The Flavor Unit is a

crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...

of emcees and DJs from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It is now known as the Unit. The original version of the crew centered on producer

the 45 King Mark Howard James (born October 16, 1961) professionally known as The 45 King (also known as DJ Mark the 45 King), is an American hip hop record producer and disc jockey (DJ) from The Bronx borough of New York City. James began DJing in The ...

. It was Mark's connections to radio personalities DJ Red Alert and

DJ Chuck Chillout Charles Turner (born October 21, 1962) better known as DJ Chuck Chillout, is an American hip hop DJ and producer. Biography He began his career on New York City's WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM radio station in 1982. He was one of the first hip-hop artis ...

that initially got the crew noticed, but the original members also all had formidable rhyme skills and wrote streetwise lyrics. The 45 King eventually fell into serious drug abuse and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

took over the name; it became her umbrella organization. Flavor Unit Management is run by Latifah, one of the original members of the Flavor Unit, and Shakim Compere. Past management clients were Monica, Outkast,

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

, Total, SWV, Almighty RSO (a group featuring Ray Dog, better known today as Benzino),

Groove Theory Groove Theory is an American duo, with former member, singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux and songwriter/producer/actor, Bryce Wilson. The group is best known for their 1995 hit "Tell Me", which reached the top five of ''Billboard''s Hot 100 and th ...

, Monifah, Gina Thompson,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

, Zhané, Donell Jones, and Naughty By Nature.

Members

Names marked with an asterisk denote artists who were managed by Flavor Unit but were not part of the original crew. *

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...

(deceased) *

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

* * Channel Live* *

Chill Rob G Robert Frazier (born May 15), known professionally as Chill Rob G, is an American hip hop artist from Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. Career Chill Rob G's first hip hop collaboration was being part of the original version of the Flavor ...

The 45 King Mark Howard James (born October 16, 1961) professionally known as The 45 King (also known as DJ Mark the 45 King), is an American hip hop record producer and disc jockey (DJ) from The Bronx borough of New York City. James began DJing in The ...

* Freddie Foxxx* * Lakim Shabazz * Latee * DJ Cee Justice * Lord Alibaski * Naughty by Nature* *

Nikki D Nichelle Strong (born September 10, 1968), known by her stage name Nikki D is an American rapper. Career Strong signed with Def Jam in 1989 and released her debut single "Lettin' Off Steam" the following year. It was produced by Sam Sever. The ...

* *

* Rowdy Rahz* *

Storm P Robert Storm Petersen (19 September 1882 – 6 March 1949) was a Danish cartoonist, writer, animator, illustrator, painter and humorist. He is known almost exclusively by his pen name Storm P. Biography He was the son of a butcher ...

* * Zhané*

Discography

* 1990: ''The 45 King presents The Flavor Unit'' ( Tuff City) * 1993: ''Roll Wit The Flava'' * 2000: ''Flavor Unit 10th Anniversary'' (Flavor Unit Records)Allmusic
/ref> * 2002: ''The Unit: 100% Hater Proof'' (Flavor Unit Records)

References

{{Authority control Hip hop collectives East Coast hip hop groups Queen Latifah