FLO-RIDA
MIAMI, FL
H
ailing from Opa Locka, Flo Rida is one of Poe Boy Entertainment’s newest editions. As his name suggests, Flo Rida is a specialist at rocking a beat. His new song “Birthday” is not only a banger, but a banger with a powerful message. As he says, tomorrow is not promised today, so he’s wasting no time in his pursuit for happiness.
I’ve worked with Devante of Jodeci, Rich Harrison, Flava Flav, Rick Ross, Brisco, a lot of names.
How did you get into music? Basically, I’ve been rapping for about twelve years. A couple of my friends used to rap. I wasn’t doing it at the time but I was really interested for the fact that they used to get the girls. So I started practicing and finally, the dudes around the way cosigned me.
Who produced your single “Birthday”? That’s one of The Runners’ tracks. We’re getting a great response from that.
How did you end up at Poe Boy? I grew up with E-Class’s brother. I went to school with him. Me and his brother went to the studio and did songs together. I was part of a group called The GroundHoggz. Actually, I knew of them doing music early on, before they even started the record company. E-Class heard me and was like, “You need to start rapping.” He said I should be a solo artist and told me to let him know what I wanted to do. After that, I went to California instead of staying in Miami. They was giving me a call when the Rick Ross thing was going on. I started thinking it would be a good thing if I came back. I came back, cut a couple of records and there it was. Why did you leave Miami – was it because it was hard to make it as an artist? It’s not that I felt like it was a harder market. It was because of trials and tribulations, things I was going through down here in Miami. I moved for a breath of fresh air. And knowing that California has an industry for everything – whether it be for fashion or music – I just decided to go out there. Would you say there’s more opportunities in Miami now than there was before? I would definitely say that. Just like Houston had their run, St. Louis had theirs, now it’s like Miami is the new movement. Everybody is coming to the forefront. They’re on the widescreen now. You got Rick Ross, Cool & Dre, Smitty, Pitbull, Trick Daddy. Back in the day, we didn’t have it like that. We’ve got a lot of household names now. You can turn on 106th & Park and see ‘em. Who all have you worked with?
Who’s doing your production? I’m working with The Runners, Trae Pierce of the Brown Boys in Alabama, Cool & Dre, Khaled the Beat Novocain. I got some beats from Nitti. That’s about it so far.
Describe the song. It’s definitely a club song. The hook goes, “I don’t want no cake on my birthday / I want my cake every day.” The first verse states out what it’s about – “Tomorrow ain’t promised today / That’s why I say this / Here today then you’re gone.” That’s where the concept comes from. You’re not promised tomorrow so you could be looking forward to your birthday but you don’t know if you’re going to have a birthday so it’s best to go ahead and enjoy life. I mean, don’t take it overboard, but enjoy it like there’s no tomorrow. When are you putting out another project? I’m actually putting out another mixtape. I put one out earlier this year called It’s a Done Deal. Do you have a DJ hosting the mixtape or putting it together? Oh yeah, it’s gonna be with Papa Smirf and DJ Kronic. What other DJs in Miami are showing you a lot of love? We got DJ Khaled, Entice, Sam Sneak, Irie, and Big Will. Do you have plans to release an album? I have an album coming out the first quarter on Atlantic Records/Poe Boy. What else would you like to mention? I want to give a shout out to Poe Boy, E-Class, Strong Arm Management, Big Chuck, Brisco, Triple C, GroundHoggz, 305, Dade County, and Carol City. Do you have a website? Yeah, it’s www.myspace.com/officialflo Words: Ms. Rivercity Photo: Joe Wesley OZONE
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