HOT 97’s Funkmaster Flex, best known for spinning discs, is now spinning his wheels on a new Spike TV show.
And not just any wheels: the Cragars with the BFGoodrich tires – “They’re the best!” – on the dozen-plus muscle cars he has lovingly transformed into collectors’ items in his central Bronx garage.
The reigning hot-rod honcho of the Bronx has “tricked out” cars for P. Diddy, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tyrese, Ludacris, Queen Latifah and DMX.
Some of them will appear on the show “Ride With Funkmaster Flex,” which debuted last Saturday night with guest star Eminem.
“He can get behind the wheel of a monster truck or just chill with Eminem in his GMC Shady mobile and smoke cigars and have a great time,” says Ivana Schechter-Garcia, Spike TV’s creative executive.
“He’s a real, average guy who happens to have these big celebrity friends.”
In the show, he scours warehouses in various states for vintage parts to create his pals’ fantasy mobiles, some of which also appear in the celebrity car shows he hosts all over the country.
“I love the show, I love radio, I love doing cars – it’s my dream,” says Flex, 35, whose real name is Aston Taylor.
“A car represents people’s personality, and I like to bring out people’s personality in their cars. And I’m very competitive. I like doing what people say can’t be done.”
Rapper 50 Cent tried – and failed – to buy Flex’s own pride and joy: a sparkling red 1966 Chevy Impala.
“He never had an old car. He doesn’t know anything about Impalas. He wanted mine, and I said, ‘That’s not going to happen.’ Me and him went back and forth arguing, and I said, ‘I’ll make you one.’ “
Flex found a 1965 Impala (“an original muscle car”) for $11,000 on e-Bay and turned it into a $60,000 dream machine.
Also on e-Bay, Flex recently found Lil’ Kim a 1971 Chevelle Malibu that he bought for $7,500 and whipped into a purple hot rod with pink fur armrests, pink Ultrasuede seats and a Queen Bee logo on the bumper.
“It’s her vibe, her colors,” says Flex. “She’s a girl, so we wanted to make sure she’s got the big wheels. It’s going to be her little toy.”
In the first episode of “Ride,” Lil’ Kim does a burnout in one of Flex’s Chevy impalas.
“I feel like Daisy from the Dukes of Hazard!” she squeals. “I’m a big dog now and nobody is going to mess with me.”
Flex, who also has a body shop called Custom Car Works, keeps his own babies in a garage he calls Funk’s Warehouse, an unofficial neighborhood hang.
A woman drives by in a rickety economy car and screams, “What’s up Flex?”
“You don’t see many artists taking it back and fixing up old-school cars,” says Neville Ferguson, 21, who lives nearby and stopped to inquire about the next celebrity car show.
“They’re classic cars and you don’t expect them to look like that. You expect them to look old and dirty and messed up, but Flex fixes them up and puts the rims on them, and they look hot.”
Flex also has a line of Hotwheels cars and a popular line of Lugz driving shoes. One day, he hopes to open a drive-in restaurant in City Island.
“A girl comes out on roller skates and you order a hamburger and fries in an old, vintage Chevy,” he says. “You know, like in Happy Days.”
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BABY, CAN YOU FLOAT MY WHIP
HERE’S a guide to Flex’s car lingo:
* Whip: Car
* Shoes: Wheels
* Ride out: Take off
* Churp and tie: Burnout
* Dubs: Tires more than 20 inches in diameter
* Big block: Old car with a lot of horsepower
* Thump thump: Noise made by loud sound system
* Pipework: Exhaust system; for instance, “That’s some serious pipework!”
* Floating: Driving a hot truck slowly down a crowded street
* Third-lane style: Going more than 70 miles an hour
* Trick out: Doing anything “after market” to your car