Aston George Taylor, Jr. (born August 5, 1968)[1], better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, musician and producer on New York City's Hot 97 radio station, described by The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop as "one of the biggest players in the game".[2] He plays hip-hop, R&B, old school, back in the day, 80's, reggae, dancehall and reggaeton. He is on air Monday to Thursday from 7 PM to 12 AM. For Friday and Saturday he is on the air from 10 PM to 2 AM. He is featured on ESPN NFL 2K5 and Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned.
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Taylor was born in The Bronx, New York, his father a sound system DJ.[2] He got a job at age 19 working for KISS-FM DJ Chuck Chillout as a record boy.[2] When Chillout was late for a show once, Taylor was allowed to stand in, launching his radio career.[2] He moved on to work for WBLS, while at the same time building a reputation as a New York club DJ, getting his big break when HOT 97 took him on. By the mid-1990s, his show was being aired nationally, and he was signed by Loud Records for a series of 60 Minutes of Funk mixtapes, the first of their kind to be released by a major record label.[2] On The Tunnel (1999, Def Jam), Flex managed to get some of the biggest names in hip hop to contribute, including Dr.Dre, Nas, Jay-Z, DMX, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Method Man, and 50 Cent .[2]
Television
Flex first appeared on Yo! MTV Raps in the 1990s and has been on MTV until 2003 when he left to do his show on Spike TV, he still appears occasionally on the network.
Flex has hosted his series on Spike TV called Ride with Funkmaster Flex from 2003–2004 and return to Spike with his new series Fast Machines with Funkmaster Flex.[3] He has also hosted All Muscle with Funkmaster Flex and Funkmaster Flex Car Wars on ESPN, as well as Fast Machines with Funkmaster Flex. He is returning to MTV in 2010 with Full Throttle.[4]
He is also host of the Funkmaster Flex Custom Car and Bike Shoe Tour.[5]
Discography
Flex has released several mixtape albums:
- The Mix Tape, Vol. 1: 60 Minutes of Funk (1995)
- The Mix Tape, Vol. 2: 60 Minutes of Funk (1997) (Gold)
- The Mix Tape, Vol. 3: 60 Minutes of Funk, The Final Chapter (1998) (Gold)
- The Tunnel (collaboration with Big Kap) (1999) (Gold)
- Vibe Hits, Vol. 1 (2000)
- The Mix Tape, Vol. 4: 60 Minutes of Funk (2000) (Gold)
- The Mix Tape, Vol. 5: 60 Minutes of Funk (2002)
- My Lifestyle (2002)
- Fastlane, Part 1 (2002)
- Fastlane, Part 2 (2002)
- Funkmaster Flex Car Show Tour (2005)
Singles
- Let Me Clear My Throat (with DJ Kool)
Production
1997
Armand Van Helden - Enter the Meatmarket
- 12. "6 Minutes of Funk"
- 03. "Summer Love"
- 05. "Crazy"
- 06. "Everyday & Everynight"
- 11. "The First Time"
- 13. "I'm Not Feeling You"
1998
Pras - Ghetto Supastar CD2
- 02. "Here We Go"
References
- ^ Funkmaster Flex at allmusic.com
- ^ a b c d e f Shapiro, Peter (2005) The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-263-8, p.149-150
- ^ "Fast Machines with Funkmaster Flex", Fremantle Corporation, retrieved 2010-03-30
- ^ "Funkmaster Flex Parks New Car Show in MTV2’s Lot", XXL, March 22, 2010, retrieved 2010-03-30
- ^ "Funkmaster Flex", MTV, retrieved 2010-03-30