Music Flavor 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. A year later, the group released "Public Enemy #1", which brought them to the attention of
Def Jam Records executive
Rick Rubin. Rubin initially did not understand Flav's role in the act and wanted to sign Chuck D as a solo act; however, Chuck D insisted that Flav be signed with them and the two were signed to Def Jam. in
Brisbane, Australia, January 2009 In 2006, Flav put out his first solo album, titled
Hollywood. It was released during the second season of the
reality TV dating show
Flavor of Love. On March 1, 2020, Public Enemy released a statement saying that the group would be "moving forward without Flavor Flav," after a disagreement of the group's decision to endorse
Bernie Sanders and perform at his Los Angeles rally. Flav denounced the firing, maintaining that he was Chuck D's partner in Public Enemy and could not be fired from it. On April 1, 2020,
Chuck D announced that the firing was a hoax. Flav said shortly thereafter that he was not a part of the hoax and disapproved of the stunt.
Television After a hiatus from the music scene, Flav was invited to participate on
VH1 reality show
The Surreal Life. During this show, he developed a relationship with actress and singer
Brigitte Nielsen. After the conclusion of
The Surreal Life, VH1 gave Flav and Nielsen a show titled
Strange Love, which detailed their globetrotting adventure in love. At the end of
Strange Love, Nielsen decided to return to her fiancé, Mattia Dessi.
Flavor of Love aired for three seasons. It is a reality show where Flav looks for love and the show's success led to spin-offs titled
I Love New York and
I Love Money. During the third season reunion of
Flavor of Love, Flav proposed to Liz, the mother of his youngest son, Karma. 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.
Restaurant owner In 2011, Flav partnered with Nick Cimino to open
Flav's Fried Chicken in Cimino's hometown of
Clinton, Iowa, northeast of
Davenport. The two had met through Cimino's brother Peter, who runs Mama Cimino's in
Las Vegas and Castle Rock Bar and Pizzeria in
Kingman, Arizona, west of
Flagstaff. After enjoying his homemade fried chicken, Peter Cimino began selling chicken wings using Flav's recipe. They hoped to start a national
restaurant franchise. A mix of squabbling owners, bounced checks, and bad business decisions led to Flav's Chicken shutting down barely four months after it opened. Flav was not involved in the restaurant's day-to-day operations; Nick Cimino simply paid for Flavor Flav's license. Flavor Flav's House of Flavor in Las Vegas opened on his birthday in March 2012. Flav teamed up with Gino Harmon and Salvatore Bitonti to start a national franchise known as Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs, which opened December 21, 2012 in
Sterling Heights, Michigan, north of
Detroit. The business was not affiliated with the previous two ventures Flav had in the restaurant business. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs was a casual dining experience with a
quick serve attitude. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs closed in July 2013 after being evicted by its landlord for failure to pay rent.
Other TV and media appearances Merchandise Show in
Orlando, Florida, January 2012 In 2002, Flav appeared in
Taking Back Sunday's music video for their song ''You're So Last Summer.
He has appeared as a playable fighter in the 2004 fighting game; Def Jam: Fight for NY. In May 2005, Flav took part in the British reality TV show The Farm'' on
Channel 5. Also in 2005, he 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 in the
Lisa Tolliver Show celebration of
National Safety Month, earned kudos from U.S.
Surgeon General Richard Carmona. On November 18, 2009, Flav became a downloadable character in the
PlayStation Network's video game
Pain. He stars in
Deon Taylor's horror anthology
Nite Tales and
Dark Christmas. On May 10, 2010, Flav guest hosted the wrestling show
WWE Raw. On August 14, 2011, he appeared as a host at the twelfth annual
Gathering of the Juggalos. On January 10, 2012, Flav appeared with his longtime fiancée Liz on ABC's
Celebrity Wife Swap. His fiancée traded places with Suzette, the wife of
Twisted Sister front-man
Dee Snider. On February 5, 2012, Flav appeared along with
Elton John in a
Pepsi ad during
Super Bowl XLVI. On February 11, 2012, he celebrated the UNLV Rebel's 65-63
UNLV Runnin' Rebels victory over San Diego State as an honorary member. From June to September 2012, he co-starred and rapped in the web series
Dr. Fubalous. Flav also appeared in
YooHoo & Friends as Father Time, and the animated feature
Hitpig!, both directed by animator
David Feiss. In 2025, He competed in
season thirteen of
The Masked Singer as "Space Ranger" which resembles an alien cowboy, and was eliminated on "
Ghostbusters Night".
Sports Flavor Flav sang a widely noted performance of the Star Spangled Banner at a
Milwaukee Bucks home game against the
Atlanta Hawks in 2023. His performance was confusing to some, but Flav described the performance as a bucket list item and a tribute to military veterans. He has been a philanthropist and helped Olympic athletes needing support, including signing a five-year sponsorship deal as the United States women's national water polo team's official hype man. He traveled to
France to personally watch the team in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Flav also made a custom bronze clock necklace for U.S. gymnast
Jordan Chiles after her bronze medal was controversially rescinded at the Paris 2024 games. He helped raise money for the family of
Paralympic sprinter
Nick Mayhugh to travel to Paris to see their relative play, and paid rent for
Veronica Fraley, an Olympic discus thrower during the Olympic games. , September 2024 Flav is a long time fan of women's sports, and has been a notable guest at
WNBA games, including performing a call and response tribute to the late
Fatman Scoop at a
New York Liberty game in September 2024. Following the
2026 Winter Olympics, which saw a sweep by the
United States in
men’s and
women’s ice hockey and a comment made to the
men’s team by
President Donald Trump seeming to downplay the victory by the
women’s team, Flavor Flav posted on social media that “If the USA Women’s Hockey team wants a real celebration and invite ,,, I’ll host them in Las Vegas. Do some nice dinners and shows and good times. I’m sure I can get a hotel and airline to help me out here and celebrate these women for real for real.” The event, later announced as She Got Game Weekend, would be expanded to include all female Olympic and Paralympic medalists for
Team USA. ==Personal life and legal situations==