Watch Flavor Flav’s enthusiastic rendition of the National Anthem at NBA game

30 October, 2023

Flavor Flav (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Flavor Flav took to the stage at a recent NBA game to sing a very spirited version of the US National Anthem – watch footage of his performance below.

The Public Enemy co-founder sang The National Anthem at the Hawks-Bucks game in Wisconsin on October 29. However, his rendition may just join the likes of Fergie‘s memorable National Anthem thanks to his enthusiastic attitude. Primarily known for his rapping and hype man abilities, Flavor Flav was so passionate about the anthem that he even repeated the lyric ‘for the brave’ three times.

Flavor Flav has since inspired a range of responses on social media. “NO BOY” wrote one user, referencing the rapper’s trademark catchphrase. Another wrote: “All I got to say is Flavor Flav knew all the words & sung with heart!”. See the viral moment here:

Flavor Flav and the two teams have both responded to the moment as well. Both the Bucks and Hawks wrote “YEAH BOY”, with the Bucks adding: “S/O Flavor Flav for the flavorful anthem!”

Meanwhile, Flavor Flav took to Twitter to discuss his feelings on his performance. “The anthem was a long time bucket list item,,,[sic] that was fun!” he wrote.

“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. Some people might not like that. But a sure failure is if you stop trying.” The rapper later admitted he was “nervous AF to try something new and it’s a crazy difficult song.”

Missy Elliott also took the time to weigh in, writing: “Determination and drive go along way🙌🏾big up LEGENDARY Flavor Flav.” After Flavor Flav thanked the rapper and told her he was coming to her upcoming show this Friday in Brooklyn (tickets here), she replied: “I love you for life king👑! Thank you and Chuck D for inspiring me and giving me yall shoulders to lean on.”

In recent news, Public Enemy announced they were reissuing their seminal 1988 album ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’. The vinyl reissue, which comes out November 10, can be pre-ordered here. Chuck D said of the release:

“Thanks to Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Whodini, we knew that hip-hop albums could explode on cassettes. At about the same time, [The Bomb Squad producer] Hank Shocklee was the manager of a record store, and he would point out how rock bands like Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones, and even Bruce Springsteen were getting the most out of the album concept.

“So, we took that and went further with ‘It Takes a Nation’, approaching it like a rock band. It ended up becoming a part of rap’s evolution from a singles-driven genre into the dawn of rap’s album age.”

The post Watch Flavor Flav’s enthusiastic rendition of the National Anthem at NBA game appeared first on NME.