift plucked from a rotating selection of surprise songs during her tour. And another trim is sure to be appreciated: Swift now moves between the different eras and costume changes in the blink of an eye onscreen, eliding all the time those segues took onstage.In Hollywood, everyone is a SwiftieBlockbuster premieres have been hard to come by since the actors strike began, and an eclectic cross-section of celebrities turned out for the “Eras Tour” premiere, including Sandler, Mariska Hargitay and the singers Maren Morris and Hayley Kiyoko. Fashion choices ran the gamut from silver sequins to cowgirl fringe, and Alex Atallah, a co-founder of the NFT marketplace OpenSea, entered the theater lobby sporting the colorful, tie-dyed “I Am Kenough” hoodie seen on Ryan Gosling in “Barbie.”“I have very few shirts with this many pastel colors,” Atallah told me before posing for a photo with the “Barbie” co-star Simu Liu.Nearby, I caught Flavor Flav deep in conversation with Swift’s father, Scott. Though they made for an unlikely duo, the 64-year-old rap icon is no fly-by-night fan: He said that he’d seen the “awesome” Swift on two previous tours.“I’ve been a Swiftie for the longest, bro,” Flav insisted.“I’ve been a Swiftie for the longest, bro,” said the rapper Flavor Flav.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty ImagesBut Swift’s biggest invite was reserved for another A-lister (and no, it wasn’t her new beau Travis Kelce, busy with a football game the next day): Before the premiere began, Swift dined and posed for pictures with Beyoncé, who has her own concert movie “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé” due for release on Dec. 1. Like “The Eras Tour,” Beyoncé’s film bypassed traditional Hollywood studios and will be distributed by AMC Theaters.Finally, Swift will enjoy some big-screen successThough she’s a superstar in the music industry, Swift’s forays into film haven’t been as well-received. Her last three movie credits as an actress include the minor young-adult drama “The Giver,” the memorably cataclysmic adaptation of “Cats,” and last year’s David O. Russell-directed “Amsterdam,” which coaxed Swift to pop in for a quick cameo and then promptly ran her over.Unlike Lady Gaga, who has lately toggled between music and movies in equal measure, Swift has treated Hollywood as more of a side hustle, only committing to the occasional supporting role. But last year, after she signed a deal with Searchlight to write and direct an upcoming original film, eyebrows were raised all over town: Was Swift ready to take her movie career a bit more seriously?Bullish film analysts expect opening weekend box office takings between $150 to $200 million for the movie.Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesIt remains to be seen whether Swift will star in her feature directorial debut, but “The Eras Tour” still supplies her with some much-needed big-screen juice. A fun presence in her biggest numbers, like the bouncy “Shake It Off” and rocking “Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift is even more appealing in acoustic numbers that trade busy choreography for simple guitar playing. And in the centerpiece song “Tolerate It,” she shows acting chops during a well-choreographed routine about a dinner date gone wrong: It begins with her beseeching an inexpressive lover and ends with her swatting a vase of roses off the table.Her real talent, though, is selling humility with a megawatt charisma that few celebrities can muster. Introducing one song, Swift insists she had to invent an outsized version of herself in order to write it: “In my fantasy, I’m not a lonely millennial woman covered in cat hair,” the singer says, even though she’s spent the whole film looking impossibly glamorous in sky-high Christian Louboutin heelsAnd yet, you’re still tempted to believe her. What is that, if not a movie star? More

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      Grammys Celebrate Hip-Hop History, From Grandmaster Flash to Lil Uzi Vert

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      In what could be seen as an elaborate mea culpa to rap music after decades of friction and perceived disrespect, the Grammy Awards dedicated an extended, centerpiece performance on Sunday to the forthcoming 50th anniversary of hip-hop, going from Grandmaster Flash to Lil Uzi Vert in about 15 minutes.Featuring a taste of some two dozen songs from across decades, regions and movements, the medley — curated by Questlove of the Roots and narrated by his bandmate Black Thought, plus LL Cool J and Queen Latifah — included deep cuts, smash hits and fan favorites in a rapid-fire fashion. The performance celebrated the half-centennial of the genre, which many in the industry have dated to Aug. 11, 1973, when DJ Kool Herc threw a back-to-school party with his sister in the rec room of an apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx.Opening with Grandmaster Flash performing his traditional record-scratching and drum-machine techniques, the first of three segments breezed through the late 1970s and 1980s with appearances by Run-DMC, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim and Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flava Flav. (Jazzy Jeff — along with the Fresh Prince, a.k.a. Will Smith — and Salt-N-Pepa were among the first-ever Grammy nominees in a rap category, though both groups boycotted the ceremony in 1989 because the award was not being televised.)Representing the next waves, including early gangster rap, Southern hip-hop and 21st-century pop crossovers, were artists like Queen Latifah, Big Boi of Outkast and Missy Elliott, who performed her 2005 hit “Lose Control,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. In a showstopping moment, Busta Rhymes transitioned from “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See,” his 1997 single, to his 2011 verse on Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now,” a feat of vocal speed, verbal dexterity and breath control.Moving toward the present day in the high-energy third act, Nelly, Too Short and the Lox made way for the current crop of rap stars, including Lil Baby and GloRilla.Concluding the set was Lil Uzi Vert, hitting viral dance moves alongside LL Cool J, to his Jersey club-influenced TikTok hit “Just Wanna Rock,” as clear an example as any of how unpredictably hip-hop has evolved.Here’s the full set list:Grandmaster Flash, “Flash to the Beat”/“The Message”Run-DMC, “King of Rock”LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff, “I Can’t Live Without My Radio”/“Rock the Bells”Salt-N-Pepa, “My Mic Sounds Nice”Rakim, “Eric B. Is President”Chuck D and Flavor Flav, “Rebel Without a Pause”Black Thought and LL Cool J interlude (“Rump Shaker”)Posdnuos of De La Soul, “Buddy”Scarface, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”Ice-T, “New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme)”Queen Latifah, “U.N.I.T.Y.”Method Man, “Method Man”Big Boi of Outkast, “ATLiens”Busta Rhymes, “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See”/“Look at Me Now”Missy Elliott, “Lose Control”Nelly, “Hot in Herre”Too Short, “Blow the Whistle”The Lox and Swizz Beatz, “We Gonna Make It”Lil Baby, “Freestyle”GloRilla, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”Lil Uzi Vert, “Just Wanna Rock” More

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      Flavor Flav Ousted From Public Enemy After Row Over Bernie Sanders Support

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      The hip hop group make public their decision to move forward without their rapper bandmate just hours after Chuck D threatens to give him ‘a year to get his act together.’
      Mar 3, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Public Enemy has fired rapper Flavor Flav after more than 35 years with the band, following a row surrounding their support for U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
      Things kicked off when Flav sent a cease-and-desist notice to Sanders, telling him to stop using Public Enemy’s name and his likeness in campaign propaganda, after the group’s co-founder Chuck D signed up to perform with offshoot band Public Enemy Radio at a Los Angeles rally for Sanders on Sunday, March 01.
      However, many media reports and posters promoting the event simply noted the appearance of Public Enemy – leading Flav to employ his lawyers to issue a legal warning.
      Chuck then hit back at his original bandmate, with his attorney insisting he “could perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to” because “he is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark”, and later clarified on Twitter that his issues with Flav’s stance don’t stem from their political beliefs.
      While Chuck had originally threatened to give Flav “a year to get his act together and get himself straight or he’s out”, it seems things quickly escalated in the following hours, with a brief statement issued on Sunday confirming the group would be “moving forward” without the rapper.
      “Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav,” the statement read. “We thank him for his years of service and wish him well.”

      Flav has yet to respond to the unceremonious firing on his social media pages.

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