Background and career
William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), better known by his stage name Flavor Flav ( FLAY-vər FLAYV), is an American rapper, hype man, and television personality. Known for his catchphrase "Yeah, boyeee!" when performing, he is a founding member, alongside Chuck D, of Public Enemy, a rap group that has earned six Grammy Award nominations. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After spending several years out of the limelight, Flav starred in multiple VH1 reality series, including The Surreal Life, Strange Love, and Flavor of Love.
Drayton was born in Roosevelt, New York and grew up in nearby Freeport, two communities within the Town of Hempstead. His father, William Drayton Sr., ran a restaurant, The Soul Diner in Freeport. Drayton Jr. is the cousin of former Penn State basketball player Shep Garner, and of Brooklyn MC Timbo King of Royal Fam. He is also a cousin of rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard, RZA, and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Drayton began teaching himself piano at the age of five. He was an accomplished musician playing piano, drums, and guitar at an early age while singing in the youth choir at his church. According to Chuck D, Drayton is proficient in playing fifteen instruments. By the time he dropped out of Freeport High School in the 11th grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary. He attended culinary school in 1978. Later, he went to Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, where he met Carlton Ridenhour (who later became known as Chuck D). They first collaborated on Chuck D's hip-hop college radio show, then began rapping together. Drayton's stage name Flavor Flav was originally his graffiti tag.
Flavor Flav came to prominence as a founding member and hype man of the rap group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Chuck D. A year later, the group released "Public Enemy #1", which brought them to the attention of Def Jam Records executive Rick Rubin. Rubin initially did not understand Flav's role in the act and wanted to sign Chuck D as a solo act; however, Chuck D insisted that Flav be signed with them and the two were signed to Def Jam.
The group's first album Yo! Bum Rush the Show was released in 1987. Flav served as the comic foil to Chuck D's serious, politically charged style. The group gained much wider fame with 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, which went double platinum. By the time the political single "Fight the Power" was released in 1989, the group had become mainstream superstars. Along with Chuck D, the showman of the group and its promotional voice, Flav stood out among the members of Public Enemy as he often excited fans appearing on stage and in public wearing large hats, glasses, and a sizable clock dangling from his neck. The first released track on which Flav rapped solo was "Life of a Nigerian" on Goat Ju JU, although the first hit on which he rapped solo would not come until the 1990 single "911 Is a Joke". During Public Enemy's first years of existence, Flav experienced tensions with group-mate Professor Griff, who never liked Flav's flamboyant stance in what Griff felt should be a serious, politically-challenging group. In 1999, Flavor Flav recorded with DJ Tomekk and Grandmaster Flash the single "1, 2, 3, ... Rhymes Galore". The single stayed for 17 weeks in the top ten of the German charts. In 2006, Flav put out his first solo album, titled Hollywood. It was released during the second season of the reality TV dating show Flavor of Love. On March 1, 2020, Public Enemy released a statement saying that the group would be "moving forward without Flavor Flav," after a disagreement of the group's decision to endorse Bernie Sanders and perform at his Los Angeles rally. Flav denounced the firing, maintaining that he was Chuck D's partner in Public Enemy and could not be fired from it. On April 1, 2020, Chuck D announced that the firing was a hoax. Flav said shortly thereafter that he was not a part of the hoax and disapproved of the stunt.
After a hiatus from the music scene, Flav was invited to participate on VH1 reality show The Surreal Life. During this show, he developed a relationship with actress and singer Brigitte Nielsen. After the conclusion of The Surreal Life, VH1 gave Flav and Nielsen a show titled Strange Love, which detailed their globetrotting adventure in love. At the end of Strange Love, Nielsen decided to return to her fiancé, Mattia Dessi. Flavor of Love aired for three seasons. It is a reality show where Flav looks for love and the show's success led to spin-offs titled I Love New York and I Love Money. During the third season reunion of Flavor of Love, Flav proposed to Liz, the mother of his youngest son, Karma. The Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav aired on August 12, 2007. Guests appearing at the roast included Snoop Dogg, Brigitte Nielsen, Jimmy Kimmel, Carrot Top, Lisa Lampanelli, Ice-T, Jeff Ross, Katt Williams, Patton Oswalt, Greg Giraldo, and Sommore. Flav played Calvester Hill on the MyNetworkTV comedy series Under One Roof, starring alongside Kelly Perine.
In 2011, Flav partnered with Nick Cimino to open Flav's Fried Chicken in Cimino's hometown of Clinton, Iowa, northeast of Davenport. The two had met through Cimino's brother Peter, who runs Mama Cimino's in Las Vegas and Castle Rock Bar and Pizzeria in Kingman, Arizona, west of Flagstaff. After enjoying his homemade fried chicken, Peter Cimino began selling chicken wings using Flav's recipe. They hoped to start a national restaurant franchise. A mix of squabbling owners, bounced checks, and bad business decisions led to Flav's Chicken shutting down barely four months after it opened. Flav was not involved in the restaurant's day-to-day operations; Nick Cimino simply paid for Flavor Flav's license. Flavor Flav's House of Flavor in Las Vegas opened on his birthday in March 2012. Flav teamed up with Gino Harmon and Salvatore Bitonti to start a national franchise known as Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs, which opened December 21, 2012 in Sterling Heights, Michigan, north of Detroit. The business was not affiliated with the previous two ventures Flav had in the restaurant business. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs was a casual dining experience with a quick serve attitude. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs closed in July 2013 after being evicted by its landlord for failure to pay rent.
