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Clock worn by Flavor Flav

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Manufactured by

    Unidentified

    Worn by

    Flavor Flav, American, born 1959

    Subject of

    Public Enemy, American, founded 1982

    Caption

    This clock was acquired in the mid-1980s (exact date unknown) by William Jonathan Drayton Jr., professionally known as Flavor Flav. Drayton wore this clock during the late 1980s and early 1990s during performances and appearances with the group Public Enemy. Drayton said that this was most likely the first clock he wore during a performance with Public Enemy, but he couldn’t be 100% sure. He last wore it on stage while performing with Public Enemy during the NMAAHC’s grand opening concert on 09.24.2016, with the intention to donate it to the museum. .

    Description

    Clock necklace worn by Flavor Flav in the late 1980s and early 1990s during performances and appearances with the group Public Enemy.
    The clock is round and black with an off white face. It has rounded edges and several scratches on it. There is a small black circle on the top of the clock, made out of the same material as the body of the clock. There is a hole on either side. It has a grey rope cord through it with a knot at the top.
    The face of the clock is off white and is slightly discolored. It has all twelve numbers in black ink. There are dots going around the outer edge of the face of the clock. There are bold black dots directly next to the twelve numbers, with for smaller black dots in between. There is text above the number "6" white reads [WATER / RESISTANT]. The hands of the clock are black. There is a short, thick hour hand between the "4" and "5", a longer, thinner minute hand at the "29" minute mark, and the longest, thinnest hand, the second hand, is pointing at the "3". The face of the clock is covered with a clear plastic, which has scratches and cracks in several places.
    The back of the clock has four visible silver screws, two on the top and two on the bottom. There is a smaller protruding black circle in the middle of the back of the clock. It has raised text which reads [OPEN] and [CLOSE] with an arrow above the words. There are some indented grooves around the edges of the smaller circle. There is a small hole at the bottom of the clock and there is an indented circle going around the entire edge of the clock.

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Flavor Flav

    Date

    mid 1980s

    Object number

    2018.49

    Restrictions & Rights

    No Known Copyright Restrictions
    Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    clocks

    Medium

    plastic , metal , ink and rope

    Dimensions

    H x W x D (Height including rope): 15 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 1 3/8 in. (39.4 × 11.4 × 3.5 cm)

    Place used

    United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Clothing - Costume

    Exhibition

    Musical Crossroads

    On View

    NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 053

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Clothing and dress
    Hip-hop (Music)
    Rappers (Musicians)

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd58551c46f-a037-4bd8-bdf5-f2a5d2aac2be

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2018.49

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