FEATURE: Spotlight: Flo Milli — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Bowen

Flo Milli

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ONE can say that…

PHOTO CREDIT: Joelle Grace Taylor

like some artists I have included in Spotlight, I am a tad late to the party again! Flo Milli is an artist with a massive fanbase. I am not sure whether she is as well-known in the U.K. as she is in the U.S. The Alabama-born twenty-year-old (whose real name is Tamia Monique Carter) is an artist with an incredible future. I am going to combine a few interviews, where we get a sense of who Flo Milli is and what her music is about. One of last year’s best releases was Ho, why is you here ? The mixtape is really incredible and hugely accomplished! Having released singles from the mixtape - and appearing on other artists’ songs since 2020 -, it has been a busy past year or so for Flo Milli. Before I come to some of the interview out there, it is worth highlighting a review for Ho, why is you here ? This is what Pitchfork observed when they sat down to review the mixtape:

“Her constant barbs are bolstered by her subtly spry cadences. Her flows are conversational and loose despite being strictly metered. The record is largely devoid of melody, but Flo Milli doesn’t need to sing to emote. She has an intuitive sense of when to throttle flows for emphasis, as on “Pussycat Doll,” which is full of tiny pauses that set up her punchlines. “Make a nigga blow a check on me/Save his number under ‘We gon see,’” she jokes. Her performance on “Weak,” a J White Did It production, is fleet and buoyant, flipping SWV’s “Weak” on its head yet preserving the song’s warmth. “These niggas weak/They been texting me all week/Just let me be,” Flo Milli huffs with exasperation.

The production isn’t always as spirited as Flo Milli’s performances. “Scuse Me” is an outright dud; it sounds like a parody of a JetsonMade beat and Flo Milli’s hook is uncharacteristically strained. Otherwise, a current of self-discovery runs through the beats. “Like That Bitch” and “Not Friendly” embrace the minimalism of snap music, which has long been a testing ground for experimenting with flows without sacrificing bounce. (Incidentally, “Not Friendly” interpolates Soulja Boy’s “Gucci Bandana.”) And the bouncy bass and bright keys on “In The Party” and “Send the Addy” evoke the charm of bubblegum trap, which tapped into the joy of a subgenre often characterized by stress and struggle.

There’s certainly a disparity between Flo Mill the cocksure persona and Flo Milli the budding artist, but even when Flo Milli is spitballing ideas trying to see what sticks, she’s a force of nature. She once described her catchphrase “Flo Milli shit” as the mantra for “My alter ego, which is what I am most of the time,” and Ho, why is you here ? sells that odd dynamic. She’s still figuring out her music, but she knows exactly what she wants it to be”.

The first interview that I want to bring in and mention is from VICE. They spoke with Flo Milli last year. Whilst her mixtape and music dominated and put her on the map, she didn’t expect that level of success and resonance:

“For the last three summers, women have dominated rap. In 2017, just when it seemed like "Bodak Yellow" was the biggest song of the season, Cardi B released Invasion of Privacy extending her reign another year. In 2018, the City Girls caused everyone to "Act Up," and last year was scorched by the warmth of Megan Thee Stallion's "Hot Girl Summer." Flo Milli, the ringleader of this summer, isn't a fast-talking rapper from a big city, and she isn't old enough to drink legally. But her bossy raps have permeated outside of her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, causing the world to latch on to her monstrous confidence, which she shamelessly plugs in ad-libs and song titles as "Flo Milli Shit.

"I really didn't expect all the attention [the mixtape] got," she tells me over a Google Hangout, batting eyelashes bigger than the animated personality that comes through on her records. We talk briefly about the industry's tendency to rally around women in rap while they're profitable, only to abandon them when they need support. She's still getting used to the fame but hopes that the Flo Milli Summer transitions seamlessly into a lifestyle. "I've had this dream since I was little, so for me, it's long term."

Over the last year, she released a string of loose songs that found popularity on TikTok with "Beef (FloMix)" and "In the Party," building anticipation for her debut mixtape Ho, Why Is You Here? Her mixtape cover is a modern take on 90s nostalgia: Her squat is a modest version of Lil Kim's 1996 album Hard Core, and she's dressed similar to Halle Berry's character in the film B.A.P.S., blonde wig and all.

Flo Milli's music straddles two worlds. Her tone is polite, with traces of southern hospitality, but her lyrics are Regina George-level petty. She flips beats from her male peers, as she did on the aforementioned singles, and puts her feminine touch on it, completely refreshing songs that once were associated with Playboi Carti ("Beef") and NLE Choppa ("In The Party"). Most importantly, Flo Milli's music finds her at the intersection of Gen Z and Millennials, using her beat selection and nods to pop culture as a bridge between two audiences.

The 20-year-old credits watching BET's video countdown show, 106 & Park, growing up as an inspiration for her rap ambitions. The show was a conduit for emerging talent and premiered in 2000, the same year Flo Milli, known to her inner circle as Tamia Carter, was born. She and the show grew in tandem, and at 11, she became enamored by the charismatic Queens rapper Nicki Minaj during her Pink Friday era. By the time she got to high school, 106 & Park's reign was over, but it wouldn't be long before she would embark on her own journey as an artist. But school wasn't exactly a fun time for the Mobile rapper.

"I could just tell girls didn't like me type shit," she says. Flo says she wasn't bullied, but teen drama kept her skin thick and her confidence high. It was the first iteration of the unshakeable confidence fans have come to love in her music. "I had to deal with that for four years," she says. "I kinda looked at school like jail. We're put into this jail, and we're here for years, and you just have to deal with it. [Rapping] became a coping mechanism, and I just started not giving a fuck”.

Coming to a great interview from REFINERY29 from earlier in the year, we discover more about her confidence and incredible talent. It was interesting reading about her childhood and what it was like for an aspiring musician in rural Alabama:

“Then, there was Flo Milli—skilled, irrefutable, and not one to f*ck with. Her confident take on Playboi Carti's "Beef" ("Beef FloMix") took TikTok by storm, leading up to the release of her landmark debut EP. The 12-track, 30-minute mixtape was featured in multiple Best of 2019 lists — including The New York Times, NPR, and Complex — and has racked up 500 million plus streams and video views across the world. “In The Party” is now RIAA gold certified. Flo was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2019 BET Hip-Hop Awards. But while she may have gained momentum through viral fame, Flo quickly (and graciously) corrects me when I allude to her as an internet sensation.

“I never was a viral internet star. I just used my internet platform to my advantage, but I’ve always been an artist first,” she tells me. If anything, Flo considers, the attention she garnered through TikTok taught her how to use her social media platform to market herself as an artist. This skill would prove beneficial amidst a global pandemic, when many people were quarantined and scrolling on their phones at home. I ask her if she feels the circumstances of the pandemic slowed her down at all, if things ever became tough for her to navigate despite all her success. “The best thing to do in the music industry right now is to take advantage of your circumstances,” she says.

Born Tamia Monique Carter in 2000, Flo is part of the last in a generation of kids raised on MTV and BET, when music video countdowns still reigned over the airwaves. She cites shows like BET’s 106th & Park as inspiration. “I swore up and down I was gonna be number one on that top 10,” she says. “I swear I used to always say that.” The artists she was introduced to back then served as notable influences. “Nicki Minaj was somebody I was heavily inspired by watching her on 106th & Park. I thought [she] was dope,” she says. “Nicki was everywhere when I was growing up. She very much inspired me in my era and she still does.”

Flo says there weren’t many artists breaking from Alabama when she was growing up, though Rich Boy, whom she admires, immediately comes to my mind. When I mention him, I hear her voice brighten.“I still have mad respect for him for doing the things that he did do and getting the respect that he did get. That’s the only person I really knew. And then after that it was just kind of like, you know.” She pauses, and I feel like she may be taking a moment to reflect.

She remains short when I ask her about what her life was like when she was growing up, which doesn’t surprise me, since there isn’t much mention of her family life in her other interviews. But what she does share (she cites navigating a “rocky road,” alluding to an overcoming of odds) further solidifies her destiny to be where she is today. She performed at school talent shows, at restaurants, and even started her own rap group (Real & Beautiful, later renamed Pink Mafia). “[I did] anything I could do to get my name out there. It was really kind of like a little girl with a dream from a small town.”

Making it out of Mobile, AL is no easy feat, Flo shares with me. “I was the first girl out of Mobile. All the other rappers were boys.” Her story points to the trajectory of the hip-hop industry as a whole, in which male rappers are magnified while women are marginalised. “I think it’s very empowering to see women dominate a male sport.”

As a breakout star, Flo is as focused on being a source of inspiration for her fans as she is being a successful artist. But, as she’s noted in multiple interviews, she especially wants to be a champion for Black women—a crucial mission within an industry where misogynoir continues to leave Black women on the back burner. “I’ve always felt like a strong Black woman. We’ve always been the strongest even over time. We should just continue to know our power and our worth, and that’s what’s gonna allow us to stay strong.”

And in terms of keeping her momentum going, she has no worries.

“People fell in love with me because I was always myself, so I’m gonna continue to be myself and they’re gonna continue to love me. What’s for me is for me and what isn’t isn’t”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Munachi Osegbu

The reaction to Ho, why is you here ? was hugely positive and impassioned. The songs are so confident and stunning. One cannot casually listen to the mixtape or have it playing in the background: one needs to dedicate their full attention to a masterful work! CLASH echoed some of those sentiments when they interviewed Flo Milli in August:

“Following the release of her debut and critically acclaimed mixtape ‘Ho, Why Is You Here?’ last year, of which boasted 12 confidence-oozing tracks that at no moment presented any flash of self-doubt, set the female emcee up nicely as her brash persona took centre throughout. From the stand-out tracks ‘May I’ and anthemic hit ‘In The Party’, a song that brushes any form of hater to the side, “Yeah, dicks up when I step in the party / Yo' main dude wanna feel on my body / And if I take I him, bitch, I won't say I'm sorry” – it’s safe to say Flo Milli is the epitome of ‘bad b energy’.

Filled with controversial yet empowering statements from start to finish, it’s a bundle of riveting, raw, and addictive statements. When asked if there was anything – specifically - she wanted to push with this project Flo comments: “I wanted to emphasise having strength and a voice as a young female. I didn’t want to make everything about boys and instead learn to love yourself, and to love yourself no matter what. You can chase your dreams at a young age, and that’s what I wanted to put across to my listeners”.

Being in such a male dominated industry can be daunting to some female artists, especially if what you are putting out to the world is as raw and bold as ‘Ho, Why Is You Here?’; whether or not you’re anxious about how people will react, dropping something that authentically represents your true self can be overwhelming. Asked if she was ever apprehensive about dropping the mixtape, she confidently responds: “No, I never felt hesitant or apprehensive as to how people would take it because I’m unapologetically me every day of my life. That goes over into my music, I would never care what anybody else thinks… as long as I approve it, then that’s all that matters”.

Over time female empowerment has become more prevalent than ever, and it’s about time too. Each year more and more female rappers across the world are owning their power and strength and putting it on a pedestal for all to hear, whether you agree with it or not. However, most women in the industry are often looked at as competitors and not friends; in fact, some may see it as a threat when two or more strong women come together as one, and let’s be honest that sucks. What are the first things that come to mind when you think of female empowerment? Strength? Unity? Power? For Flo, it’s about uplifting each other. “The first thing that comes to my mind is Queen Latifah and being able to encourage each other, seeing each other’s light and acknowledging it”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Joelle Grace Taylor

Surrounded by strong women her entire life and looking up to the likes of her mother, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, Beyoncé, Shakira, and Rihanna, it was inevitable that Flo’s confidence would shine through. For many young men and women, this isn’t always the case, and is something that can take years to build, so I was curious to know where she draws this energy from. “I’ve built strength over the years as a kid, and growing up around strong women, you have no choice but to be that way. If you don’t love yourself, then nobody will. I have always had that installed in my mind at a young age to always be strong, to be sure about myself, and love what I do. Being my biggest supporter has helped me believe in myself even more,” she says.

“My number one piece of advice would be to not compare yourself to others on social media,” she adds. “I know social media is a big thing in our generation and people of my age tend to do that, looking at whether the other person has more success than you do; I would say do not let that stop you. If anything, let that empower you to do better than your peers. A lot of people get discouraged and don’t pursue things because they aren’t good enough. As women we possess the ultimate superpower and create life! Everyone should always stick to their individuality and move at their own pace to the top”.

Before the end, there is a final interview that interested me. I have dropped in some songs/videos from Flo Milli. I would urge people to spend even longer checking out the work of one of the finest rappers on the planet. W Magazine posed to some questions to Flo Milli a few months back. There are a few questions that caught my eye:

“A certain audacity comes out in your music. Were you always like that?

I come from a household full of women. We used to argue a lot. When you’re around women all your life, you adapt to the attitudes. The energy I’m bringing is like, How dare you, because I’m that bitch. [Laughs] And it’s because I’ve always been around it. I had to be strong, because in high school, it was hard to accept that I had a lot of confidence—it would trigger people’s insecurities. But to me, I don’t give a fuck.

What was your original career plan?

It was always rapping, but I also wanted to act. Me and my older sister would rap in my room for fun. And of course, I grew up in a household where my mom loved music too, so it came natural to me. I was a big fan of Shakira. Gwen Stefani. Fergie. I did a talent show when I was 9 or 10, to “Fergalicious.” I was very much into that type of music—prissy, but still attitude-y.

Do you worry about being too pop, or do you not focus on genres?

I think about how I can reinvent myself, but I don’t box myself into one thing. It’s cool to try new things and see what my range is. I’m gonna always think about what I find good first. And if I like it, I know somebody else is gonna like it”.

I am going to end it there. The tremendous Flo Milli showcased her talent on Ho, why is you here ? The world will await to see where she goes next. Such is the quality and consistency of the music from female rappers this past few years, we have been treated to music of the highest order. In an exciting and growing sea of artists, Flo Milli is definitely making a name for herself. If you are unfamiliar with the buzz around her, correct that now and go to listen to…