Biography
Born William Jonathon Drayton Jr. on March 16, 1959 in Roosevelt, New York, Flavor Flav began his musical journey early, teaching himself to play piano at the age of five, singing in the youth choir at his local church, and mastering numerous other instruments. He attended culinary school for some time, but eventually enrolled at Adelphi University where he met his future collaborator Chuck D through a hip-hop college radio show. Together, they co-founded the rap group "Public Enemy" in 1985, releasing their debut album "Yo! The Bum Rush Show" to critical acclaim in 1987. That album, along with their next three, would all eventually become either certified gold or platinum. Through twelve studio albums and numerous other projects, they earned six Grammy nominations, an induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and were honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Flavor Flav has also appeared in numerous film and television projects throughout his entertainment career, most notably the reality dating show "Flavor of Love" (VH1, 2006-2008) which proved to be a huge success, attracting an impressive 7.5 million viewers for its second season's finale and spawning multiple spin-off shows. He continues to perform with Public Enemy on the global stage and take on film and television roles, most recently as a voice actor in the animated film "Hitpig!" (2024).
