Flavor Flav Cited for Illegal Fireworks Following Holiday Bash

Police brought an early end to Public Enemy hypeman Flavor Flav’s annual Fourth of July party over the weekend, confiscating over 100 pounds of illegal fireworks at his Las Vegas home and issuing the rapper two unspecified citations, according to The Associated Press.

500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Public Enemy, ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’

A report from Las Vegas Review-Journal states that police stopped the celebration just before 8 p.m. local time, responding to the scene after receiving calls from neighbors. Flav (real name William Drayton Jr.) said he set off most of the fireworks in one blast, hoping to avoid police confrontation. Several neighbors reported being scared to leave their homes during the yearly fireworks event, in fear of their property catching on fire.

Flav defended himself in the ordeal, saying that the roughly 110 partygoers “had a ball until the police came” and noting that he doesn’t “do this every day.” But he appears to be taking the citations seriously, telling the publication, “I don’t want to go to jail for fireworks” and noting that the party will be moved to another location next year. 

Back in April, the hip-hop icon/reality TV star pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges following a 2012 incident in which he reportedly threatened his fiancée’s then-17-year-old son with a knife. He avoided felony charges by striking a deal involving counseling classes, and his attorney, Kristina Wildeveld, told the Review-Journal that his fireworks citations won’t affect that previous deal.

Meanwhile, in less explosive news, Flav’s been moving forward with an unexpected new musical project: fronting the rock and funk cover group the Flavortronz.

“A lot of people can’t picture Flavor Flav singing, and that’s because they’re used to seeing me in a certain light,” Flav recently told Rolling Stone of the band. “All of that, ‘Yeah boy’ and in-your-face stuff, I’ve been there, I’ve done that and I’ve proven myself to be who I am in that field. Everybody says I’m the greatest hypeman in the world. Now it’s time to be a frontman.”