Flo Rida

This one I made in two parts. The first part – that’s out right now – is called 'Only One Flo,' and part two, 'Only One Rida,' will be out in the spring. On this album, I did some records that are kind of more melodic than the rest of them, and fans get a chance to hear another side. On 'Only One Flo,' I got one [track] called "Respirator," and I went against the grain with it. The difference between this album and the other one is just the whole cleverness of putting out two albums and just really doing something slower than usual.

I’m a big fan of Tupac Shakur and I used a sample [from one of his songs] on this record.

For the most part to use a sample, it’s really spur of the moment. I’m a big fan of classic music. I’ll hear it in the studio and if a record gives me goosebumps, I’ll decide that that is a record that I want to represent me on the album. So that’s the basic direction.

You know, it’s just all me in the studio just working. There’s nothing that I plan to do. I wouldn’t mind going into the studio and coming up with a sample that would just be a record I wouldn’t mind performing.

My sisters sang gospel, so that was sort of my first introduction to any music. And then my dad played different instruments. In elementary school I played the drums and piano and sang in the chorus. And all my friends around me listened to hip hop music, and my cousin collected hip hop tapes. And I would listen to them. I joined a hip hop group locally by the name of Groundhogs and we did shows. We started recording professionally. And that definitely made me want to pursue it professionally because we would do shows and get a great response.

I mean for the most part, I grew up in the projects, so I didn’t have to be around them all the time, but they always looked out for me.

I think it was right before ninth grade. Going into the summer, I sat down with this guy who did production for me back in the day for my group. He was like, “Hey, you’re in this group. You need to come up with a new name.” And me trying to be clever, I was like, “What about taking Florida, and breaking it in half, and making it Flo-Rida?” The guy was like, “Yeah man, I think that’s hot.” So I told the rest of the guys and I stuck with it ever since.

I mean those guys are very dedicated. They made a lot of sacrifices to get to the level they’re at right now. Somehow or another we ran into each other just being guys who love music. I saw T-Pain perform early on when he was in a group, The Nappy Boys, and he definitely caught my attention. Rick Ross, we’re from the same city so just doing shows before the record deals we would be running into each other. So just their hard work and dedication stood out, as well as the talent.

Oh yeah, that was amazing. I remember just going into the studio with Dr. Luke, and he was just insisting that this record was going to be huge, and I agreed. And when I first heard the record I thought, this is something I see myself performing in arenas. And just seeing it in arenas, watching people spinning their towels right round and everything. It’s amazing to be a part of history. And Ke$ha coming out and doing her thing. She’s amazing and super energetic.

No. Her voice is amazing.

It was amazing. Everyone was already rooting me, because I had the single out first locally, so just to hear myself on the radio, to see the record before "Low," then seeing "Low" and seeing the record go national, that was amazing. Then getting the support of the video. And the support of Disney with "Step Up 2: The Streets," it was huge. And I definitely want to thank the fans as well for all their love and support.

International Music Group. I have an R&B group by the name of Get Fresh, which I’ve been taking on the road with me – Russia, Korea, just about everywhere. And you guys will get a chance to hear some music from them really soon. They have a single out right now. You can check the video out online.

I’m interested in doing some acting, some television and just watching my record company grow, and be as successful as I am, as an artist. Also I have a charity called Big Dreams for Kids, and that’s the most important thing because God has blessed me with a gift and I believe I can definitely put a smile on people’s faces. So I want to focus more on charity because I love giving. It’s just a great feeling.