Flavor Flav
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Flavor Flav (born William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. on March 16, 1959), is a rap artist and member of the influential and politically-conscious hip hop group Public Enemy.
Born in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, Flav, a classically-trained pianist, graduated high school in Freeport, New York, before he attended Adelphi University, where, while rapping under the name MC DJ Flavor, he met then graphic design student Carlton Ridenhour (Chuck D). Chuck D, DJ Terminator X, Professor Griff and Flavor Flav formed Public Enemy and released the debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show in 1987.
Flav participated in Public Enemy as second rapper or vocalist (vocals were mostly done by 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 role of the rap sidekick (often referred to as a "hype man").
While in the group, Flav had numerous brushes with the law. During the time of the band's success, Flav was also a heavy drug abuser, most notably of crack, and had his driver's license suspended at least 48 times, though he currently claims to no longer use drugs. 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 although PAul Wall was the first to make the awesome Icy Tray, Disco Ball and Pop Trunk GRILLZ. Though Flav himself has vehemently stated that he would never wear platinum teeth himself, his near-constant wearing of gold teeth has inspired other rappers to get gold or platinum teeth, he claims. However, Jack Johnson, the first black Heavyweight Champion of the World, had gold-capped front teeth years before Flav was born. [1]
He often wears a clock around his neck, stating that observers will "know what time it is." The clock is set to either twelve o'clock ("straight up") or six o'clock ("straight up and straight down"). The clock became one of Flav's trademarks, along with comic sunglasses. Flav is also known to wear flashy colors, such as hot pink, and a metal-horned helmet on his head, while Chuck D used to perform in dark colors, and the Security of the 1st World wear military uniform. Flav realizes that his style is bizarre, and he is proud of his own uniqueness. Another trademark of Flav 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.
In 2002, Flavor Flav was recruited by New York City's hip hop radio station upstart Power 105 to do the traffic reports.
In 2003, Flavor Flav appeared in the Taking Back Sunday video, "You're So Last Summer". The pop punk band are a big change from Flavor Flav's 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, Flavor 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 started to come 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 as far as issuing a statement to denounce 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.
Recently, Flavor has been starring in his new reality show, Flavor of Love, airing on VH1. The show premiered on January 1, 2006. It features Flav and 20 (reduced to 15 in the first show, and then 10 after the January 8 airing) women from which he intends to choose, in the style of The Bachelor. The show started with somewhat of an attempt to paint Flav in a good light. During the show's season finale, he chose contestant Hoopz, a budding internet and magazine model, over New York, awarding the winner with a custom dental grill. On The Tom Joyner Show, Flav said that he had not heard from Hoopz since the season finale, implying that she was only on the show for exposure.
He has expressed a desire to settle down, find a companion, and have more children.Template:Fact
Trivia
- Flav currently resides in the Los Angeles, California, area.
- He frequents the Benihana restaurant in Los Angeles.
"Hoopz" won the love of Flavor Flav on the show, Flavor of Love. She was awarded with a golden "grill". In the recent reunion, however, Hoopz and Flav said they are no longer together and there will be a second season.