Flavor Flav rarely defends his actions, but he has now offered an explanation for a recent decision that fans have been trolling him for online.

On Sunday (October 29), the Public Enemy rapper was invited to the Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks basketball game, during which he got behind the microphone and sang the United States national anthem.

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Despite the 64-year-old’s deep track record of unusual antics, he has now revealed that the performance came from a place of sincerity and personal admiration for those who serve the country.

“It may seem odd for Flavor Flav, a member of Public Enemy to do the National Anthem. But I had family that served in the United States military and I wanted to honor them,” he wrote on Twitter the day after the broadcast.

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He continued: “I had family that fought in World War 2. My dad was in the army. They fought for the land that we live on, and some of them didnt make it back. So when I was singing it, I was thinking about them and the advancements we have made in our community that I can perform the anthem. [American flag emoji]”

Check out Flav’s explanation below:

50 Cent is among the many people on social media who have dragged the New York City icon’s off-note singing. Earlier this week, the G-Unit mogul took to Instagram to post a clip of Flav belting out “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“[eyes emoji] WTF [facepalm emoji] I think this means we going to war, this is a sign fvck it get the strap!” Fif joked in the caption.

Queen Latifah Sings National Anthem At New York Giants Vs. Dallas Cowboys Game
Queen Latifah Sings National Anthem At New York Giants Vs. Dallas Cowboys Game

Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids also shared his disbelief on Twitter, writing: “Yall got me fucked up. Biggest glitch ive seen in a grip. We are not on the right timeline.”

Despite the jokes, Flavor Flav expressed how honored he felt to be considered for the special occasion.

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“The anthem was a long time bucket list item … that was fun! I can’t live my life worried about what people might say about me,” he wrote on Twitter soon after his performance, seemingly aware of the chatter surrounding his performance. “I won’t let that stop me from trying new things and doing things I wanna do. Some people might not like that. But a sure failure is if you stop trying.”