Today, March 16, is the 59th birthday of rapper and Public Enemy member, Flavor Flav.

The Freeport, New York native grew up learning to play multiple instruments and singing. He first met Public Enemy co-creator Chuck D in college when the two attended Adelphi University. As a group, Public Enemy was signed to Def Jam Records in 1986 with Flav playing mainly the role of professional hype man and comic relief for the aggressive, politically conscious vibe of the group.

Public Enemy released their debut album Yo!Bum Rush The Show in 1987 followed by It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in '88. By the time the guys dropped their biggest hit single, "Fight the Power," in 1989, Public Enemy and Flavor Flav's signature style of loud outfits and a dangling clock necklace were mainstays on the hip-hop scene.

As time went on, Flav's star rose again in when he began to appear in a string of VH1 reality TV shows starting with The Surreal Life in 2004. Flav went on to look for TV love in shows like Strange Love and Flavor of Love, all on VH1.

Though he's gone through some legal troubles in recent years, we hope 2018 brings new prosperity for the trendsetting figure.

Happy Birthday, Flavor Flavvvvvvv!

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