Flavor Flav in Beverly Hills in September 2023.Photo:Amanda Edwards/Getty
Amanda Edwards/Getty
Flavor Flavhas no regrets about stepping out of his comfort zone to sing the national anthem ahead of the Bucks-Hawks game at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sunday.
After surprising viewers with his memorable a cappella rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” thePublic Enemymember caught some flack online for his vocal stylings and responded in defense via social media on Monday.
“It may seem odd for Flavor Flav, a member of Public Enemy to do the National Anthem. But I had family that served in the United States military and I wanted to honor them,” wrote the 64-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member onX (formerly Twitter).
“I had family that fought in World War 2. My dad was in the army,” continued Flav in afollow-up post. “They fought for the land that we live on, and some of them didnt make it back.”
TheFlavor of Lovestar explained, “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.”
For the performance, Flav sported one of his signature oversized clock necklaces and appeared with a smile on his face before launching into his take on the national anthem.
Flava Flav performs in Milwaukee on Oct. 29, 2023.Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty
He may not have hit every single note, but Flav’s version of the Francis Scott Key classic certainly featured a lot of passion and heart. After the gig, he posted to social media to express pride in accomplishing his first-ever national anthem performance.
“The anthem was a long time bucket list item,,, that was fun!” wrote Flav on X (formerly Twitter) Sunday evening before addressing critics of his rendition — some of whomcompared Flav’s vocal stylingstoFergie’s infamous 2018 take on the song.
“I can’t live my life worried about what people might say about me. I won’t let that stop me from trying new things and doing things I wanna do,” continued the Grammy-nominated rapper. “Some people might not like that. But a sure failure is if you stop trying.”
Flavor Flav in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 2023.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Viewers who may have been shocked to see Flav step out of the hip-hop space for a second to showcase his singing chops should remember the “Fight the Power” emcee was a classically trained musician before he launched into hip-hop.
source: people.com
