Flo Rida

Background

Flo Rida was born Tramar Lacel Dillard in Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S. He was raised by his parents and along with seven sisters, some of whom were part of a local gospel group. Moreover, his brother-in-law was a ‘hype man’ for the local rap group called 2 Live Crew. As a result, he was constantly exposed to music and became an enthusiast from an early age.

He became a member of an amateur rap group in his city named GroundHoggz. Interestingly, the artist was just in ninth grade when he joined this group and took the first step towards a career in music. In fact, the other members of the group were close friends with him, and the kids lived in the same apartment complex. They continued to work together and make music for eight years! In 1998, he completed his high school education and enrolled at the University of Nevada. However, he decided to drop out of this institution after two months of joining it. Moreover, he had a stint at Barry University, but left it in a bid to follow his passion for music.

Given his brother-in-law’s acquaintance with the industry, he had an opportunity to work for the rapper Fresh Kid Ice as his back-up rapper and hype man. He also toured with the artist and was featured in his tracks. Soon after, he caught the eye of DeVante Swing — a prominent record producer during that time. However, the budding rapper still struggled to garner recognition and faced rejections from record labels. In 2000, he joined a hip-hop group named Hot Boyz. During his early days as a musician, he struggled to make ends meet. He took up several odd jobs, stayed at cheap motels, and even spent nights on the streets. His big break finally arrived in 2004 when Poe Boy Entertainment offered him a record deal — and the rest is history.