Flavor Flav, formerly of the influential hip-hop group Public Enemy and the undisputed king of reality TV, made a special appearance on Saturday June 16 at the Seminole Casino Hollywood.
While the tension in the press area was high because of the celeb's tardiness, the waiting crowd were busy getting pumped. Some were even dressed up in classic Flavor Flav gear, with viking hats, pimp suits, and gangster Locs. Passes for the meet and greet were given out in the casino over the loudspeaker. The diehard fans gathered under the entrance canopy for their chance to talk to the star, free of charge.
The casino itself is reminiscent of a gambling saloon or a set from Fear and Loathing. There were plenty of money hungry regulars parked in front of their favorite machines, and scantily clad cocktail waitresses delivering drinks to gamblers who simply couldn't part their lucky seats.
Flav showed up around 5 p.m. in a top-to-bottom white Dickies ensemble, complete with blacked-out shades, shiny gold grill and yes, a clock. However, his demeanor left a lot to be desired. The clock he wore was of the plasticky dollar store variety, and his outfit reminded us more of an "I just got out of prison" look than a "I'm on Hollywood's A-list and a successful restauranteur." We wanted a huge crown and king robe! What we got was a Swap-Shop knock-off. Definitely a bit of a let down on the celebs-we've-been-lucky-enough-to-meet scale.
After making a name for himself as a crazy front-man and over the top antics, we expected the notorious Flav to come out screaming "Yeaaaah Boyeeee," at the top of his lungs. But to our surprise and a bit to our displeasure, Flav was quite quiet and laid back, a bit of a departure from his extreme alter ego we're used to seeing on TV.
There was a giant graffiti inspired "Flav" cassette tape set up for photo-ops. When Flav saw the personalized timepiece that read "Yeah Boyee" he jokingly announced, "I'll have to teach ya'll how to spell it next time," schooling the people that, "It's missing a few Es, As, and Ys."
Along with a variety of impressive sized clocks marking the already swagged out walls, flossy crystal chandeliers hung from above the roped off line. All we were waiting for was the slew of half-naked hotties and wanna-be baby mamas to appear. Sadly, they didn't show --although one fan of the female persuasion was determined to let every single one of us know that "That's my husband!!!" But Flav had plenty of PG fun with the fans who came out.
Flav hugged the droves of high-rollers and friends-of-friends who were there early, with a smile on his face. He courteously greeted and shmoozed with casino guests like a pro, but overall it was pretty informally formal. Sure, the bright flashing lights of a half-dozen cameras and the sea of strangers and wranglers encouraged our confusion with the star's docility, but someone of Mr. Flavor Flav's level of celebrity could have brought it, just a little harder.
See the full slideshow of the Flavor Flav meet-and-greet at Seminole Casino Hollywood here.
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