Flavor Flav

Drayton was born in Roosevelt, New York and grew up in nearby Freeport, two black communities each within the Town of Hempstead, New York. He taught himself to play the piano, and began playing at the age of five years old. A musical prodigy, he sang in the youth choir at his church and mastered the piano, drums, and guitar at an early age. According to Chuck D, he is proficient in fifteen instruments. He set a house on fire as a small child while playing with a lighter; by the time he dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary. He attended Adelphi University on Long Island where he met Carlton Ridenhour, who would become known as Chuck D. Flavor Flav took his stage name after his graffiti tag. They first collaborated on Chuck D\'s hip-hop college radio show, then began rapping together. Flavor Flav went to culinary school in…