Flavor Flav

About Flavor Flav

William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper, television star, and member of the politically and socially conscious rap group Public Enemy. His visual trademark is an oversized clock hanging from his neck.

After falling out of the public eye for a number of years, he has recently reappeared as the star of several VH1 reality series, including The Surreal Life, Strange Love, and Flavor Of Love.

In 1984, the group released a track Public Enemy #1, which brought them to the attention of Def Jam Records executive Rick Rubin, who signed the group to Def Jam in 1985. As a member of Public Enemy, his first record with the group, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, came out in 1987. The group rose to rap prominence with their following release, 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, which went double platinum. By the time the group issued the political single, "Fight the Power", in 1989, the group were mainstream superstars. The 1990s single "911 is a Joke" became a big hit, but it wasn't the first track Flavor rapped on solo—it was "Too Much Posse" on Yo! Bum Rush the Show. Along with Chuck D, the showman of the group and its promotional voice, as he often got the crowd hype and with his big glasses, even bigger clock dangling from his neck and wearing big hats, the rapper stood out among his fellow PE group mates.