Biography: Waka Flocka

Waka Flocka Flame

From: Biography in Context  The rapper was born Juaquin James Malphurs in Queens, New York, on May 31, 1986, and moved to the Atlanta area when he was nine years old. As a boy one of his favorite shows was the animated Muppet Babies, and Fozzie was his favorite character. He soon acquired the nickname “Waka,” a phrase that Fozzie often repeated. His mother, Debra Antney, proved to be a major influence in the young man’s career choice; in 2007 she founded Mizay Entertainment, representing rappers such as Gucci Mane. (It was Mane who added “Flocka Flame” to Waka’s name). Watching Mane perform, Waka Flocka Flame felt that he could rap as well. Speaking with Salima Koroma of the website Hip Hop DX, he noted, “I just did a song, and it worked. So I thought I could do ten more.” His deliberately unpolished style blends humor into the traditional hard-core, urban-life topics of rap songs.

With his first two singles, “O Let’s Do It” and “Hard in da Paint,” Waka established a fan base that eagerly awaited his debut album. That release was delayed, however, when the rapper became the victim of a shooting and robbery at an Atlanta car wash in January of 2010. As Shaheem Reid remarked on MTV.com, the bullet “went through his right arm, punctured his lungs, broke a couple of ribs and landed in his back, causing vision and memory loss for two weeks.” He ultimately recovered from his injuries, but the attack lingered in his mind. He told Reid that he was sure the gunmen had been sent to kill him.

His first album, Flockaveli, was released in October of 2010. High praise came from NME reviewer Jaimie Hodgson, who judged the songs on the album a “masterclass in reductionism; juggernauts of hulking, bruising, brick-to-skull intensity.” Jason Lipshutz of Billboard also commended the album, noting that it is “filled with muscular production, fiery rhymes and stupefying yet catchy-as-hell hooks.” Flockaveli reached the number-six position on the Billboard 200 chart and number two on both the rap and hip-hop charts.

Violence once again struck close to Waka Flocka when his good friend and collaborator, Slim Dunkin, was shot and killed in 2011. The incident sent the rapper into an emotional tailspin. “It was hard,” he told Mercer. “I didn’t even wanna do music, it was just boring. … But it’s life though; once you gain another angel you gotta move on.” He did move on, releasing his second album, Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family, in June of 2012.

Also in 2012, Waka found himself and his entourage the subject of harsh criticism. Waka was banned from bringing his security team to North Carolina as a result of a gun battle in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2011. In the incident, his bodyguards opened fire on several cars in Charlotte after an unknown assailant sprayed his tour bus with bullets. The shootings resulted in one injury and two arrests. As a result of the ban, The North Carolina Protective Services Board notified the rapper that if any of his entourage worked as bodyguards for him in the state, they would be arrested and face criminal charges. In 2012, the state of Virginia reportedly banned the rapper because of the shooting incident and his supposed gang affiliation, as noted on Starpulse.com.

However, in his Pigeons and Planes interview, Waka Flocka distanced himself from such a reputation: “I tell people constantly, I can’t help where I come from. I’m not going to shadow it, I’m not going to deny it–I’m going to applaud it. But it’s not how I start it’s how I finish.” Speaking with David Shapiro of Interview magazine, the rap musician concluded about himself: “Waka Flocka is a product, a franchise, a brand, a label… And a good guy!” That “good guy” persona is witnessed in his fund-raising efforts. In 2011 he began working with the Atlanta-based Snapbacks hat company to create a line of hats that would raise funds for the National Bullying Prevention Center. He also joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in an ad campaign and in February 2013 Waka performed at a concert for Hurricane Sandy relief.

Albums

    • Flockaveli, Asylum/Warner Bros., 2010.
    • Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family, Asylum/Warner Bros., 2012.

Singles

  • “O Let’s Do It,” 2009.
  • “No Hands,” 2010.
  • “Hard in da Paint,” 2010.
  • “DuFlocka Rant 2,” 2012.

For more biographical information, including his marriage to Tammy Rivera, his appearance on the reality show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,  and his brother’s possible suicide, search Access World News Research Collection.

Flame lights up Social 50 Billboard, May 9, 2015

Just eight days after Hillary Clinton announced she was running for president on April 12, a far more unlikely candidate decided to enter the race: rapper Waka Flocka Flame. Read the rest of the article.

Waka Flocka apologizes for calling transgenders ‘evil’ New Pittsburgh Courier, September 23, 2015

After appearing on New York radio show The Breakfast Club last Friday, where he made homophobic and inflammatory remarks about the transgender community, including Caitlyn Jenner, Waka Flocka Flame took to Twitter on Saturday to apologize and clarify what he meant when he used “transgender + evil” in the same sentence.

While explaining why he and his wife Tammy appeared on one season of “Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta,” Flocka said they did the show to prove that “minority women aren’t ratchet.” “I did it for an opportunity to show my wife and to show the community that black women, or I could say minority women, aren’t ratchet. I got tired of seeing that,” he said. Something else he’s tired of seeing is the lack of positive and inspiring marketing to families. “Women are afraid to be a wife and young males are afraid to be men. It’s not cool; they’re not marketing that. They don’t market families and husbands and wives no more. They’re marketing young girls, transgenders, they’re marketing evil, man. It’s really evil … Evil is marketed … I ain’t no religious man… I ain’t got nothing against anybody’s preferences, but putting it on TV, that’s crazy. Kids are the only people watching TV. Adults are too busy. They’re trying to control life.” His comments were mainly aimed at “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” which he accused of “marketing young girls, transgenders, they’re marketing evil.” Read the rest of the article or search for more articles in Access World News Research Collection.

Waka Flocka Flame will be performing in Timmons Arena on Tuesday, September 29.

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