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Meet Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav’s 8 children from 4 different women – some of whom appeared with him on Celebrity Family Feud

STORYCarolina Malis
Flava Flav has eight children and, despite his occasionally rocky relationships with their mums, brought his family onto an episode of Celebrity Family Feud earlier this year. Photo: @flavorflavofficial/Instagram
Flava Flav has eight children and, despite his occasionally rocky relationships with their mums, brought his family onto an episode of Celebrity Family Feud earlier this year. Photo: @flavorflavofficial/Instagram
Celebrity children

The 1980s rap star wasn’t always the best father, and even did a stint in prison – so who are his 8 children and what are they up to?

Known for his iconic career as a rapper in Public Enemy and as a reality TV personality, Flavor Flav has worn many hats over the years, but one role he’s had to grow into is that of being a dad. The 65-year-old musician, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr, is the father of eight children from different relationships.

Flavor Flav was one of the founding members of 1980s hip-hop legends Public Enemy. Photo: @flavorflavofficial/Instagram
Flavor Flav was one of the founding members of 1980s hip-hop legends Public Enemy. Photo: @flavorflavofficial/Instagram
With his ex Karen Ross, Flav welcomed his first three daughters. Later, he had three more children with Angie Parker. His son Karma came along during his relationship with Liz Trujillo and, in 2019, the rapper expanded his family once again, welcoming his youngest son with former manager Kate Gammell.
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Here’s the scoop on Flavor Flav’s family life and kids.

Flavor Flav’s daughters with Karen Ross

Flavor Flav and Karen Ross, who dated in the late 80s and early 90s, share three children: Shanique, Karren and Karla. However, the former couple’s relationship was a turbulent one, to say the least, with Flav serving 30 days in prison in 1991 after pleading guilty to assaulting Karen, which led to him losing custody of the children, per ABC.

1. Shanique Drayton

Flavor Flav with one of his eldest daughters, Shanique, after she graduated. Photo: @flavorflavofficial/Instagram
Flavor Flav with one of his eldest daughters, Shanique, after she graduated. Photo: @flavorflavofficial/Instagram

Shanique Drayton keeps a low profile, but her dad proudly gave her a shout-out on Instagram in May 2023 when she graduated from university. “Congratulations to my daughter Shanique Y Drayton for completing her courses and getting her bachelor’s degree in business and finance,” he wrote. “I am very proud of her and I’m glad that God gave me the chance to be able to see this.”

2. Karren Derosa

Karren Derosa posting a selfie after going to a Janet Jackson concert in August. Photo: @karren_derosa1/Instagram
Karren Derosa posting a selfie after going to a Janet Jackson concert in August. Photo: @karren_derosa1/Instagram

Karren also stays mostly out of the spotlight, but nevertheless made a rare appearance alongside her dad and other members of the family on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud this April. According to her Instagram bio, she’s all about food, “family, self-improvement and personal growth”.

3. Kayla Drayton