Now for something you probably thought you’d never witness in a million years. The Bucks and Atlanta Hawks faced off in Milwaukee on Sunday and offered a treat for those in attendance. Co-founding member of legendary rap group Public Enemy and Reality TV star Flavor Flav gave a “stunning” rendition of the national anthem before the game. Let’s just say it was….different.
“He sings like he’s had one too many at the bar.” — DJ Dunson, Deadspin
Let us first acknowledge the courage it takes to get up in front of thousands in an arena and even more watching on TV. Simply put, not all viral moments are good ones. Maybe it’s the whole Flavor Flav persona, but he looked, and sounded out of place. As the camera panned throughout the arena, it looked like fans, and even some players weren’t sure what to think, or how to react.
The real question is, who owed who a favor? Or can anyone with an ounce of celebrity sign up to sing the national anthem at an NBA game? It wasn’t Roseanne Barr’s level of bad singing, but it certainly wouldn’t be classified as good. Barr might have been the worst ever. Her performance was worse than Stephen A. Smith’s first pitch, which went viral last month.
Still, Flavor Flav’s moment was so unexpected that it’s got to rank up there as no one was prepared for this. Either way, Flav has another musical moment that will be remembered for many reasons. Surprisingly, he didn’t attempt to rap the anthem, but that likely would’ve offended someone. That would have been a sight to behold.