There has arguably never been a better hype man in musical history than Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav. And the 65-year-old rapper doesn’t confine his talents to the stage. Flavor Flav has publicly come out as a diehard supporter of pop superstar Taylor Swift, even anointing himself “King Swiftie.” So the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member was a natural choice to bring Swift’s work onto The Masked Singer.
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Flavor Flav: ‘The Masked Singer’ Cleared Taylor Swift Cover “Because of Me”
Premiering in 2019, The Masked Singer kicked off its 13th season on Feb. 12 with Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, and Rita Ora sitting on this year’s panel.
Making his debut during the March 3 episode, the Space Ranger performed Taylor Swift’s 2015 hit “Bad Blood.” (This should have been the first clue to the Space Ranger’s identity for The Masked Singer viewers, as Flavor Flav previously disclosed that the 1989 track is his favorite Taylor Swift song.)
Following his second performance of the Busboys’ “Cleanin’ Up the Town” from the Ghostbusters soundtrack, McCarthy and Ora correctly guessed that Flavor Flav was hiding beneath the Space Ranger’s mask. And despite his elimination, the Public Enemy founding member is quite proud to hold the distinction of the first-ever Taylor Swift cover in the Fox reality singing competition series’ 13 seasons.
“Masked Singer been trying to get a Taylor Swift song cleared for years and they could not get one cleared, until Flavor Flav, King Swiftie, came on their show,” the New Yorker told Billboard.
He continued, “They only cleared it because of me! They weren’t clearing it for nobody else! And you know what? I don’t think they’re gonna get another Taylor Swift song after this.”
[RELATED: Taylor Swift Shouts Out “King Swiftie” Flavor Flav During “Eras” Stop in Germany]
What Will Taylor Think?
Following his, ahem, swift exit from The Masked Singer, Flavor Flav is curious what Taylor Swift herself has to say about his “Bad Blood” cover.
“I can’t wait to see what she has to say about it,” the rapper, born William Drayton Jr., told Us Weekly.
Y’all waited long enough ⏰
— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) February 5, 2024
KING SWIFTIE and QUEEN TAYLOR SWIFT just for you pic.twitter.com/n6ux69M4pV
Continuing, he said, “I think she’s gonna have something good to say about it, though, ’cause I don’t think I did a bad job with the song. And you know what? The reason why I had to do a good job with that song is because I wouldn’t ever, ever, ever in this lifetime make my girl look bad. Never. As much as I love her and how much I’m proud of her. Come on. I gotta represent the best. She’s the best, man.”
Featured image by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for MTV
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