Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav is Public Enemy’s co-founder and hype man, a rapper and reality TV personality who also champions women’s sports and Olympic athletes.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Flav’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Flav claims this page.
Latest
Flav’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- 911 Is a Joke1990 · Lead rapper and songwriter
Public Enemy - Fight the Power1989 · Public Enemy performer
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back1988 · Public Enemy member
Def Jam - Flavor of Love2006–2008 · Star
VH1 - Enemy RecordsBlack Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 20252025 · Public Enemy member
Overview
- Real name
- William Jonathan Drayton Jr.
- Born
- March 16, 1959
- Known for
- Public Enemy co-founder, rapper and hype man; reality TV personality
- Breakout
- Public Enemy’s late-1980s recordings, followed by Flavor of Love in the 2000s
Mini bio
How it started.
Before the clocks and television cameras, Flav was a young musician learning instruments in church. Producer Hank Shocklee recalled him moving between drums, piano, guitar and bass. Flav met Chuck D through the Adelphi University scene in the early 1980s; at Harvard in 2026, he recalled writing their first album while the pair delivered furniture in a U-Haul truck.
Finding his voice.
Public Enemy’s 1987 debut, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, introduced Flav’s animated presence alongside Chuck D’s forceful delivery. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back followed in 1988. “Fight the Power” became the theme for Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, while Flav took the lead on “911 Is a Joke” in 1990.
A new audience.
Reality television brought another chapter, with appearances on The Surreal Life and Strange Love before he starred in Flavor of Love from 2006 to 2008. He has continued making music with Public Enemy, including their 2025 album Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025.
Cheering others on.
Flav’s support for Olympic athletes has become a recurring part of his public life. After sponsoring USA Water Polo, he became an official sponsor and hype man for USA Bobsled/Skeleton in 2025 and hosted SHE Weekend for women athletes in Las Vegas in July 2026.
Creditschronological, newest first
Music
- 2025Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025Public Enemy member
- 1990911 Is a JokeLead rapper and co-writer
- 1989Fight the PowerPublic Enemy performer
- 1988It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us BackPublic Enemy member
- 1987Yo! Bum Rush the ShowPublic Enemy member
Television
- 2025Dancing with the Stars: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame NightGuest judge
- 2006–2008Flavor of LoveHimself; series star
Awards
Quotes
When you can reach one person, you reach the whole world.Flavor Flav, Harvard listening party and conversation
Speaking at Harvard on April 6, 2026, he reflected on hearing from people whose lives Public Enemy’s music had touched.
Trivia
- One of the first tunes he taught himself on organ was the Batman theme.
- Piano, drums and bass guitar are among his favorite instruments to play.
- He and Chuck D worked delivering furniture before Public Enemy’s breakthrough.
Find Flav
Follow Flav for music, clocks and the athletes he cheers on.
Are you Flavor Flav?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.