Funkmaster Flex | |
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![]() Funkmaster Flex in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Aston George Taylor Jr. |
Also known as |
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Born | The Bronx, New York City, U.S. | August 5, 1968
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | |
Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | |
Formerly of | |
Website | inflexwetrust |
Aston George Taylor Jr. [1] (born August 5, 1968), [1] professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot 97 in New York, which was a pop radio station at the time. [2]
Aston Taylor Jr. was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to Jamaican immigrant parents. [3] His father, DJ Aston George Taylor Sr., was a sound system professional. [4] He was raised in a strict, religious household. [5] At the age of 16, he began DJing at local nightclubs. [4]
By the age of 19, he began working with fellow Bronx native Chuck Chillout for WRKS 98.7 Kiss-FM in New York. He later left KISS, and spent a brief period at 107.5 WBLS-FM. [6] In the early 1990s, Flex made club appearances at many of Vito Bruno's operated nightclubs. Bruno later convinced Joel Salkowitz, a regional vice president of Hot 97, to begin airing live broadcasts from clubs where he was performing. When they realized the resurgence of hip hop was coming fast from its decline in the eighties, they increased the hours of this urban radio programming. [2] Due to the success of that programming, in the spring of 1992 Funkmaster Flex began mixing and hosting his own show, a specialized rap program on Hot 97. With this, Hot 97 became the first pop station in New York to showcase rap. Flex has been with Hot 97 ever since, and currently airs nationally through syndication during weeknights and weekends. [2] He is well known for his signature "bomb drop" sound effect over records. On July 20, 2011, Kanye West & Jay-Z's "Otis" premiered on Flex's Hot 97 radio show. It took 22 minutes to get through as Flex restarted the song 25 times (roughly once every 53 seconds) and played the bomb sound effect 63 times. [7] Flex is also responsible for his early mentorship of his friend and former coworker at Hot 97, Angie Martinez. [8]
On August 3, 2010, Flex launched his news website InFlexWeTrust.com. [9] He makes the audio, video and mp3's of artist freestyles from his show "exclusively" available on the site. The site also posts entertainment news, music, cars, models, sports and technology. It joined the Complex media network in September 2012, and has been mentioned in songs, including Fabolous' "So NY." [10]
By the mid-1990s, Flex was signed by a major record label, Loud Records, for a series of mixtapes entitled 60 Minutes of Funk. All four were certified gold by the RIAA in the US. [6] In 1995 he formed The Flip Squad along with seven of New York City's most respected disc jockeys, including Biz Markie, "BounceMasta" Doo Wop, Big Kap, DJ Enuff, Mister Cee, Frankie Cutlass, DJ Riz, Cipha Sounds and Mark Ronson. Their self-titled debut LP was released on MCA in late 1998. In 1999, he released The Tunnel with Def Jam, which included songs by artists Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Eminem, LL Cool J, DJ Myth, Method Man, DMX, Nas and Snoop Dogg. [6] Other acts he has worked with include Yvette Michele, Pras, DJ Kool, Foxy Brown and Armand Van Helden. [11]
In October 2020, Flex announced plans of an upcoming album. In December, he released the album's lead single, "Lurkin", with King Von, while confirming that the album would feature an array of artists, including Juice Wrld, Kodak Black, Post Malone, Lil Baby, and Pop Smoke, among others. A release date is yet to be announced, however the album will be released through Flex's own label IFWT Films and Records. [12]
Funkmaster Flex first appeared on television in the early nineties on Yo! MTV Raps hosted by Fab 5 Freddy, DJ Myth, Ed Lover, and Doctor Dré. [13] [14] He later did various hip-hop and automobile spots for MTV.
In 2003, Flex debuted his first television series, Ride with Funkmaster Flex on the Spike cable network. [15] The show documented the subculture of cars popular in hip hop culture. Noteworthy moments in the series included a look into Diddy's private jet and a visit to Eminem's studio. [15] [16]
Flex later developed a one-off Spike TV show race event – The Funkmaster Flex Super Series Invitational. [17] The race featured 60 late-model stock car drivers at The Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut. [17] Celebrities like Orange County Choppers, LL Cool J, and Lil' Kim were brought out to watch the event. [17]
ESPN noticed Ride with Funkmaster Flex and decided to create a show with Flex focusing on custom cars and interviewing athletes from the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. Guests included Danica Patrick, Terrell Owens, and Jason Giambi. The show was called All Muscle with Funkmaster Flex and began airing early 2007. [18]
Later in 2007, a second show called Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex premiered on ESPN. [19] Car Wars asked different car customizers to modify existing vehicles for cash prizes. If featured automotive designers such as Patrick Schiavone, former Ford North American Truck & SUV Design Director and currently Vice President of Design at Whirlpool, Ford Explorer Exterior Design Manager Melvin Betancourt and Louis D'erasmo of Valanca Auto Concepts. [20]
For Fast Machines with Funkmaster Flex, Flex returned to Spike TV to focus on making muscle and modern car customization for celebrities. Examples included a 1955 Chevy Bel Air for Dale Earnhardt Jr., a 1966 Pontiac GTO for Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine and a 1970 Chevy Chevelle for the U.S. Marines. It also featured an interview with Royal Purple race driver Kathryn Minter. [21]
In 2010, Flex returned to MTV with a new show – Funk Flex Full Throttle . The show featured Flex interviewing hip-hop artists and customizing cars; either on location at Spring Break, the New York Auto Show or in his garage. Full Throttle also integrated reality elements as Flex directed his team of car customizers at various builds and allowed viewers inside the lifestyle of Hip-Hop stars. [22]
In 2014, Funkmaster Flex appeared on VH1 as part of the reality show This Is Hot 97 .
Taylor developed and promotes an annual eight-city Funkmaster Flex Custom Car & Bike Show Tour. It has had featured artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Fabolous. Each stop showcases customized cars in competition for cash prizes and model and recording talent search. In 2010, he added the Funkmaster Flex Lifestyle Expo which included sneaker and DJ battles, video game competitions, skateboard demos. [23]
He also displays some of his personal collection of roughly 40 muscle cars at each stop of the tour. [24]
In 2005, Ford Motor Company opened its Dearborn design studio doors to Taylor to look at how to customize its product line-up and add exposure to the brand. He has since customized several models for Ford. [25]
He is a voice actor in Quest for the Code in 2002. [26]
FunkMaster Flex's name was used on the American release for the PS2 video game Music 3000, FunkMaster Flex's Digital Hitz Factory in 2004.
Flex is a featured DJ on The Beat 102.7 in Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony . [27]
He is a celebrity adversary and an unlockable free agent fullback in season mode of ESPN NFL 2K5 . He also has an unlockable team, the Baurtwell Funkmasters. [28]
Flex was an unlockable character and in-game narrator in Def Jam Vendetta .
Flex is also mentioned in the prelude of NBA 2K18 when talking to ATM (a CPU character).
Angela "Angie" Martinez is a Puerto Rican-American radio personality, podcaster, and former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station Hot 97 (WQHT). She left the station in 2014 to join crosstown competitor Power 105.1 (WWPR).
WQHT is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund, and operated by Emmis Corporation under a shared services agreement.
George Spivey, known professionally as DJ Scratch, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Brooklyn, New York.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
Cipha Sounds is an American DJ, comedian, and radio and television personality of Puerto Rican descent. He is mostly known for his work as a DJ, a VJ for MTV, and as a comedian.
Ride with Funkmaster Flex is a television show that was produced by MTV Networks. The show aired from 2003–2004, lasting two seasons. It was originally shown on Spike TV and RedMoxie and was also broadcast on MuchMusic and ESPN with a licensing agreement to MTV Networks.
Kevin Bell, professionally known as DJ Head, is a hip-hop producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. He's best known for producing and co-producing songs for Eminem, Xzibit, Jay-Z, D12, Valid, Obie Trice, Bizarre, and as Eminem's original touring deejay from 1997 to 2002.
"New York, New York" is a song from the American West Coast hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg. The song was released as a promotional single and is the lead single from their debut album, Dogg Food.
"Haters" is the second single from Tony Yayo's second studio album. The song features fellow rapper 50 Cent, Shawty Lo and Roscoe Dash. The song was released as a digital download on March 23, 2011.
Dominic Ross Hunn, better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically acclaimed mixtape From the Westside with Love. His first commercial studio album From the Westside with Love II was released on iTunes June 28, 2011. Despite it being his iTunes debut, FTWSWL2 received "a top 10 spot on Hip Hop/Rap albums chart during its release week" and was Kennedy's first album associated with The OpM Company, Kennedy's self-established record label. His song "My Type of Party" was ranked by Complex at #43 in the magazine's Best 50 Songs of 2012 list.
The Mix Tape, Volume 1: 60 Minutes of Funk is a mixtape by American DJ Funkmaster Flex, composed of freestyles and previously released songs, all mixed with Funk Flex's production. It was released on November 21, 1995, via Loud/RCA Records. The recording sessions took place at D&D Studios in New York.
The Mix Tape, Volume III: 60 Minutes of Funk is a mixtape by American DJ Funkmaster Flex. It was released on August 11, 1998, via Loud Records, serving as a sequel to 1997 The Mix Tape, Volume II and the third installment in his 60 Minute of Funk mixtape series. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios in New York.
"Otis" is a song by American hip hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West from their first collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). The song posthumously features soul singer Otis Redding, whose version of "Try a Little Tenderness" is sampled in the song. The production was covered solely by West. The track was premiered by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and was released onto the Internet the day afterward. Lyrically, the song has the two rappers sharing lines discussing wealth, decadence and fame. The track received highly positive reviews from music critics who praised the trading off of verses by the two rappers and the Redding-sampled beat, which was compared to the style heard on West's The College Dropout. Several publications placed the song amongst the best of the year.
60 Minutes of Funk, Volume IV: The Mixtape is a mixtape by American DJ Funkmaster Flex. It was released on December 5, 2000 via Loud Records, serving as a sequel to 1998 The Mix Tape Volume III: 60 Minutes of Funk and the fourth installment in his 60 Minute of Funk mixtape series.
Car Show Tour is a compilation album by American DJ Funkmaster Flex. It was released on December 6, 2005, via Koch Records, along with a DVD that features a documentary about a Miami car and hip hop show hosted by Funk Flex.
The discography of DJ Funkmaster Flex consists of six albums and twelve singles.
"No New Friends" is a hip hop and trap song by American musician DJ Khaled, released as the lead single from his seventh studio album, Suffering from Success. The song features rappers Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and features production from Robert Bullock, Boi-1da, Vinylz, and Noah "40" Shebib. The song was released for digital download in the United States on April 19, 2013. The song has peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it his sixth top 40 single on that chart.
Frank Javiel Malave, better known by his stage name Frankie Cutlass, is an American Grammy nominated and award winning DJ, record producer, songwriter, and remixer from East Harlem, New York City. He was a member of the Funkmaster Flex's DJ collective The Flip Squad.
American hip hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga have released five studio albums, one compilation album, two mixtapes, sixteen singles and five music videos.
"Lurkin" is a song by American rapper King Von and American DJ and rapper Funkmaster Flex. It was released on October 22, 2020, as a collaborative single. On July 16, 2021, a remix for the song was released and it featured Chicago rapper Polo G, the remix was entitled "Lurkin 2.0".
Funkmaster Flex Born bronx.
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