Flavor Flav
Born: March 16, 1959
Birthplace: Roosevelt, NY
Zodiac Sign: Pisces
William Jonathan Drayton Jr. aka Flavor Flav (/ˈfleɪvər ˌfleɪv/), is an American musician, rapper, actor, television personality, and comedian who rose to prominence as a member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy. He is also known for popularizing the role of the hype man and for yelling "Yeah, boyeee!" and "Flavor Flav!" during performances. After falling out of the public eye for a number of years, Flav reappeared as the star of several 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 each within the Town of Hempstead, New York. He taught himself to play the piano, and began playing at the age of five years old. A musical prodigy, he sang in the youth choir at his church and mastered the piano, drums, and guitar at an early age. According to Chuck D, he is proficient in fifteen instruments. He set a house on fire as a small child while playing with a lighter; by the time he dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary. Drayton attended culinary school in 1978. Originally, his stage name Flavor Flav was his graffiti tag.
While attending Adelphi University on Long Island, he met Carlton Ridenhour (who would become known as Chuck D). They first collaborated on Chuck D's hip-hop college radio show, then began rapping together.
Flav came to prominence as a founding member and hype man of the rap group Public Enemy. In 1984, 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 in 1986.
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 their following release, 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 got the fans excited, appearing on stage and in public wearing big hats and glasses and a large clock dangling from his neck.
The first released track on which Flav rapped solo was "Life of a Nigerian" on Goat Ju JU, though 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 to be a serious, politically-challenging group.
In 1999, Flavour 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. It was released during the second season of Flavor of Love.
After a hiatus from the music scene, Flavor Flav was invited to participate on VH1 reality show The Surreal Life. During this show, he developed a relationship with actress Brigitte Nielsen. Following the conclusion of The Surreal Life, VH1 gave Flav and Brigitte a show titled Strange Love, which detailed their globetrotting adventure in love. At the end of Strange Love Brigitte decided to return to her fiancé, Mattia Dessi. Flavor of Love, which aired for three seasons, is a reality show where Flavor Flav looks for love. The show's success led to spin-offs titled I Love New York and I Love Money. It was revealed in the third season reunion show that Flav met a woman, not from the show, after taping had concluded. He proposed to her on air during the special. The two had a son together. The Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav aired on August 12, 2007. Guests appearing at the roast: 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 Under One Roof starring alongside Kelly Perine.
Restaurant owner
In 2011, Flav partnered with Nick Cimino to open Flav's Fried Chicken in Cimino's hometown of Clinton, Iowa. Flav met Cimino through his brother Peter, who runs Mama Cimino's in Las Vegas and Castle Rock Bar and Pizzeria in Kingman, Arizona. After enjoying the rapper's homemade fried chicken, Peter Cimino began selling chicken wings using Flav's recipe. The founders hoped to start a national restaurant franchise. A mix of squabbling owners, bounced checks and bad business decisions led to Flavor Flav's Chicken shutting down almost 4 months after it opened. Flavor 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. Flavor 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. The business was not affiliated with the previous two ventures Flavor Flav has had in the restaurant business. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs was a casual dining experience with a quick serve attitude. They are known for making their sides from scratch. The ribs were smoked then dipped in the house sauce, and the chicken came in fresh weekly from the Gold’n Plump Company. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs closed in July 2013 after being evicted by its landlord for failure to pay rent.