Up until recently, Hashlife, a separate brand of Hashtag Board Co., has welcomed Waka Flocka Flame with open arms into the Hashlife culture in hopes of making both parties become synonymous with each other.
I speak to you, the readers, in regards to introducing Waka Flocka Flame’s story and discovering together how he’s making a positive and impacting difference in the community.
Originally hailing from Queens, New York, Jaquin James Malphurs or commonly known as Waka Flocka Flame was born on May 31st, 1986. Not before long, his family eventually settled in a tough and gritty neighborhood of Riverdale, Georgia, an area not too far from Atlanta.
The name “Waka” was in fact, given to Malphurs from his cousin in reference to the Muppets character Fozzie Bear’s catch phrase “Waka Waka”. The name “Flocka Flame” was given to him by fellow rapper and longtime friend Gucci Mane.
Along with Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame is part of a group called the 1017 Brick Squad, that included rappers OJ Da Juiceman, Frenchie and Wooh Da Kid.
In the winter of 2013, it was reported that Waka’s younger brother and rapper, KayO Redd took his own life over a girl. Still in shock, Waka spoke in an interview stating: “After that situation I detoxed for like seven days. I changed my diet. I became 85% vegan. I just felt like I had to cleanse myself…I’ve been through that before, so to me that’s will power because if I sit there and mope, a lot of things could go bad. That boy had a lot of stress on him. It’s a lot of things that go on behind doors that people don’t know about…like it’s a lot of stress that come with this game. The strong survive. The family is good, though. Life goes on. That’s the motto for me, life goes on. If my eyes ain’t closed and I’m not breathing, I’m not hurting.”
After his younger brother died, he changed his attitude on everything and tried to become a better role model in his community. Waka endorsed and began supporting PETA, which is an organization that seeks to protect the rights of all animals. In 2013, he also hosted a charity concert in wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Here’s to Waka doing big things in 2016!
