We make assumptions about people, often false narratives, and I’m going to challenge us to think differently. For instance, what do you think of when I say the name Flavor Flav?

Singing the American National Anthem at a major event is quite an honor, it’s also… TERRIFYING. For a singer, it’s as exposed as you get. The anthem is a tough song to sing, it’s a complicated melody that includes the famously challenging high note on the word ‘glare’.

Recently at an Atlanta Hawks/ Milwaukee Bucks game, Flavor Flav delivered a heartfelt, earnest rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, stunning the crowd and igniting social media. Flav neither rapped nor clowned, he gave it his best shot and clearly, it meant a lot to him.

After the performance, he called out the legacy of his family’s military service, his gratitude towards the opportunities this great country has given him, and the idea that this was on his ‘bucket list’ since childhood.

As one who’s sung the anthem at large events, this quote hit me:
“I was proud of myself because I didn’t get none of the words wrong, sang every word right,”

Until you’ve done it, you have no idea how much that resonates…

Flav’s rendition has received mixed reviews (at best), but I for one have newfound respect for William Jonathan Drayton Jr, AKA Flavor Flav the human being.