Flo Milli is the rap star we need right now
“Flo Milli shit, hoe!” Few phrases can light up a room as quickly this sound bite, signalling the arrival of the Alabama rapper who has been generating buzz on the Internet for the better part of two years. While Flo Milli is easily one of the most captivating acts out right now (how many artists come into the game with a ready-made catchphrase which doesn’t feel forced?), her success has greater significance for the culture beyond her infectious lyrics: seeing someone like her prosper is like a breath of fresh air in the airtight machine of the music industry.
Born at the top of 2000, every aspect of the rapper’s rise owes to her skill at wielding 21st-century tools to her advantage, laying bare the importance of dominating the digital space. Flo Milli found initial success with viral hit ‘Beef FloMix’. The freestyle’s hypnotic beat and braggadocious bars gained traction on TikTok and Instagram starting at the beginning of 2019, and soon became inescapable on social media. ‘Beef’ was arguably the first song used as a soundtrack for fancams used on a widespread scale. Its off-kilter keys punctuating videos of starlets whipping their hair, “I like cash and my hair to my ass!” became something of a mantra on among sectors of Twitter dedicated to scouting young musical talent, aiding its further dissemination. This wasn’t Flo’s only lyric to draw attention: follow-up single ‘In the Party’ triggered amusement and awe with its evocative opening line “Dicks up when I step in the party!” Her debut mixtape, Ho, Why is You Here?, was greeted with excitement upon its release this summer, with listeners revelling in the advent of another rap princess.
On top of eminently quotable lyrics and an eye for striking visuals, her attitude is what really distinguishes her. Every track overflows with an irrepressible conviction: Flo Milli knows exactly what she deserves, and believes it. Her delivery calls to mind conveys the feminine, youthful vigor of a playground game of skipping rope. Flo oscillates between simple, taunting affirmations of superiority, and packing syllables tight into the pockets of punchy trap production, ricocheting against its clicks, snaps and hi-hats. Even with this vocal dexterity, everything about Flo feels natural: effortlessly chic, bold and alluring. Boasting about beauty, success and the superfluity of men isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but the budding rap star addresses her audience with a and the frankness with a no-nonsense friend and the self-assurance of an it-girl.
Flo Milli’s rise is especially important the moment hip-hop finds itself in. As many have noted, we find ourselves in a female rap resurgence, with several women succeeding simultaneously for the first time perhaps since the ’90s. However, more attention has been paid recently to the erasure of Black women in favour of a lighter-skinned, “exotic” aesthetic in TV and film, and the same pattern is visible in the music industry, where dark-skinned women often find their opportunities limited. In the last decade, many of the most successful women in rap have fit a narrow archetype: white- or light-skinned; a doll-like face, indisputably beautiful and perpetually beat; a non-existent waist; perky, ample curves, etc. For those who might fail a paper bag test, the standard for beauty is astronomically high — for example, as talented and charismatic as, say, Megan thee Stallion is, her phenomenal body and face are without a doubt an integral part of her appeal, and without them she may not have been able to reach the heights she has. I say this not to imply that Flo Milli isn’t exceedingly beautiful, which she is, but it is undeniable that desirability politics play into the fact that dark-skinned, unambiguously Black women in hip-hop are often overlooked, and to see Flo thrive is refreshing and needed.
To put it simply, Flo Milli has the whole package, with a natural ability to craft earworms, visual acuity and competence within 2020’s social media ecosystem. Her saccharine rap-singing on ‘Boys Ain’t Shit’ (a recent collaboration with labelmate SAYGRACE) demonstrates not only her versatility, but also shows that she could easily rack up crossover hits with features on pop records, should she choose to. Her contagious confidence and charisma help a lot too — it would be hard for anyone not to feel empowered while chanting “I walk around like that bitch!” It’s manifestly clear that Flo Milli is destined for stardom, and we’re grateful to watch her ascend.
