Flavor Flav’s national anthem is a viral hit. It was also a ‘long time bucket list item’
Flavor Flav is ready for his next national anthem performance, after going viral for his breathy rendition over the weekend.
“This ain’t the last time you’re going to hear me sing the national anthem. ... I just don’t [know] where yet and I don’t know when, but it’s gonna go down,” he told Yahoo on Monday. “So keep your eyes and your ears open.”
The Public Enemy rapper and “Flavor of Love” reality TV star showed off his singing skills Sunday as he performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Milwaukee Bucks-Atlanta Hawks basketball game. Flav, not especially known for his singing, delivered a long-winded version of the anthem that nearly doubled its traditional run time.
Flavor Flav shares what it cost — in dollars — to keep himself in cocaine and crack during the six heaviest years of his 18 years of drug abuse.
The 64-year-old rap star, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., added his own flair by holding numerous notes and remixing the closing line. On Instagram, the Bucks said it was a “flavorful anthem.”
Flav’s “Star-Spangled Banner” left fans divided on social media.
“One of the best AND worst renditions of all time,” Instagram user @sinte_torrez said.
“Ayooo, homie stayed in [key] & did better than y’all initially thought he’d do,” Instagram fan @purplechrome said.
Flav’s singing left ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith holding in their laughter — at least to the best of their abilities.
“I wanna know who was the person that said, ‘Let Flavor Flav sing the national anthem,’” Smith said. “I love me some Flavor Flav, but the national anthem and Flavor Flav — what?!”
Despite the mixed reaction to his viral performance, Flav told Yahoo, “I’m never letting anything that anyone has to say stop my flow of being positive.”
He echoed similar sentiments Monday, writing on Instagram, “I can’t live my life worried about what people might say about me.”
He continued: “I won’t let that stop me from trying new things and doing things I wanna do. Some people might not like that. But a sure failure is if you stop trying.”
Chance the Rapper will celebrate the anniversary of his acclaimed ‘Acid Rap’ mixtape with a show at the Kia Forum on Thursday.
For Flav, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a “long time bucket list item,” he said on Instagram. When speaking to Yahoo, the Grammy-winning rapper said he told himself, “‘You finally did something that you always wanted to do and you did a great job.’”
The “Shake Your Booty” artist also told Yahoo he sent Milwaukee Bucks president Peter Feigin a video of himself singing, and talked about how he mentally prepared for the spotlight and putting his own twist on the anthem.
“I was proud of myself because I didn’t get none of the words wrong, sang every word right,” he said.
Flav reflected more about his weekend performance in two posts shared on X. He told followers that he performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” to honor family members, including his father, who served in the military.
“They fought for the land that we live on, and some of them didnt make it back,” Flav wrote. “So when I was singing it, I was thinking about them and the advancements we have made in our community that I can perform the anthem.”
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
