*By Patrick McMullan Company.*As much fun as Flavor Flav can be, it’s hard not to wonder sometimes why exactly he’s famous. Sure, he was a member of Public Enemy, one of the most groundbreaking acts in hip-hop. Other than that, what is there? Is he famous because he starred in a string of VH1 reality shows, on which he had affairs with women named Hoopz, Deelishis, and Brigitte Nielsen? Is he famous for wearing an oversize clock around his neck? Or for opening an eponymous fried-chicken restaurant in Iowa that closed after just three months in business? In his memoir, Flavor Flav: The Icon The Memoir, published by Farrah Gray Books on June 1, he manages to be infectiously charming nonetheless. The book is brimming with daffy lines such as “I always wanted to know what it would be like if I had a baby with a Spanish girl” and “When I was in my mother’s womb, God knew that you’d be reading this book.” I called Flav to talk about his memoir, and by the end of our conversation, I would’ve invited him to crash on my couch for as long as he needed. That’s how goddamn likable he is. Eric Spitznagel: I don’t know if you realize this, but today is Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday.Flavor Flav: Really? Wooooow. That’s hot. Happy birthday to my man Bob Dylan.

Are you a fan? What’s your favorite Dylan song?

I can’t think of one off the top of my head, but I like Bob Dylan all right.

As the uncontested best hype man in music, could you hype a Bob Dylan song?

You mean, if we recorded something together? Yeah, I could probably do that.

Let’s try it. Dylan kicks it off with a fat rhyme like “You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat / Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat.” How do you hype him?

Well honestly, it would take a little concentration to make the right hype for Dylan. I want to make sure it’s right and it’s trendy, not something I wanna do off the top of my head.

For our readers who aren’t familiar with the term, what exactly is a hype man?

A hype man’s job is to hype up the crowd during a concert. When you’re part of a group and your group is performing, you want the crowd to get hyped. You know what I’m saying? You want the crowd to put their hands in the air and wave ’em like they just don’t care. You want ’em up on their feet and hyped. You’re also hyping the other guys in the group onstage with you. You’re pushing ’em and getting ’em excited about the show.

So you’re like a life coach, but for rappers? You’re Tony Robbins for the hip-hop set?

Definitely, I think I’m a life coach for real. The lessons I give are lessons you can take to the bank.

Like what?

Always remember that nothing in life is promised to us. The only thing in life that’s promised is death. So try and get the most outta life that you can, because when we die, we are nothing but memories.

Jesus, Flav. That’s depressing.

I’m just telling it like it is.

I was hoping for something a little less dark and heady, like “Rock that shit, homey!”

It’s the same thing, man. We should be the most influential that we can while we still got life. Rock that shit, homey!

How do you become a hype man? When Public Enemy was getting started, was it just a distribution of duties? “Well, Chuck is the leader, Professor Griff is the crazy anti-Semite. We only got one more slot, Flav. You gotta be the hype man.”