William Jonathan Drayton, better known to the world as Flavor Flav, was born in NYC in 1959. Flav is the former hypeman of the iconic Rock’ n’ Roll Hall Of Fame Hip-Hop group Public Enemy.

Growing up in Freeport, Long Island, a young Flavor developed his love for music, teaching himself to play the piano, drums, and guitar independently. In Long Island, a young adult, Flav met Chuck Ridenhour, who later became known as Chuck D, the frontman of Public Enemy. The two were linked at Adelphi University on the Island, where they attended college and learned about each other’s love for hip hop.

As one of the founding members of PE, Flav was present in 1984 when the song “Public Enemy #1” was recorded, the group’s first known track. In 1986, the crew signed with Rick Rubin on Def Jam. However, Rubin did not initially want to sign Flav because he didn’t understand his role in the group.

Ever since PE’s debut album Yo! Bum Rush The Show, Flav has been the hype jester to the ultra-serious, politically charged group, including Chuck D, Terminator X, and a security force known as the S1Ws. Songs such as “Fight The Power,” “911 Is A Joke,” and “I Can’t Do Nothin’ For Ya Man” featured Flav’s comedic darts, which brought a balance to PE.

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