Flavor Flav’s Grandson Matthew Drayton Forges Own Legacy in Pursuit of Pro Lacrosse Dream

Flavor Flav’s grandson marches to the beat of his own drum.

Freeport native Matthew Drayton is making a name for himself on the lacrosse field without leveraging his famous lineage, yet he harbors the same expansive ambitions his Long Island-born grandfather, Flavor Flav, realized as a member of Public Enemy.

“He does wear a clock — and I’m fortunate for him to be my grandfather,” the Hampton University midfielder told The Post.

“But I’m making my own legacy… and I want to play professionally,” Drayton added before departing for Las Vegas to celebrate with Flavor Flav and the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team.

The 20-year-old honed his lacrosse skills in high school, setting a single-season points record for the Red Devils with 74 points during his senior year in 2023.

His grandfather, Flavor Flav — a fellow Freeport alumnus and former football player known then as William Jonathan Drayton Jr. — returned to watch Matthew score his milestone goal.

“He’s very grateful that I’m playing lacrosse, and he’s seeing the journey that I’m on. But he always saw me as a football player,” laughed Matthew, who also excelled as a wide receiver in high school.

A Steeper Challenge Than Expected

Drayton keeps his lineage private and rarely discusses his grandfather’s identity, determined to make his own nepotism-free mark on the athletic world.

“He’s a hype man, he’s a rock star, but that’s something right now I’m not trying to achieve,” said Drayton, who emphasized his drive to play professionally.

He didn’t even disclose the connection to Hampton’s coaching staff, who only learned of it when one of Drayton’s former coaches informed them.

Reaching the Virginia school has been a winding journey; Hampton is Drayton’s third program since graduating from Freeport.

He began at St. Thomas Aquinas College, then returned to Nassau Community College before earning a scholarship to transfer to his current HBCU for the 2026 season.

Playing for the Lions back on Long Island helped unlock Drayton’s full potential, and he was part of their national championship run in 2025.

It still frustrates Drayton that Nassau lost 20-10 to Harford Community College (Md.) in that title game, as he was limited to a reduced role.

“During the week of the game, I got cut with a knife on both of my fingers,” he said. “I had 16 stitches total, and I wasn’t cleared by a doctor until the day of the national championship… the doctor said if I took a slap check to a finger, I could lose it.”

Drayton has channeled that frustration into a new goal with his new team: snapping a daunting 70-game losing streak that has left Hampton winless since 2019.

“I’m really on a mission to shock the world. I live by ‘shock the world,’ ” said Drayton, who hopes to be named captain next season.

“And we’re on a mission to win our first Division I game in 13 years, too.”

Iron Sharpens Iron

Drayton receives crucial support from his close friend, recent Alfred State graduate and fellow midfielder Ryan Baston.

The childhood friends, who played together at Freeport, spend their summers training on Long Island at local parks and in leagues several days a week.

“I’m defensive-minded, he’s offensive-minded,” said Baston, the Pioneers’ former captain.

“Iron sharpens iron,” the 22-year-old added.

Just as Drayton aims to make history at Hampton, Baston is seeking one final lacrosse season as a graduate student at another program — pending a potential year-long wait for an NYPD academy class assignment.

“He wants to be better,” Drayton said. “He wants to come out here and work.”

Baston, who plans to coach at Freeport after his NYPD service, credits his training with Drayton for earning second-team all-conference honors as a defensive midfielder last season.

“I’m extremely grateful,” added Baston, who admitted he’s too young to know Flavor Flav.

Regardless, Drayton said his grandfather is fully invested in his grandson’s success and wants to assist with fundraising efforts for HBCUs like Hampton, in addition to “lifting the culture” through his celebrity status.

“He’s proud of me. He says, ‘Keep going.’ He sees I’m working,” Drayton said. “He knows the mission. He understands I’m trying to shock the world. He wants to shock the world too.”

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