Flavor of Love ...

… or hater Flavor?

Been hearing rumors that Public Enemy has hit some rough spots along the touring road? An email circulating through the inboxes of Beijing’s music mavens entitled, “Why I hate the entertainment industry: Public Enemy cancelled,” certainly didn’t help the buzzing rumor mill.

The mystifying text of the email, sent by a Shanghai promoter, read: “Due to an internal fight in the band, the Public Enemy event has been cancelled. I feel sorry for the organizers in Beijing.”

Certainly, the folks over at Rock for China (the organizers behind the Beijing Pop Festival) are never in much of an enviable position – setting up an international-grade festival in Beijing sure ain’t easy – but don’t believe the hype, says BPF head Jason Magnus. “Public Enemy is coming to China,” Magnus says firmly. “They will perform at the Beijing Pop Festival.”

“They’ve got their plane tickets, picked up their visas, and the hotel rooms are all set up,” says Magnus. And if that’s not enough of a confirmation, he adds: “they’ve even already been paid. What's happening in Shanghai has nothing to do with the Beijing performance.” Magnus does admit, however, that despite just coming off a triumphant Rock the Bells tour throughout the US, that there has been some friction within the group - which may have truly been the cause of the Shanghai cancellation. “The trouble seems to stem from Flavor Flav,” Magnus reports, having been notified by the wacky clock-wearing sideman's management that Flav's China appearance might be compromised. “It might have something to do with show he had on VH1,” says Magnus – meaning, perhaps, that Flav’s gotten a bit of diva into him - though the steadfast BPF organizer is clear that this is something that can't be confirmed. But considering that we're talking about a group (or ahem, performer) going into their (or his) 20th career year, backing out of a gig after getting paid ain’t exactly a professional – or lawful, in any country – thing to do.

“I don’t care when he gets to China – he can fly in the day of the show, perform for two hours, and then fly out again,” says Magnus, clearly angry about the possibility that Flavor Flav might not come – all the more so given that the call came a week before the show. “We’ve been in discussions with them since January, and the deal has always been for the whole group: Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and Terminator X [DJ Lord]” he says, though he maintains that “Chuck D is Public Enemy – he actually owns the name of the group. Just like Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails.” Nevertheless, “it would be a huge disappointment if Flavor Flav were missing. He’s an important part of the group, and now with his TV show, I know he’s an incredibly popular draw for the audience.”

Band politics aside, Magnus has nevertheless been busy dealing with more serious – and professional – aspects of the festival. Chuck D is scheduled for a face-to-face meeting with Cui Jian, who is an unabashed fan of Public Enemy, with the rap session set to be broadcast on myspace.com. There’s also a website being set up specifically for NIN’s debut in China – something “which shows how seriously Trent is taking the festival,” says Magnus – which Rock for China has been helping out with. “We’ve been translating his lyrics into Chinese,” says Magnus, “we’ve got, like, 80 pages of material.”

And of course, there are the constant issues with park security and administration – things like the VIP area, for example. “It’s an actual law that there has to be an area for people to sit in chairs,” says an exasperated Magnus. “But we’re working on changing these things – we’ll probably still be fighting all the way up to the start of the festival.”