Background
Tramar Dillard was born in the 187th Street projects of Carol City, Florida. His mother raised him and his seven sisters, some of whom sang in a local gospel group.
Tramar Dillard was born in the 187th Street projects of Carol City, Florida. His mother raised him and his seven sisters, some of whom sang in a local gospel group.
Dillard's brother-in-law was a hypeman for local rap group 2 Live Crew, and while in ninth grade, Dillard formed his own amateur group with some friends called the GroundHoggz.
After graduating from high school in 1998, he studied international business management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for two years and attended Barry University for two months
Born and raised in Miami, the GroundHoggz formed in the 187 apartments in Carol City. Similar to Goodie Mob, they were making music for the love of the art and to feed their souls. With only three members, 1Bred, Key Lime, and Fist, they found their missing link when Flo Rida, who lived in the same apartments, spit a verse for them. They were instantly impressed. Together for eight years, they started recording at underground studios in Carver Ranches. His work with 2 Live Crew member Fresh Kid Ice attracted the attention of DeVante Swing, a member of the band Jodeci. However, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music. After graduating from high school in 1998, he studied international business management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for two years and attended Barry University for two months. He returned to Florida to continue pursuing his music career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label Poe Boy Entertainment. Dillard signed with Poe Boy in 2006, and as Flo Rida he began affiliating with other artists, such as Rick Ross, Trina, T-Pain, and Trick Daddy. A promotional street single entitled "Birthday", featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He made his debut guest appearance with the song "Bitch I'm from Dade County" on DJ Khaled's album We the Best, which featured Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, and Dre.On June 9,2011 Flo Rida was arrested on Miami Beach,Florida for DUI and driving with suspended license. Flo Rida was released from the jail after he posted &2,000 bail and obtained a signed court order allowing him to travelling to Asia for a series of previously scheduled concerts.
Flo Rida's first single was "Low", featuring T-Pain. It was his first official single from his debut album Mail On Sunday and the soundtrack to the movie Step Up 2: The Streets. "Low" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Elevator", featuring Timbaland, "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am, and "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston followed and all charted on the Hot 100 and other charts.The first single "Right Round" featured Ke$ha and was released for airplay in January 2009. "Right Round" jumped from number 58 to the top spot in one week in late February. The song broke a record for the most digital one week sales in the United States, with 636,000, beating the previous record he had set himself with "Low".The second official single was "Sugar", which featured R&B singer Wynter Gordon. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Flo Rida hasn’t talked about his religious faith and his spiritual views are debated on the Internet. Some are convinced he is Muslim, others say no. One clue is the fact that some of his sisters were a part of a gospel music group growing up 1 indicating a Christian upbringing. Muslim girls don’t join gospel groups.
A labor dispute gives the only clue to his political views–I mean, he’s never even talked about Obama. He was sued by a former assistant for paying her “extremely low wages.”2 Though it is purely conjecture, one could assume that he is not on the side of the working man and has no problem exploiting his employees.
