Flavor Flav (/flevr flev/), also known as William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the rap group Public Enemy alongside Chuck D, earning six Grammy Awards nominations and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with them. After spending several years out of the spotlight, he starred in various VH1 reality series, including The Surreal Life, Strange Love, and Flavor of Love.
Flavor Flav’s net worth:
Flavor Flav is a $2 million rapper and reality TV star from the United States.
He is best known for co-founding Public Enemy, one of the most successful rap groups in history, with 14 studio albums and over 40 music videos under their belt. Public Enemy’s debut album, “Yo! Bum Rush the Show,” was critically acclaimed, and “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” (1988), “Fear of a Black Planet” (1990), and “Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black” (1991) were all certified Platinum. Flavor Flav has been on VH1’s “The Surreal Life” (2004), “Strange Love” (2005), and “Flavor of Love” (2006), and is known for wearing a giant clock around his neck (2006-2008).
Early Life
Flavor Flav was born William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. in Roosevelt, New York, on March 16, 1959. He grew up with his mother, Anna, father William (a restaurant owner), brother Steven, and sister Jean in Freeport, New York. He began playing the piano at the age of five after self-teaching, and he also played guitar and drums as a kid. Drayton was a church choir member and attended Freeport High School until his junior year when he dropped out.
He set his family’s house on fire while playing with a lighter when he was a toddler, and he was arrested for burglary and robbery several times as a teenager. In 1978, William opted to attend culinary school. While at Adelphi University on Long Island, he met Carlton Ridenhour (better known as Chuck D) and began appearing on his college radio show. Drayton adopted the name Flavor Flav when the two began rapping together.
Beginning of success:
Flavor Flav and Chuck D co-founded Public Enemy in 1985. The song “Public Enemy #1” was released the following year, attracting the attention of Rick Rubin, a Def Jam Records executive. On February 10, 1987, they inked a deal with the label and released their debut album, “Yo! Bum Rush the Show.”
The album was rated Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Its follow-up, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” was certified Platinum and reached #1 on the “Billboard” Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums list in 1988. The album “Fear of a Black Planet,” released in 1990, includes the #1 “Billboard” Hot Rap Songs “Fight the Power” and “911 Is a Joke.” Since then, the band has released 11 more albums, including “New Whirl Odor” (2005), “Rebirth of a Nation” (2006), “The Evil Empire of Everything” (2012), and their 15th, “What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?” is set to be published in September 2020. After a disagreement during a Bernie Sanders rally in March 2020, the band declared that Flav was being kicked out, but Chuck D later claimed it was a prank.
Albums and shows:
In 1996, Flav launched his self-titled debut album, and he has been on tracks by Anthrax, George Clinton. And Ice Cube, Will Smith, Snoop Dogg, and a slew of other musicians. In 2004, he made his reality television debut on “The Surreal Life”. There he met Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen and began dating her. The following year, VH1 granted the couple their show, “Strange Love”. But Nielsen broke the relationship at the end of the series, preferring to return to her fiancé.
Flav went on to star in the three-season dating show “Flavor of Love,” In 2007, he was honoured at the “Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav.” Flav’s acting credits include “New Jack City” (1991), “Private Parts” (1997), and “The Bernie Mac Show” (2004), as well as recurring parts on “Under One Roof” (2008-2009), “Nite Tales: The Series” (2009), and “Dr Fubalous” (2010). (2012). Flav’s Fried Chicken, Flavor Flav’s House of Flavor, and Flavor Flav’s Chicken & Ribs are among his eateries.
Relationships:
Flav is married to Karen Ross, has three children with Angie Parker, and one kid with Elizabeth Trujillo.
While filming “Flavor of Love, ” he proposed to Trujillo,” and the couple married sometime after 2013. Flav was arrested in October 2012 for attacking Liz and threatening her adolescent son with a knife, and the two appeared on VH1’s “Couples Therapy” the following year. Parker took Flav to court in 2012 over $111,186 in child support owing, and instead of risking six months in prison, he paid Angie $25,000 in June of that year and agreed to monthly payments of $1,200.
After a 1991 arrest for assaulting Ross and further arrests for cocaine, marijuana, and domestic violence in 1993, Flav has struggled with addiction and legal troubles throughout his life.
His family staged an intervention and persuaded him to seek treatment at the Betty Ford Center. After his father died in 1997, he sought treatment at the Long Island Center for Recovery. Since then, Flav has been arrested multiple times. It is including a nine-week stint in Rikers Island in 2002 for parking tickets. Also, driving with a suspended licence and arrests for driving crimes in 2011, 2014, and 2015. Flav had 16 driver’s licence suspensions at his arrest in 2014.
Nominations and Awards
Flavor Flav had six Grammy nominations with Public Enemy. It is including four for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (“Fight the Power” in 1990. Also, “Fear of a Black Planet” in 1991).
Also, “Apocalypse 91” in 1992 and “Greatest Misses” in 1993). As well as one each for Best Metal Performance (“Bring the Noise” with Anthrax, 1995). Also, Best Music Video – Long Form (“The Enemy Strikes Live,” 1993). The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. He won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 and nominations for the American Music Awards. Also, the Soul Train Awards (winning Best Rap Album in 1992 for “Apocalypse ’91”). Flav garnered Teen Choice Award nominations for TV. It is for Choice Reality Star (Male) in 2006. Also, Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star in 2007 for his efforts on “Flavor of Love.”
Real Estate
Flav paid almost $685,000 for a 3,708 square foot property in Las Vegas in 2008. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms in residence.
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