Tramar Dillard
(born September 17, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida
(, from Florida
, rhyming with RP "Low Rider"), is an American rapper. As a teenager, he toured with local rap group 2 Live Crew. [1] [2] Later, he appeared in numerous popular rap mixtapes and studio albums, most notably in We the Best
in 2006. Mail on Sunday
was Flo Rida's solo debut album; its first single "Low", featuring T-Pain which was a #1 hit for ten weeks in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from Mail on Sunday
: "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album R.O.O.T.S.
was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks.
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Early life
Dillard was born on September 17, 1979 in the city of
Opa-Locka. As a teenager, Dillard worked with local rap group
2 Live Crew and formed his own amateur group with some friends called the Groundhoggz. His work with 2 Live Crew member
Fresh Kid Ice attracted attention of
DeVante Swing, a member of the band
Jodeci. However, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music. After graduating from high school in 1998, he studied international business management at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas for two years
[3] and attended
Barry University for two months; Flo Rida justified dropping out of college by pursuing a music career, He returned to his home state of Florida to continue pursuing his music career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label
Poe Boy Entertainment.
Dillard signed with Poe Boy in 2007, and began affiliating himself with other Florida rappers, such as
Rick Ross,
Trina,
T-Pain and
Trick Daddy. A promotional street single entitled "Birthday", featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He would make his mainstream debut with the song "Bitch I'm from Dade County" on
DJ Khaled's album
We the Best
, which also had
Trick Daddy,
Trina,
Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, and
Dre.
Music career
Mail on Sunday
(2007-2008)
Flo Rida received worldwide acclaim and popularity due to the chart-topping success of his first single, "
Low", featuring
T-Pain. It was his first official single from his debut album
Mail On Sunday
and the soundtrack to the movie
Step Up 2 The Streets
. "Low" reached #1 on the
Billboard
Hot 100 chart.
"
Elevator", featuring
Timbaland, "
In the Ayer" featuring
will.i.am, and "Roll" featuring
Sean Kingston followed and all charted on the Hot 100 and other charts.
[4] He also collaborated with many other well-known artists in the hip-hop industry, such as
Rick Ross,
Birdman,
Lil Wayne,
Trey Songz, and
Yung Joc.
thumb
After the success of
Mail on Sunday
, Flo Rida made guest performances on other R&B, rap, and pop singles, including "
Move Shake Drop" by
DJ Laz, "
We Break the Dawn" by
Michelle Williams, the remix of "4 Minutes" by
Madonna, "
Running Back" by Australian R&B singer
Jessica Mauboy, "Feel It" by
DJ Felli Fel, and the remix of "
Speedin'" by
Rick Ross. During the summer of 2008, he did live performances on the
Fox dance competition program
So You Think You Can Dance
in the US
[5] and 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada.
[6] He appeared on tracks from the albums
We Global
by
DJ Khaled,
Gutta
by
Ace Hood, and
The Fame
by
Lady Gaga, among others.
R.O.O.T.S.
(2009)
According to
Billboard
magazine, Flo Rida began recording his second album nine months after
Mail On Sunday
. The album is titled
R.O.O.T.S.
(Route of Overcoming the Struggle) and was released on March 31, 2009. Producers include J Rock,
Dr. Luke and DJ Montay.
[7] on February 18, 2009 Flo Rida got his second number-one hit "
Right Round", the first single from
R.O.O.T.S.
. "Right Round" jumped from number 58 to the top spot in just one week. The song also broke a record for the most digital one week sales, with 636,000, beating the previous record he had set himself with "Low".
[8] [9] The second official single is "
Sugar", featuring
Wynter Gordon. The single peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100.
Appearances in this sophomore album include
Ne-Yo,
Akon,
Wyclef Jean,
Pleasure P,
Nelly Furtado,
Wynter Gordon, and
Kesha. Flo Rida also performed on many TV shows including
The Today Show
,
Jimmy Kimmel Live
and
American Idol
.
[10] [11] [12]
Discography
- Mail on Sunday
(2008)
- R.O.O.T.S.
(2009)
Awards and Nominations
- American Music Awards [13]
- *2008: Breakthrough Performer (Nominated)
- *2008: Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
- MuchMusic Video Awards [14]
- *2008: Best International Video - Artist "Low" (Nominated)
- BET Awards [15]
- *2008: Best New Artist (Nominated)
- *2008: Best Collaboration: "Low" with T-Pain (Nominated)
- BET Hip Hop Awards [16]
- *2008: Ringtone of the Year: "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- *2008: Best Hip Hop Collabo: "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- *2008: Rookie of the Year (Nominated)
- Teen Choice Awards [17]
- *2008: Choice Music: Hook-Up - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- *2008: Choice Music: Rap Artist (Nominated)
- *2008: Choice Music: Breakout Artist (Nominated)
- *2008: Choice Music: Best Hip Hop/Rap Track - Right Round (Nominated)
- MTV Video Music Awards [18]
- *2009: Best Hip Hop Video - "Right Round" (Pending)
- *2008: Best Male Video - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- *2008: Best Hip Hop Video - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards [19]
- *2009: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- *2009: Best Rap Song - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- People's Choice Awards [20]
- *2009: Favorite Hip Hop Song - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Won)
- MTV Australia Awards [21]
- *2009: Best Video - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- *2009: Best Collaboration - "Running Back" by Jessica Mauboy featuring Flo Rida (Nominated)
- MOBO Awards [22]
- *2009: Best Song - "Low" featuring T-Pain (Nominated)
- Ozone Awards [23]
- *2008: Breakthrough Artist (Nominated)
- *2008: Club Banger of the Year, "Low" with T-Pain (Nominated)
References
- Flo Rida
- Flo Rida: Biography
- Flo Rida
- Flo Rida > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles. Accessed 9 November 2008.
- So You Think You Can Dance: Top 16 Revealed
- Flo Rida
- Flo Rida Gets 'Round' To Second Album
- Flo Rida’s “Right Round” Shatters Digital Singles Record With a Little Help From an ’80s Hook
- Shockhound interview
- No Doubt, Dave Matthews, Flo Rida Set For 'Today' Show Concerts
- Flo Rida to Perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tonight
- Flo Rida Is Coming "Right Round" to American Idol
- 2008 American Music Awards Nominees. ABC
- Best International Video - Artist. MuchMusic Video Awards 2008
- Best Collaboration, Best New Artist. BET Awards 2008.
- Ringtone of the Year, Best Hip Hop Collabo, Rookie of the Year. BET Hip Hop Awards 2008.
- Teen Choice 2008 Nominees List, Teen Choice 2008 Winners List
- Best Male Video, Best Hip Hop Video. MTV Video Music Awards 2008.
- Grammy Award Nominations 2009 Retrieved 2008-9-3
- People's Choice Awards Nominations 2009 Retrieved 2008-11-10
- List of nominees
- MOBO Nominations
- Ozone Awards 2008 Nominees