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Aston George Taylor Jr. , better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, singer, 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".^[1] 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.

Taylor was born in The Bronx, his father a sound system DJ.^[1] He got a job at age 19 working for KISS-FM DJ Chuck Chillout as a record boy.^[1] When Chillout was late for a show once, Taylor was allowed to stand in, launching his radio career.^[1] 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.^[1] 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 .^[1]

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 he has also hosted All Muscle with Funkmaster Flex and Funkmaster Flex Car Wars on ESPN, he return again in 2009 on spike with Fast Machines with Funkmaster Flex. he has also appeared in commercials and other things. He is returning to MTV with Full Throttle

He is also host of the Funkmaster Flex custom car and bike tour.

Flex was surrounded in controversy when on air in early 2007 . He issued a public apology after the incident and was suspended from airways from one week.

Awards

Urban Music Awards

• 2009, Best DJ: (Won)

Discography

Flex has released several mixtape albums:

• The Mix Tape Volume 1: 60 Minutes of Funk (1995)
• The Mix Tape Volume 2: 60 Minutes of Funk (1997) (Gold)
• The Mix Tape Volume 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 Volume 4: 60 Minutes of Funk (2000) (Gold)
• The Mix Tape Volume 5: 60 Minutes of Funk (2002)
• My Lifestyle (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"

Yvette Michele - My Dream

• 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

External links

• Official website
• Funkmaster Flex at the Internet Movie Database
• Funkmaster Flex at Discogs