Flo Rida The Ringtone King
- May
- 19
5:40 pm Live Crew
Becoming the first artist to have the no. 1 selling digital track of all-time with his club pounding single, “Low,” which reached over 3.2 million sold, is nothing to downplay. Thanks to its success, the Carol City-raised rapper Flo Rida has taken hold of the music industry and has no intention of letting go.
Although just now getting the mainstream attention of a commercial artist, Flo Rida has been in the game since the early days of 2 Live Crew and Scarface, and has used the mixtape circuit and other forms of self-promotion to help in his long journey to success.
Taking a few minutes from his busy schedule, Flo Rida spoke with BallerStatus about his debut Atlantic Records album, Mail on Sunday, and everything from whom he’s favoring in the 2008 NBA Playoffs to how Mike Jones inspired his most recent marketing strategy to interact with fans.
BallerStatus.com: Your single, “Low,” became the no.1 selling digital track of all-time, over 3.2 million sold. How do you react to such an achievement?
Flo Rida: It’s something I could have never predicted. I don’t take it for granted. I have to thank the fans for all their support. It’s like a dream come true. I walk around and hear the ring tone everywhere I go — hearing myself, it’s like an honor.
BallerStatus.com: Did you have any idea when you were making the song that it’d be this big?
Flo Rida: I didn’t know if it’d be this big. I thought it’d be a big record, but to this magnitude, I probably could have never predicated that. In the studio, I felt like the track really gets you moving. I knew the women would definitely think it was hot.
BallerStatus.com: Despite being considered a “new” face in the music industry, your background in the game goes back to working with acts like 2 Live Crew and Scarface. What was the journey like in order to achieve your current success?
Flo Rida: My group actually opened up for Scarface and 2 Live Crew — a few members [of the group] — were in the building. They just needed someone to do some hyping for them [on their trip to Hawaii]. They picked me because of my style. Early on, I put out a lot of mixtapes — grind[ing]. Me and Rick Ross from the same neighborhood, Carol City, so we always ran in to each other. I got his support and vice versa. And [just] getting love from Trick Daddy, Trina, DJ Khaled, and the Poe Boy Family. I’ve always been humble.
BallerStatus.com: Is it true you used to shout-out your phone number when you performed? Was that before or after Mike Jones became known for doing the same thing?
Flo Rida: I still do. You can go to my Myspace and you’ll see the phone number, 305-528-2786, come holla at me. [After seeing Mike Jones do it,] you have to always be innovative. But in order to be a great leader, you have to be a great follower, you feel me? I always thought it was real good to get more personal with your fans, so when he did that I thought that was real clever.
Tags: 2 live crew, atlantic records, ballerstatus, busy schedule, carol city, commercial artist, day, few minutes, flo rida, journey to success, Live, Live Crew, long journey, love, magnitude, mail on sunday, mainstream attention, marketing strategy, mike jones, music, music industry, nba playoffs, neighbor, new face, ring tone, scarface, self promotionRelated posts
