Don’t let the “Apple Bottom jeans with the boots with the fur” cause you to hastily judge Flo Rida’s lyrical ability. Surprisingly, the Floridian rapper isn’t as bad as you would assume. It’s an assumption that listeners make of any artist who has a wildly popular “shake your ass” song.
On the first cut, “American Superstar”, off his debut album Mail On Sunday (Atlantic), Flo holds his own alongside lyricist extraordinaire Lil’ Wayne. Spitting with Bone Thug speed and wit he says “Ask me about where the bricks come from / That’s what a snitch ni*** do he tell / I don’t want nothing to do with that there / If it’s a lick then I’m bringing them shells / Only position for me is a player / That’s right player better get it right player / Might have to be in emergency / Lucky for you if I’m blowing my trees / Calming my nerves no regular weed.”
Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of thug introspection or variety on this album. Flo’s debut is compiled of dance tracks. Roughly, half of the songs could easily accompany a pole dancer or pack the dance floor. However, the sounds range from classic southern crunk to Timberland’s futuristic, pop ethereal signature on “Elevators”, to Will.I.Am taking it back to the early eighties on “In The Ayer;” with a pop and lock inducing synthesized track that sounds similar to Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock.”
The variety in production makes up for the lack of content that would easily show Flo Rida as a respectable MC. He enlists some of Hip-Hop’s most popular artists, like Yung Joc (“Don’t Know How To Act”), Rick Ross (“Money Right”) and Trey Songz (“Freaky Deaky”) however, the album still falls a bit flat.
He may not yet be condemned to the bottomless abyss of one hit wonders, if next time he relies more on his ability as an MC instead of heavy weight producers. If not, then just ride “Low” until the wheels fall off.
Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain
“Low”
Flo Rida Featuring Timbaland
“Elevator”