The one thing Flavor Flav wants written on his grave
Flavor Flav likes clocks. It’s his thing. His life and career have been defined by them, and, as he once revealed, his death will be marked by them, too.
During a conversation with Rolling Stone in late 2024, Flav was asked about the hundreds, “if not thousands,” of clocks that he’s worn throughout his life. Of all of them, which one would he most like to be buried with when his time comes?
“You would have to ask my family that one,” he replied, “because I’ll be dead. I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
A fair response, but Flav did go on to suggest something. “But I might request that on top of my coffin is a built-in clock,” he said. “And then also when you open up the lid, there’s a big clock.”
The tombstone, too, would incorporate a clock, he insisted, and it would bear a simple message: “It’s about time.”
Shaping the tombstone like a clock, and adding a clock to both the exterior and interior of the coffin would arguably be laying the clock references on a bit thick. But “it’s about time” etched into the tombstone? That’s a solid joke, in fairness. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but one shouldn’t be laughing at a burial anyway.
Flavor Flav’s clock look originally started out as a joke, as he has spoken about in the past. It apparently began when a crack addict who stole shower clocks visited Flav’s neighbourhood and someone, as a joke, placed a clock around his neck. An iconic look, in that moment, was born.
The joke snow-balled from there. Flav was scheduled to play a gig opening for the Beastie Boys that night, and someone dared him to do it wearing his new clock necklace. He did it, and, all told, it went well. People found the look striking.
All these decades later, Flavor Flav is still inseparable from his clocks. The whole thing was a joke that took on a life of its own, and, even after he exits this mortal coil, he’ll still forever be tied to his timepieces. A clock-shaped tombstone bearing the message “it’s about time” awaits.