Release Date: Nov 30, 2010
Genre(s): Rap, Southern Rap, Pop-Rap
Record label: Atlantic
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Buy Only 1 Flo, Pt. 1 from Amazon
Flo Rida’s eight-song release Only One Flo, Pt. 1 doesn’t come clearly labeled “EP” or “LP,” because the music industry just doesn’t care for such distinctions in the digital age. These kids will just take what they want anyway, but whatever the reason, this short and sweet format saves fans the trouble of suffering through filler, even if things like cohesion and flow are sacrificed.
The ”Right Round” rapper is a party-starter nonpareil: Though ”Club Can?t Handle Me,” his delirious stadium-rave hit, first appeared on the Step Up 3D soundtrack, you won?t mind its reappearance here a bit. Unfortunately, Flo Rida seems weirdly reined-in on the rest of this eight-track mini-album Only One Flo (Part 1), squandering collabs with pop-meisters like Dr. Luke and Bruno Mars.
Since the world was introduced to Flo Rida, he has been a club sensation. Catapulted from the massive “Right Round” he became a club crossover star. While R.O.O.T.S attempted to solidify a more Hip Hop audience, Only One Flo reverts back to Mail on Sunday being that its main purpose is to get you on the floor mindlessly. Filled with Euro (Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas) inspired production, the EP has the opportunity to strengthen his foothold in Electronica themed clubs that are blowing up.
The relationship between rap and dance music has always seemed like a mutually beneficial one, with the two genres sharing both an overlap in material and a diverse communion of ideas. Yet in some cases, like the insistently mushy material on Flo Rida’s Only One Flo (Part 1), a heavy reliance on dance elements can begin to reek of desperation, seeming like an underhanded attempt to sneak otherwise tedious songs into clubs and onto airwaves. It’s fitting enough that the album, which contains a track called “Respirator,” seems like a sustained, failed attempt at CPR for an inevitably flagging career.
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