(Reuters) - Rap star Flavor Flav of the group Public Enemy was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and battery after his fiancée reported the pair had a fight, Las Vegas police said.

The 53-year-old rap star, whose given name is William Drayton Jr, also threatened the woman's teenage son with a knife, police said in a statement.

Police received a call before dawn from a residence in Las Vegas regarding the incident, police said.

"The caller advised she had been involved in a physical altercation with her fiancé, who was identified as William Drayton," the police statement said.

Flavor Flav, who was arrested and charged with battery domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon, was held on bail of $23,000, according to an online database for Clark County.

A manager for the rap star declined to comment.

Police declined to name the fiancée.

The rapper is best known for his work with the politically oriented group Public Enemy, which rose to fame in the 1980s with albums such as "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" and "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back."

His attention-grabbing wardrobe features a giant clock that he wears around his neck and a Viking helmet. In recent years, he has starred in a number of reality shows, including "Flavor of Love" in which he searched for a suitable romantic match.

The show ended with Flavor Flav proposing to a former flame, a woman named Liz who is the mother of one of his sons.

The rap star faces a maximum six years in prison if convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and the possibility of six months in jail if found guilty of battery domestic violence, said Tess Driver, a spokeswoman for the Clark County District Attorney's Office.

Earlier this year, Flavor Flav faced the possibility of jail time in New York state over accusations he failed to pay child support to the mother of three of his seven children, but the case was resolved, according to media reports.

He has had numerous run-ins with the law over the years and in the 1990s he received treatment for drug addiction.