The Jamaica Star :: Entertainment :: Flo Rida: How 'low' can he go?

BY Russell Myrie, The Voice

Flo Rida. - Contributed

Is Flo Rida the first bona fide star of 2008? He certainly ticks a lot of the right boxes with a hot first single that's selling like hotcakes.

Low has broken a whole heap of Billboard Chart records Stateside, and it recently entered the top ten over here on the strength of downloads alone.

He has a follow-up single in the bag to dispel any one-hit wonder talk. And even an association with a big name producer. The Timbaland-produced Elevator ticks those two boxes.

His album even has an interesting title. In Flo Rida's home state of Florida (see what he did?), the phrase 'The Mail on Sunday' will prompt a completely different reaction to that which it will often cause over here. But more on that later.

He's also very good with the media. A lot of rappers who have just scored their first big hit aren't overly interested in talking to the press. This is understandable. They get asked a lot of silly questions and many journos take themselves far too seriously. Nevertheless, it's very nice to encounter a new artiste who is quite happy to offer 'good' answers.

"It's a blessing man, it's the greatest feeling in the world," he says of his new found success. Contrary to what many may think, there is no such thing as overnight success. Flo Rida is yet more proof of that. He's been trying to get to where he is for over a decade.

"I started off about 12 years ago at the age of about 19," he continues. "I got on my grind, started putting out mix CDs, started doing a lot of shows, opened up for celebrities. When I graduated high school, I had the choice to go to college, or just do this music. I went to college but when I was there, music stayed on my mind all the time. So I decided I could always go back to school but I only had so much time to start rhyming."

That decision has finally paid off. As he's from Miami, it shouldn't be the biggest surprise that the 2 Live Crew were involved in the first rung on the ladder in his rise to the top.

"That was a situation where I opened up for Scarface and one of the guys from 2 Live Crew was there and he needed someone to do hype in Hawaii. They asked me if I wanted to go to Hawaii."

Of course he wanted to go to Hawaii.

"I just started hyping for him. Their records are something like the Low record. You play them and the crowd goes crazy."

Meeting Swing

That situation eventually led him to an artiste that has featured in a surprisingly large amount of careers. Jodeci's Devante Swing heard Flo Rida's demo and flew him out to LA the very next day.

"I was on my couch writing and Devante called and he was just like 'Damn 'Lo, you're getting busy. I want you to come out to California'. I couldn't go out the same day but I left the following day."

He ended up spending three years out in LA. It was only when he returned home to Miami that things began to take off for real. He has the self-styled 'mayor of Miami' to thank. Well, indirectly anyway. Because Rick Ross' debut single was so hot, it had those record company folk sniffing around.

"Rick Ross was popping off," he recalls. "And my manger Freezie, he was calling telling me 'Ross is popping off, different A&R's are coming in the building, so he was like, 'you should come down.'"

The timing was perfect for Flo Rida. "I told him 'I've been out of town for three years and I want to come home so I can support my family and feel like I'm close."

Within two months he had a deal with Atlantic Records. Not bad. Soon after, Low was recorded. In Miami, Florida there can't be a shortage of girls who like to rock Apple Bottom jeans (bet Nelly, who owns the Apple Bottom brand, loves Low just as much as the man who wrote it) and get their groove on when the hot tune drops. The fact that T-Pain, another native son of Florida, sings the hook can't hurt at all.

"We went into the studio and put it down. As soon as we finished we took it to the strip club- that's where we test our records- and a lot of the ladies was asking for the record so I knew it was hot."

Soon after, he linked with another former Devante Swing protégé. Your boy ended up spending a whole four days in the studio with Timbaland. Granted, they spent the first couple of days getting to know each other's vibe.

"But for the last couple of days we really went hard in the studio and I came up with Elevator. He's a perfectionist, and at the same time I went in there and just got it poppin' and we decided to go with it for the next single."

If you're really up on game, keep an eye out for the Will.i.am-produced In The Ayer, which is slated to be the third single. Three good reasons to go out and buy his debut album.

"In the States we only get mail like six days a week," he explains. "So this album is like a special delivery. I don't know who wouldn't want their mail to come on a Sunday. That's how we came up with the concept of Mail On Sunday."

Obviously, The Mail On Sunday, and its readership, are the last type of people you would expect to get into an artist like Flo Rida.

"At the same time though, I feel like that's a good thing," he retorts. "Coz that's gonna get a lot of attention out there. People will find it interesting."

Can't argue with that.

Low is out now on Atlantic Records