Flavor Flav needs money. So says a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, in which Flav accuses
Public Enemy co-founder
Chuck D and two business managers of cheating him out of royalties and merchandising revenue.
Flav — real name, William Drayton — contends that his
Public Enemy royalties have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. In the last few months, he and his representatives have attempted to get a full accounting of the money owed to him, but have been thwarted.
Flavor Flav and
Chuck D were the two core members of the group. Chuck D was seen as the serious musical talent while Flav played the goofy hype man. The suit hints at years of pent-up hard feelings over this perception of their relative importance. Flav contends that there have been many attempts “to minimize his role in the Public Enemy business” over the years, while managers continued to exploit “his fame and persona to market the brand.”
