Flavor Flav is checking off his bucket list.
The 64-year-old rapper sang the national anthem Sunday night ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks’ showdown with the Atlanta Hawks, leaving some fans praising the star and some others scratching their heads.
He delivered what the Bucks called a “flavorful” rendition of the anthem wearing his signature clock pendant chain and a No. 59 jersey, referencing the year he was born. The Bucks invited Flav, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., to perform.
Naturally, social media users had a lot to say.
Some found the decision to book the rapper funny, with one person writing on X, formerly Twitter, “Milwaukee is out of control for this,” adding a string of laughing emojis. “I love it here.”
Others applauded the performance. “Flavor Flav just performed the National Anthem for Bucks-Hawks. I didn’t know I needed this until it happened,” an X user posted on the platform. Another viewer added, “Flavor Flav gave our anthem all the reverence it deserves and then some, and anyone who says otherwise is a certified hater.”
And there certainly were some haters in the bunch. NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe shared a post with a series of facepalm emojis, writing, “NO BOY,” a play on Flav’s famous catchphrase “Yeah, Boy!”
As for Flav, he didn’t seem to care much about the mixed reaction. He addressed the response to his performance in a statement on social media.
“The anthem was a long time bucket list item,,, that was fun!” he wrote on X.
“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.”
After his performance, Flav took photos with fans, including one boy who held a colorful sign that read “FLAVOR FLAV MY MOM SAYS HI.”
The display has prompted some to point out the hype man’s musical history. Along with being a part of historic rap group Public Enemy, Flav is a talented pianist and also plays several instruments, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D once said.
Social media users weighed on the performance through the night and, among the jokes were some more compassionate reactions.
“I know some people may think this is silly but Flavor Flav said this was on his bucket list,” an X user posted. “He’s had a long career and he’s getting old so it’s important to do things you want to do while you can. I’m glad he got to check this off his list, I hope he had fun.”
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
