Pioneering hip-hop artist Grandmaster Flash has been unveiled as ‘Polar Bear’ on the popular programme, The Masked Singer.
On the show, celebrities wear disguises and sing different songs each week. After every episode, one contestant is unmasked and leaves The Masked Singer. Last night, Grandmaster Flash was voted off the show after singing ‘Rapture’ by Blondie. Judge Nicole Scherzinger correctly guessed his identity, while Ken Jeong picked Diddy, Robin Thicke thought it was LL Cool J and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg believed Flava Flav was behind the mask.
Following his exit, Grandmaster Flash revealed his connection to ‘Rapture’ in conversation with Variety and said: “That song was actually written for me. I remember Fab Five Freddy bringing [Blondie’s Debbie Harry] to one of my shows. This is way back in the day before I became famous. And she wrote this song of what she saw when I was on the turntables at one of my amateur shows.”
Looking back on his performance, Flash admitted: “I sung horribly, but I sang it the best way I can and sitting down with the musicians and the vocal coaches in doing the best I can do with it. But I had to do it with this 15 pound [costume] on me and do it in a cool way. I’m trying not to laugh but it was so stupid, but it was so fun.”
On his costume, the rapper added: “I said it wasn’t cool enough. They put on a gold chain. Still not cool enough. And he put the hat backwards. So, the polar bear started to become really, really cool. And then I signed up and I decided to do it.”
Despite not coming out victorious, the experience of being a contestant on the show was an overwhelmingly positive experience. He told the publication: “The Masked Singer can take your mind off some of those things. I travel a lot and I don’t get a chance to watch a whole lot of TV, but my family and close friends watch this show. And I decided to go online and look at some of the episodes and how it all works. I’m like, ‘Wow, this is really silly.’ Sometimes we as adults, don’t know how to turn off being adults.”
Watch Grandmaster Flash on The Masked Singer below.
