Q&A: Flo Rida

Rhapsody: You think your travels broadened your horizons and helped you make R.O.O.T.S.?
Flo Rida:Oh, it's most definitely helped me take it to the next level.

Rhapsody: What's going to surprise your fans on this album? How have you switched it up?
Flo Rida: I've definitely showed my fans that I've broadened my horizons by using the Dead or Alive sample. Shout out to my man Mike Herring for bringing the record to my attention. I have four records on the album that says "If you believe it, you can achieve it." I've been through a lot of struggles and wanted to go back to my roots with that. But if you want the up-tempo records and stuff like "Right Round," you're going to like "Sugar," the "Jump" record with Nelly Furtado, the song I have with Akon produced by Will.i.am. I'm really focused on the fans knowing me and doing what I have to do to get continued success. I want to rock crowds of 50,000.

Rhapsody: It seems that with "Right Round," which was produced by Britney and Kelly Clarkson's producer Dr. Luke, that you're going for an accessible pop sound.
Flo Rida: Prior to me having a record deal, I always did things out of the norm. To have a chance to work with someone of Dr. Luke's level made me happy when I got the call to go to California to work with him. He has a sound that's real big, and it was a perfect match for what I was trying to do. I look forward to working with him again.

Rhapsody: You seemingly mastered creating the perfect club record. What's the recipe?
Flo Rida: The perfect ingredient is to stay in a studio. But if I don't feel the soul of a record, if it doesn't give me goose bumps, I'll trash it. I take input from my team around me as well. I'm a workaholic. I like to try to come up with a hook, and come up with a rhyme pattern. I don't come off the top of the head. I put a lot of thought into it.

Rhapsody: You've been vastly successful with the club bangers, but do you ever feel that success has you pigeonholed?
Flo Rida: Not at all. This album R.O.O.T.S. is well-rounded. You have the club joints on there, and tracks that have that realism. And if you're with your lady and want something intimate, that's on there. And then there's the song with Wyclef called "Rewind," which imagines what would happen if I could rewind the time and see some of the people that I've lost and what I would do different. This record is well-rounded and should captivate a large audience.

Rhapsody: Growing up in Carol City, Fla., how did you get into hip-hop and who inspired you?
Flo Rida: Probably going over to my cousin's house. I didn't have cable in my projects, but my cousin's house had the Jukebox Network, which was the video music channel. I'd see 2 Live Crew performing their records with the nice jewelry and girls. It motivated me and definitely made me want to be part of this rap music thing.

Rhapsody: How old were you when you first started rhyming?
Flo Rida: Probably 7 years old. When I got out of ninth grade, my group [the Ground Hoggz] started putting out mixtapes and got the chance to record professionally. Around that time, I was just trying to find my sound. Around that time I picked up the name Flo Rida. I was never that fond of having a nickname, but being an artist you have to come up with a style. The Flo represents my melodic style with the Rida representing my ability to speed up or slow down according to the beat.

Rhapsody: You went to L.A. when you were young.
Flo Rida: The first time I went to California, I went trying to capture the big dream of going to Hollywood and getting a record deal. I went to this mall called the Beverly Center because I heard that a lot of celebrities were in the stores. I had this big bag with me, about 80 pounds. I left it at the bus stop and when I came back for it, it was gone. I went to the auto mechanics next store and asked the mechanic if he'd seen it. He told me that I'd caused a bomb scare. That was the first time I'd went there. The second time, I got a call from DeVante from Jodeci. I got a call while I was writing songs on my couch in the projects. He said that he was a fan and wanted to fly me out to L.A. I stayed there for four years. It was like a musical compound. I learned a lot from him. He's a perfectionist. He dedicates 100 percent of his time to music.

Rhapsody: You sound like a professional athlete -- someone who has trained and focused on this one thing their entire life. Was their ever a Plan B or was this is it?
Flo Rida: My success is because I said that there wasn't a Plan B and that I was going to be successful with this.