Funkmaster Flex

Funkmaster Flex secured a commanding position in hip-hop beginning in the early 1990s, chiefly through an extended run at New York's Hot 97, multiple gold records, and activity in other media. Primarily a radio and club DJ who also produced tracks and hosted programs, Flex rose so rapidly in his initial years on air that his audience had become worldwide by the mid-1990s, with broadcasts reaching Los Angeles, the U.K., and Japan. He leveraged that platform to demonstrate the sales potential of the hip-hop mixtape format, starting with The Mix Tape, Vol. 1 (1995) and continuing through gold-certified follow-ups—the second, third, and fourth volumes released between 1997 and 2001. After releasing 12" productions on respected underground imprints and their boutique offshoots, Flex broadened his output with partner Big Kap on The Tunnel (1999), another gold entry. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s he added cable series including Ride with Funkmaster Flex and Funk Flex Full Throttle while taking on multiple DJ roles in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. Remaining at Hot 97 into the 2020s, Flex resumed production with collaborative singles issued on his InFlexWeTrust label.

Born Aston Taylor, Jr. in the Bronx to Jamaican immigrant parents, Funkmaster Flex grew up hearing his father operate a sound system. At sixteen he purchased turntables, drawing inspiration from earlier figures such as Red Alert. He entered the industry by handling records for Chuck Chillout at Kiss FM (WRKS). An on-air opportunity arose when Chuck required a substitute, after which Flex followed his mentor to WBLS for weekend slots. Once both were released, Red Alert brought Flex back to Kiss for fill-in shifts. Flex strengthened his profile through street parties and nightclub gigs, performing at prominent venues such as the Palladium and the Tunnel. His ascent at Hot 97 produced number-one ratings across all six nights he hosted, leading directly to additional shows on Power 106 (KPWR) in Los Angeles, the BBC in the U.K., and Bay FM in Japan. During this expansion Flex tested production, working as co-producer and solo producer for the Masters of Funk and Doug E. Fresh as well as on his own releases for Freeze (operated by Todd Terry and Will Socolov), Nervous, and Massive B (run by Bobby Konders, a key connection to reggae).

Flex's mixing had already circulated on unofficial cassettes, continuing a hip-hop practice that originated in the 1970s, yet a deal with Steve Rifkind's Loud Records allowed him to present the format as a major-label release. The Mix Tape, Vol. 1 appeared in 1995, reaching number 15 on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart and number 108 on the Billboard 200; it featured Flex productions for Doug E. Fresh and R&B artist Yvette Michelle, established and emerging hip-hop tracks, and numerous freestyles. Stronger chart placement followed for 1997's The Mix Tape, Vol. 2, 1998's The Mix Tape, Vol. 3, and 2000's The Mix Tape, Vol. 4—the last consisting mainly of original material—each nearly topping the R&B/hip-hop chart and earning gold certification. The Tunnel, credited to Flex and Big Kap and supported by numerous MCs and producers, also went gold; issued by Def Jam in 1999 and named for the club where Flex held weekly events, it charted on both the R&B/hip-hop and pop lists. Less visible yet equally notable was the Flip Squad Allstars project, an outgrowth of the Flip Squad that had debuted with a 12" in 1993. The 1998 MCA album The Flip Squad Allstar DJs united Flex, Big Kap, Biz Markie, Cipha Sounds, DJ Enuff, Mister Cee, Doo Wop, and then-unknown Mark Ronson alongside various rappers and singers.

Although The Mix Tape, Vol. 4 marked Flex's final major commercial release for an extended period, he maintained a flow of underground mixtapes on cassette and CD-R. By the 2005 release of the Car Show Tour mix on Koch, he had become a familiar television presence through MTV's Direct Effect and Spike TV's Ride with Funkmaster Flex, the first of several series he hosted. Additional credits include ESPN's Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex and MTV2's Funk Flex Full Throttle, among numerous other small-screen appearances into the 2010s, concurrent with work on Def Jam video games and the Grand Theft Auto franchise. In 2014 Flex appeared in the VH1 reality series This Is Hot 97. Early the following decade he ended a long recording hiatus with the 2020 single "Lurkin" featuring King Von; "Game Time" with Fivio Foreign and "Re Route" with Rowdy Rebel appeared in 2021, all released on InFlexWeTrust.