William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959),[1] known by his stage name Flavor Flav[a] (/ˈfleɪvər ˌfleɪv/ FLAY-vər FLAYV), is an American hip hop artist.

when performing,[4][5] he is a founding member, alongside Chuck D, of Public Enemy, a rap group that has earned six Grammy Award nominations,[6] and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Drayton is the cousin of former Penn State basketball player Shep Garner,[8] and of Brooklyn MC Timbo King of Royal Fam.

[5] Flavor Flav (often referred to as "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.[15] A year later, the group released "Public Enemy #1", which brought them to the attention of Def Jam Records executive Rick Rubin.

[13] 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.

In 1999, Flavor Flav recorded with DJ Tomekk and Grandmaster Flash the single "1, 2, 3, ... Rhymes Galore".

[19] After a hiatus from the music scene, Flavor Flav was invited to participate on VH1 reality show The Surreal Life.

During the third season reunion of Flavor of Love, Flav proposed to Liz, the mother of his youngest son, Karma.

[21] 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.

[23] A mix of squabbling owners, bounced checks, and bad business decisions led to Flavor Flav's Chicken shutting down barely four months after it opened.

Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs closed in July 2013 after being evicted by its landlord for failure to pay rent.

[29] Also in 2005, Flavor Flav made a guest appearance in the MTV2 surreal black comedy show Wonder Showzen as himself, in the debut episode "Birth".

On June 14, 2006, Flav's participation, with WEVR-MRC,[30] in the Lisa Tolliver Show celebration of National Safety Month,[31] earned kudos from Surgeon General of the United States Richard Carmona.

Flavor Flav sang a widely noted performance of the Star Spangled Banner at the Milwaukee Bucks/Atlanta Hawks game in 2023.

[47] Flav helped financially support athletes of the United States women's national water polo team amidst their preparations for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, signing a five-year sponsorship deal as the team's official hype man.

In 1991, Flav pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Karen Ross and served 30 days in jail, lost custody of his children, and fell deeper into addiction.

[5] Flavor Flav dated Beverly Johnson, and by 2000, he lived in a small apartment in the Bronx with her and her two children from a previous marriage, while making money scalping baseball tickets.

[13] In 2002, Flav spent nine weeks in Rikers Island jail for driving with a suspended license, numerous parking tickets, and tardiness for probation appointments.

Flav moved into his friend Princess' apartment, and within months met Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin, the creators and executive producers of the reality television series The Surreal Life.

[57][58][59] On October 17, 2012, Flav was jailed in Las Vegas on felony charges stemming from a domestic argument with Trujillo and his threats to attack her teenage son, Gibran, with a knife.

[61] On January 9, 2014, Flav was pulled over on Long Island's Meadowbrook Parkway for driving 79 miles per hour (127 km/h) in a 55 mph (89 km/h) zone, and was additionally charged with possession of marijuana and unlicensed operation of a vehicle.