Q&A: Flynt Flossy

As you’ve traveled the world, you may have seen various items of clothing boldly emblazoned with the words “Flynt Flossy is my favorite rapper.” Whether you actually agree with this statement, Flynt Flossy has undeniably become something of an icon to a small legion of fans. He is a talented rapper, dancer and all-around entertainer who, together with some like-minded artists, created Turquoise Jeep Records.

The independent label has spent the last few years churning out hilariously witty, thoroughly singable jams, as well as brilliant lo-fi music videos and dance instructionals. Flossy has been one of the driving forces behind the growing movement, leading the way with his signature dance moves, mustache and battle cry: “Baby!”

Q: How did Turquoise Jeep get started?

A: Well, basically all of us were in the industry, in a sense. I was tired of being bossed around, and I just wanted to express myself without having to answer to somebody or somebody telling me “No,” or “That’s not right.” That’s Turqoise Jeep. It’s total creative expression, total creative freedom. I teamed up with my boy Whatchamacallit, my longtime homie, and I was like, “Yo, let’s get all of our people together, get all our talent around us and just create our own thing.”

Turquoise is the color of serenity, and we’re really chill in the Jeep. We ride together; once you’re part of the Jeep, we ride. It came to me in my sleep, so I was like, “Let’s do this, baby,” and that’s what happened.

Q: What would you say is your muse? What inspires you?

A: Everyday life, man. Everyday experiences. That’s the thing with Turquoise Jeep — whether it be a woman or whether it be something I went through during the day. A lot of times I’ll call Whatcha with a hook, and he’ll say, “I like that,” or he’ll call me with a hook or an idea. Then we go to Tummiscratch, and he produces it.

We’re all writers and producers basically, so it’s anything around. You know, I never sold drugs or nothing like that, so I have no reason to rap about stuff I didn’t experience. So that’s what I do, I just rap about stuff I experience. You feel me?

Q: What sort of attention have you guys gotten from the broader music world?

A: We’re in our own world, but we’ll have a lot of fans say, “Yo, your song was played here,” or this person says they are a fan of this, or someone says, “How you like your eggs?” It’s all flattering because people are experiencing our work. The point of being an artist a lot of times is being a showman, so if people don’t see it, they say, “What was the point?” Of course we do it for ourselves, but for everyone else to be experiencing it like that, it feels real good. You feel me, baby? We get a lot of stuff from fans, man, so it’s flattering.

Q: How did you start dancing? Do you have any formal training?

A: I’ve been dancing since I was a teenager, maybe 14 or something. One day I was in my house, and I actually — funny story — I got injured, I got hit in the eye with a football. This is a true story: I got hit in the eye with a football, and I couldn’t go outside because, you know, the sunlight was killing my eye. So I stayed inside and watched videos all day, and I realized I could dance, which is crazy. There was no formal training or nothing like that, you know; I guess it was just a gift. I just built on it basically, just dancing, repeating myself — real practice, you know.

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Q: What was the craziest interaction you’ve had with a fan?

A: Man, there are some crazy stories ... I would say body parts and things like that. Like this girl asked me to write on her face with a permanent marker and I’m like, “I don’t think its going to come out.” She’s like, “I don’t care,” so I said ok. You know signing feet, chest, butts, stuff like that. It’s some kind of surreal, like, wow.

Q: Can you tell me a bit about the short film that you’ve got in the works, “Ooh Aah Sound”?

A: Yeah, definitely. That’s going to be a series we got going on of short Turquoise Jeep films. A lot of people have seen the videos and have already experienced the film side of Turqoise Jeep, writing and directing and all that. We’re going to have a couple of those. It’s basically like the opener of a bunch that are going to come out. Who knows, we might even make a feature-length one soon. So we’ll have the film and the video and just keep the Jeep riding.

Q: What were the origins of Smang It?

A: What’s crazy is that, like, “smang it” was a word that’s been used around here for a minute. A lot of things transition from our everyday vernacular; we used to always use “smang.” How that transpired was one time I was speaking to a girl on the phone, and I was talking real dirty to her. She says, “You know Floss; he’s so dirty,” and I was like, “I know, baby. You know what, when I get there I’m going to smash them drawers.” She started giggling. I said, “Not only am I going to smash them drawers, I’m going to bang them drawers.” And she said, “What?” I said, “I’m going to smang them drawers.” She started giggling, and I was like, “What you giggling for?” Then I realized I had a new word. So I was like, “Ok, this is something we’ve been using. Let’s introduce the world to it.”

A lot of times with Turquoise Jeep, all we’re doing is letting the universe into our world; we’re just letting the fans see into our world. We don’t make stuff for a particular reason; we’re not trying to impress anybody. We’re just being creative and expressing ourselves, and we’re just letting the world in, you know?

Q:So how do you actually like your eggs?

A: [Laughs] Well, in the morning, fried, and at the night, fertilized.