Flavor Flav is using his platform to speak out against guns and to fight for reform.
The hip-hop legend and Public Enemy founder just dropped his new single “March Madness” with Chuck D.
“To us, March Madness is not about the left or the right or politics—it’s about the need to unify, as human beings, to say what is right and what is wrong. Stop putting a price tag on the heads of our children,” Flav wrote in his Newsweek op-ed.
He added, “We are marching ourselves into madness, both in the crazy and angry senses of the word. We are caught in an epidemic of gun violence with no sign we can stop or change course.”
Flav noted how he “went to jail because of guns,” so he is “speaking from first-hand experience.”
“Fear and power are two of the biggest emotions that drive us. America is being built on fear. You have people who are scared. And these people are fighting for gun rights to protect themselves. They wouldn’t have to protect themselves if all guns were banned. Fear is a powerful, short-term motivator. We need to flip it so it can break through to be a positive and valuable resource. Let our fear of losing our children be more powerful than our fear of our next-door neighbor,” Flav wrote.
Flav pointed out how “it’s too easy for kids to grab their parents’ guns” and “school shootings are normalized.”
“I’ve grown up. I had to take responsibility for myself, my actions and my career. I got sober. And I see the world with more clarity. I got a whole new team. No more guns for Flav. The only thing I’m carrying now is the conversation,” he said.
Flav hopes the new Public Enemy song sparks some change.
“I hope this song, ‘March Madness,’ reignites the conversation. I hope this song sparks change. I hope this anthem gives a voice to those who feel powerless against a system of power and greed. I hope we can come together to create a wall of unity with peace and togetherness that is so strong, no one can divide and tear us down,” he said. “As my partner, Chuck D, says: ‘I would rather live in peace than rest in peace.’ I hope the same for my children and all children.”