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William Jonathan Drayton Jr.
(born March 16, 1959), professionally known as Flavor Flav, is a rap
artist and member of the influential politically conscious hip hop
group Public Enemy. Friends from his early years reportedly refer to
him as "Rico Drayton." [edit] Biography Born in Roosevelt, New York on Long Island, William Drayton graduated high school in Freeport, New York before attending Adelphi University. While rapping at Adelphi under the name MC DJ Flavor Flav, he met a graphic-design student, Carlton Ridenhour (Chuck D). Chuck D, DJ Terminator X, Professor Griff, and Flavor Flav formed Public Enemy and released their debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show in 1987. Flav participated in Public Enemy as second rapper or vocalist (the primary vocalist was Chuck D), and as the band's drummer. His stuttering vocal style has influenced rappers including Busta Rhymes and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. Providing a comic foil to the political message of Chuck D, some credit Flav with the development of the rap sidekick (often referred to as a "hype man"). Unlike later practitioners of the hype man role, however, Flav's stage presence and musical contributions were at least as strong as Chuck D's, and his surreally absurd rapping added a humanizing light-heartedness to the group. In addition to the comic and derisive asides he offers on most Public Enemy performances, he has also taken center stage on songs such as "Too Much Posse," the bizarre and unforgettable "Cold Lampin' with Flava," and "911 Is a Joke," which provided one of the group's most colorful music videos. On the group's 1998 "comeback" single--following a four-year hiatus--"He Got Game," the title song to a contemporaneous film by Spike Lee, Flav performs essentially a duet with Chuck D. Flav often wears a clock around his neck, stating that observers will "know what time it is." The clock became one of Flav's trademarks, along with comic sunglasses. On stage Flav also favors flashy colors, such as hot pink, and a metal-horned helmet on his head, while Chuck D typically performed in dark colors, and the S1Ws wore pseudo-military uniforms. Flav acknowledges that his style is bizarre, and he is proud of his distinctiveness. Another of Flav's trademarks is his catchphrase, a loud and exaggerated "Yeeeeaaaahhhh Booooyyyy!" Flav has reportedly completed two solo albums, both of which were rejected by his record label, Def Jam. A third LP, It's About Time, was due to be released in 1999 but never appeared. A fourth album, "Flavor Flav: Rise, Fall, Rise," was scheduled for release in August, 2006. While in the group, Flav had numerous brushes with the law. During the band's heyday, Flav was a heavy drug abuser, most notably of crack, and had his driver's license suspended at least 48 times[citation needed]. He currently claims no longer to use drugs, other than an occasional blunt (as stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly Magazine). Flav has six children and two grandchildren. Flav credits himself as having been the originator of the current platinum grill craze in hip hop fashion. Though Flav himself has vehemently stated that he would never wear platinum teeth himself[citation needed], his near-constant wearing of gold teeth has inspired other rappers to get gold or platinum teeth, he claims. [edit] Recent history In 2006, Flav is in talks for signing onto the star-studded horror-comedy movie Horrorween. In 2002, Flav was recruited by New York City's hip hop radio station upstart Power 105 to do the traffic reports. In 2003, Flav appeared in the Taking Back Sunday video, "You're So Last Summer". The emo bands are a big change from his own musical roots, but the appearance shows his widespread character and appeal. He also appeared in TV spots for the then up-and-coming Reno 911! show on Comedy Central in his signature garb around the same time. In 2004, Flav appeared in the third season of The Surreal Life on VH1, in which he had an on-screen relationship with Brigitte Nielsen, who called Flav "Foofy Foofy." He and Nielsen continued their odd pairing on VH1's reality show Strange Love. Due to mutual jealousy, the couple was constantly fighting and yelling. In March 2005, Brigitte ended her relationship with Flavor Flav, choosing instead to live with her Italian boyfriend, Mattia Dessi. Sometime after the premiere of Strange Love, Flav came under fire from various organizations and individuals including North Carolina's Reverend Paul Scott, who labeled Flav's performance a "coon act" on "a modern day minstrel show". Episodes have shown Flav acting up at a Public Enemy concert as well as having confrontations with his children and their mother, who have received no child support from him. Chuck D went so far as to issue a statement[1] denouncing Flav's participation on Strange Love. A petition was set up in conjunction with Chuck D's criticisms in hopes of convincing VH1 to pull the show off of the air. VH1 continued to broadcast the program in spite of protests, which showed Flav and Brigitte going their separate ways in the end. In May 2005 Flav appeared on yet another reality show, The Farm on UK channel five. More recently he has starred in the new reality show, Flavor of Love, airing on VH1. The show premiered on January 1, 2006. It features Flav and 20 women (reduced to 15 in the first show, and then 10 after the January 8 airing) from which he will eventually choose one (in the style of The Bachelor). The show started with an effort to paint Flav in a good light. Several times on the show, he expresses a desire to settle down, find a companion, and have more children. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. During the show's season finale, Flav chose contestant Hoopz, a budding internet and magazine model, over New York (who returns with a vengeance in the second season), awarding the winner with a custom gold dental grill. Later, on the reunion episode of "Flavor of Love," Hoopz announced that she and Flav are not compatible (in the relationship sense), and had decided to part ways. It was then that Flavor Flav announced that a second season would soon be in production. The second season began airing on August 6, 2006, and set a ratings record for VH1. [edit] Trivia Flav is an accomplished drummer and percussionist. Flav's mother is a classically trained pianist. He currently resides in the Texico, New Mexico area and has a vacation home in Las Vegas, Nevada. He frequents the Benihana restaurant in Los Angeles. He appears in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY as a playable character. |