Rapper Fury seeks chance to sing downtown

Rapper Jason "Fury" Flores is in the news again, this time because he probably won't be allowed to perform a family-friendly version of his song "Bristol State of Mind" during the Aug. 4 Pop Up Piazza downtown.


Read that story here.For those who don't remember or never heard the song to begin with, here is a video of the January 2011 song that helped make Flores a well known figure in his hometown: 


For those who are really curious about Fury, here's the original version of the video.

Lawton and Alford battle over rapper's role

Jason "Fury" Flores

When rapper Jason "Fury" Flores unexpectedly pulled the plug on his write-in mayoral campaign last week and endorsed Republican Mary Alford instead, he didn't vanish from the campaign.
Instead, independent mayoral candidate Gary Lawton lashed out at Alford for accepting the 25-year-old rapper's backing and offering to introduce him to Renaissance Downtowns officials whose plan Flores has called "racist."
Here is what Lawton posted on his campaign's Facebook page over the weekend:

Graff Lawton for Mayor Mr. Flores has endorsed Ms. Alford and apparently she has accepted the endorsement for she has not said otherwise publicly. Although I too at one time thought that Mr. Flores may help reach our young residents, I decided to end that because of Mr. Flores' actions at the Mum Parade calling after young girls, his music which objectives women in the most demeaning ways and uses one of the most vulgar words in our English language and his general disregard for any type of respect for the integrity of this election. Being unconventional is fine but he failed to prove that he even did the required paperwork to be a write-in candidate. I always told you i would admit a mistake and this was one, will Ms. Alford knowing what she knows continue to embrace Mr. Flores' endorsement? if she does, you need to question her judgement.
A separate entry reads: I will start: Ms. Alford, you agreed to introduce Jason Flores to downtown developers, does that mean if you are mayor you will appoint him to a board? If not, why would you offer this to him? If yes, is he the best person you could find to be on a board given how he gamed the election process for his own gain?

Here is Alford's response:
I initially reached out to Jason for a couple of reasons. First, to thank him for the nice things he said about me in the paper. We spoke about other things, like his music, which is not my cup of tea. I'm a blues/rock fan. He understands that his music isn't for everyone and he doesn't expect it to be nor does he get insulted when someone says that. I expressed my displeasure about his use of the word racist in reference to Renaissance Downtowns. I asked him if he had ever met any of them or had a conversation with them. When he said he had not I asked him if he would do me a favor and do that. I could have just "told" Jason what I thought he needed to do but, instead, I offered to go with him as a liaison of sorts. He readily agreed. Mr. Lawton made reference to being "rebuffed" by the RTC in 2009. I wonder if he also remembers that I reached out to him just a few months ago and spent several hours talking with him in his home to see if there was anything I could do to mend that rift, build a bridge, call it what you will. It didn't bear fruit but the attempt was made. Are Mr. Kriscenski and Mr. Lawton saying that it's acceptable to reach out to some and not others?

Isn't it a Mayor's job to include as many of our citizens in government as possible, from all quarters? To make all feel not only welcome to participate but encourage them to do so?

As for Jason's roll in all this, he told us very clearly at last week's Bristol Taxpayers' Association event what he was trying to accomplish. He was trying to light a fire under his generation, to shake the apathy loose that he was seeing, to get us all to pay attention. Was I the only one who heard that? Whether or not you like his music or agree with his methods, that's leadership. That's brave.

Will Jason Flores have a place in an Alford administration? You bet, if he wants that and his schedule allows. If he would like to get started in the process of participating in and learning about how city government functions by serving on a commission I will be happy to recommend him for one. If that isn't possible for him, I hope he will get me a list of those he knows who do have that time and the desire to learn and participate. I also hope he will agree to be MY liaison to them.

As far as that goes, if I am elected in November, I would also be glad to put Mr. Lawton's name in for an appointment to a commission if he wants that. I'm not going to exclude him because we are both running for Mayor.

One of my "stock" phrases when I am having a conversation with a young person about voting is "We are turning this whole shootin' match over to all of you. We need you to vote and participate, to learn how it all works."

However, I (we) need to do more than just "tell" our youth what they need or should do, I (we) need to show them how it's done; teach them "how it all works".  We need to reach out to them and make them welcome in government; their government.

To that end, if I am elected in November, I will be putting together a Youth in Government Task Force and I would be honored if Jason would assist me in getting that effort off the ground. He "speaks their language" and they respect him. So do I. I will also involve educators, parents, Youth Services, The Boys and Girls Club and Chamber of Commerce and any other group or person(s) who would like to be involved.

If possible, I would also like to implement an internship program at City Hall to give our youth the opportunity to experience firsthand the inner workings of all city departments, boards and commissions. The logistics will, of course, need to be worked out.

These are just two of my youth initiatives. I'll bet that as our youth get involved, they will have plenty of new and creative ideas for City Hall to consider.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Fury Seeks To Be Bristol's First Royal Mayor

Jason Flores

BRISTOL – With a crown on his head and a flowing gold robe, Rapper Jason “Fury” Flores stood regally on a white carriage pulled by a horse during today’s Mum Parade to declare his intention to launch a write-in campaign for mayor.

“I will be a merciful king,” he declared to the crowds. “Vote for me and I will spare your lives.”
Flores, 25, said he plans to become Bristol’s “first royal mayor” and aims to spur interest in the race if nothing more.

Flores joins a three-way contest that already features Democratic Mayor Art Ward, Republican challenger Mary Alford and independent hopeful Gary Lawton.

As he traveled along North Main Street at the end of the parade, someone yelled to him, “Can you give us no taxes?"

Flores answered instantly.

“I will spare your lives. That is all,” Flores said.

Both Alford and Lawton, who marched near Flores in the parade, said he adds an element of fun – and that’s not a bad thing.

“Is he not the most fun?” said Alford, who added, “I waited all day to curtsy to the king.”

Nick Valenta, a Bristol resident, said that Flores would get his vote in the November 8 election.

“He’s done something different,” Valenta said. “It’s time for an alternative.”

Flores declared last January he would run against Ward for mayor because the incumbent had failed to cut down a hickory tree near his mother’s house that dropped nuts that damaged her car.

He has an increasingly successful career as a rapper, playing concerts across the country, and gaining renown in his own hometown for a song he did called “Bristol State of Mind” – a local version of the hit song about New York by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. It has attracted tens of thousands of viewers on YouTube.

Flores said he decided to put on the king outfit for the parade because he needed “to do something that would get people to pay attention.”
He said that even if his campaign does nothing more than to get voters to give the mayoral race some serious attention, it would be worth it. The election matters, he said, and people ought to get out and vote.

“That’s why you have to bring in the king,” Flores said.

Along the parade route, Flores created quite a stir, coming near the tail end of the long parade when viewers lining the road were growing weary of beauty queens, marching bands and floats.

He got big laughs from the crowd when he promised them merely to let them live if they voted for him, which has to rank among the most unusual platforms a candidate has ever adopted.

Flores said, though, that he plans to issue a more complete platform this week. 

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Flores not a registered voter

Rapper Jason "Fury" Flores is not a registered voter, according to city records.
Though Flores said he plans to run for mayor as an independent, he can't seek the city's top job unless he registers to vote.
The city charter says that "no person shall be qualified to be a candidate for any elective municipal office in the City of Bristol unless such person shall be an elector of said city."
To be an elector of the city means only that someone is registered to vote.
At this point, there are no declared candidates for mayor, though Republican Ken Cockayne is weighing a run and Democrat Art Ward may be eyeing another term.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Channel 61 news story about Jason Flores

Channel 61 did a story over the weekend about Bristol rapper Jason Flores, prospective mayoral candidate. I'm sure some of you would like to see it. 
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

New version of the Bristol video featuring Jason Flores

Whatever else you think of Jason Flores and his rap song about Bristol, you have to admit that the production values on this video are terrific....
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Rapper to run for mayor

In his studio in the Bristol Polish Club building recently, rapper Jason “Fury” Flores insisted his YouTube smash hailing his hometown isn’t the slightest bit tongue-in-cheek.

“The city of Bristol really is pretty perfect,” said Flores, a 25-year-old city native whose music has attracted national attention on the hip-hop circuit.

“People probably take Bristol for granted,” he said. “It really is a beautiful city and a wonderful place to raise a family.”

In its first week online, Flores’ “Bristol State of Mind” – a local version of the hit song about New York by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – has attracted nearly 12,000 viewers in an ever escalating trend.

“It’s getting played all over” the country, said Troy Wilson, a friend who works with Flores.

The Bristol song, which includes some offensive words despite its generally positive outlook, features Flores rapping about everything from “the Christmas decorations on the lamp posts in the winter” to a legendary drive-through worker at Taco Bell.

“I’m just the king to a throne in the city that has taught me everything that I’ve known,” Flores raps in the song.  Click here for the full story.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com